TheMat.com North American Women's College Wrestling Poll for has been published for March  2006.

These rankings come out reflecting results from the two major women's college championships for the season. The CIS Championships, which is the Canadian college nationals, was held at Brock Univ. in St. Catherines, Ontario, March 3-4. The U.S. College Nationals, which had both a dual meet tournament and an individual tournament, was held at Cumberland College in Williamsburg, Ky., March 10-11.

Two other events were held during the month that may have had bearings on some of the rankings, the Canadian Junior National Championships, as well as the Missouri Valley Showcase.

Simon Fraser Univ. of British Columbia, Canada, coached by Mike Jones, retains No. 1 position in the poll, with 100 points and all five first place votes. Simon Fraser won the team title at the CIS Championships.

The Univ. of the Cumberlands moves up to No. 2 this month. The Univ. of the Cumberlands, a NAIA school in Kentucky coached by Kip Flanik, won the team titles at the U.S. College Nationals in both the individual and the dual meet tournaments.

The Univ. of Calgary, from Alberta, Canada, coached by Mitch Ostberg, placed No. 3 in the voting this month. Calgary placed second in the CIS Championships.

No. 4 in the poll was  Missouri Valley College, an NAIA school coached by Carl Murphree. Missouri Valley placed second behind the Cumberlands at the the U.S. College Nationals events.

Brock Univ., coached by Richard DesChatelets, moved up into the No. 5 spot in the rankings, after a third place finish in the women's division at the CIS Championships.

Rounding out the Top 10 were No. 6 the Univ. of Saskatchewan., No. 7 the Univ. of Western Ontario; No. 8 Lakehead Univ., No. 9 the Univ. of Regina and No. 10 Pacific Univ.

A total of 20 teams were ranked, and other teams receiving votes were also recognized. The March 2006 poll can be found at:
 http://www.themat.com/rankings.php?page=ranking_details&RankingID=904

The team ranking poll is elected by a panel of women's college coaches, three from Canada and two from the United States. Eligible for ranking are college varsity and club women's wrestling programs.

There are eight weight classes ranked in Women's College wrestling. They are the seven international weight classes contested in Senior-level women's wrestling, plus an additional weight class which is recognized by North American women's college programs as their highest weight division (82 kg).

The Univ of the Cumberlands had two No. 1 ranked wrestlers, Alaina  Berube at 63 kg/138.75 lbs. and Toccara Montgomery at 82 kg/176 pounds. Montgomery was only one new No. 1 ranked wrestler in the latest rankings, 

All of the other No. 1 ranked wrestlers remained the same from the February selections. They were:
- Mary Kelly of the USOEC program at Northern Michigan  at 48 kg/105.5 lbs. 
- Terri McNutt of Western Ontario at 51 kg/112.25 lbs.
- Brittany Lavadure of Calgary at 55 kg/121 lbs.
- Emily Richardson of Simon Fraser at 59 kg/130 lbs. 
- Megan Buydens of Saskatchewan at 67 kg/147.5 lbs.
- Stephany Lee of Missouri Valley College at 72 kg/158.5 lbs.

Richardson was named the Outstanding Wrestler at the CIS Championships this year.

The March 2006 North American Women's College Individual rankings can be found at:
http://www.themat.com/rankings.php?page=ranking_details&RankingID=905 

The individual rankings are selected by TheMat.com, with assistance from coaches. Athletes who are considered for ranking are eligible full-time college students, and are members of their college women's varsity or club program, or a member of their college men's wrestling team. 

Women's wrestling is a growing sport in Canada and the United States on the college level. Women's freestyle wrestling was the newest sport in the Summer Olympic Games, making its debut at the 2004 Athens Olympics. The United States and Canada are among the most successful women's wrestling nations in the world.

Copyright 2006 by USA Wrestling and TheMat.com.