MANHEIM, Pa. - The National Wrestling Coaches Association and its media web site, InterMat, have released the Division I preseason wrestling rankings for the 2006-07 wrestling season. Minnesota garnered all 12 first-place votes among coaches to earn the No. 1 ranking in the USA Today/InterMat/NWCA Division I Coaches Poll. Coach J Robinson returns nine starters from a team that ended the regular season in 2005-06 as the top-ranked team but finished second behind Oklahoma State at the 2006 Division I Wrestling Championships in Oklahoma City in March. Led by returning national champions Dustin Schlatter (149) and Cole Konrad (285), the Gophers have nine wrestlers ranked. Schlatter and Konrad are No. 1, while two-time All-American Mack Reiter is ranked second at 133 pounds. Defending national champion Oklahoma State is second and went 16-2 last season with both losses coming at the hands of the Gophers. Missouri earns its highest preseason ranking in school history at No. 3. Last year, Ben Askren won the first national championship in school history en route to an undefeated season and named the Division I Championships Most Outstanding Wrestler. Coach Brian Smith returns Askren, All-American Tyler McCormick and past All-American Matt Pell. The third Big 12 team in the top five is Oklahoma. The Sooners, led by last year's NWCA Division I Coach of the Year Jack Spates return All-Americans Sam Hazewinkel (125), Matt Storniolo (149), and Joel Flaggert (197). Iowa rounds out the top five, returning All-Americans Alex Tsirtsis (141), Mark Perry (165) and Eric Luedke (174). Iowa State, Michigan, Penn State, Cornell and Northwestern round out the Top 10. Last season's only unbeaten team, Edinboro, starts the year ranked 13th. All five Big 12 wrestling programs are represented in the Top 25, while the Big Ten has five of its 11 teams in the Top 10 and nine ranked overall. Three Ivy League schools are ranked, Cornell is ninth, followed by Penn at 14 and Harvard starts the year 22nd. Among the individuals returning, national champions Matt Valenti of Penn (133), Dustin Schlatter of Minnesota (149), Johny Hendricks of Oklahoma State (165), Askren and Konrad are all ranked atop their weight classes. This season, there are five more teams eligible for the Division I post-season. North Dakota State, South Dakota State and Northern Colorado will compete in their first full season as a championship-eligible Division I member after moving up from Division II, while Liberty and Bucknell re-instated their varsity wrestling programs last year and will compete this season. The USA Today/InterMat/NWCA team rankings are voted on by Division I coaches weekly, while the InterMat/NWCA/NWMA individual rankings are voted on by members of the National Wrestling Media Association. Rankings Link: http://www.intermatwrestle.com/college/rankings/preseason0607.aspx USA Today/InterMat/NWCA Preseason Division I Coaches Poll Rank Team (First) Record Points NCAA Finish 1. Minnesota (12) 20-1 480 2 2. Oklahoma State 16-2 468 1 3. Missouri 13-4-1 441 15 4. Oklahoma 10-6-1 432 3 5. Iowa 11-7 431 4 6. Iowa State 11-7 426 13 7. Michigan 16-2 415 7 8. Penn State 13-4 400 t9 9. Cornell 10-4 390 5 10. Northwestern 10-5 358 13 11. Hofstra 11-8-1 347 11 12. Central Mich. 13-4 335 26 13. Edinboro 12-0 326 8 14. Penn 11-5 324 12 15. Ohio State 3-13 319 45 16. Illinois 9-2-1 290 25 17. Michigan State 7-10 283 t18 18. Nebraska 12-5 279 16 19. Indiana 11-6 251 t18 20. Cal Poly 10-7 249 23 21. Lehigh 13-5-1 241 t9 22. Harvard 5-9-1 226 t31 23. Arizona State 14-7 216 6 24. West Virginia 6-6 210 27 25. Pittsburgh 4-9 128 35 Others receiving votes: Northern Iowa, Rider, Wisconsin InterMat/NWCA/NWMA Division I Pre-Season Individual Rankings October 19, 2006 NOTE: NO TRUE FRESHMEN LISTED 125 pounds 1. Sam Hazewinkel, Sr. Oklahoma 2. Troy Nickerson, So. Cornell 3. Nick Simmons, Sr. Michigan State 4. Chad Mendes, Jr. Cal Poly 5. Tanner Gardner, Jr. Stanford 6. Paul Donahoe, So. Nebraska 7. Obe Blanc, Jr. Lock Haven 8. Mike Sees, Jr. Bloomsburg 9. Luke Smith, Jr. Central Michigan 10. Pat Castillo, Jr. Northern Illinois 11. Mark McKnight, Jr. Penn State 12. Mark Moos, Sr. Michigan 13. Javier Maldonado, Sr. UT-Chattanooga 14. Gabe Flores, So. Illinois 15. Chad Sportelli, Sr. Kent State 16. Tim Kephart, Sr. Missouri 17. Collin Cudd, Jr. Wisconsin 18. Christian Staylor, Sr. Old Dominion 19. Travis Lang/Jayson Ness, So./Fr. Minnesota 20. Dave Tomasette, Jr. Hofstra 133 pounds 1. Matt Valenti, Sr. Penn 2. Mack Reiter, Jr. Minnesota 3. Tyler McCormick, Jr. Missouri 4. Matt Keller, Sr. UT-Chattanooga 5. Coleman Scott, Jr. Oklahoma State 6. Darrell Vasquez, Sr. Cal Poly 7. Evan Sola, Sr. North Carolina 8. Jake Strayer, So. Penn State 9. Rob Preston, Sr. Harvard 10. Drew Headlee, Jr. Pittsburgh 11. Mark Budd, Sr. Buffalo 12. Patrick Aleksanyan/Mike Rowe, So./Fr. Nebraska 13. Joe Baker, So. Navy 14. Andrae Hernandez, So. Indiana 15. Adam Frey, Fr. Cornell 16. Nick Gallick, Fr. Iowa State 17. Zach Tannelli, So. Wisconsin 18. T.J. Enright/Reece Humphrey, Jr./So. Ohio State 19. Sean Clair, So. Eastern Michigan 20. Eric Albright, So. Virginia 141 pounds 1. Ryan Lang, Jr. Northwestern 2. Andy Simmons, Sr. Michigan State 3. Brandon Rader, So. West Virginia 4. Alex Tsirtsis, Jr. Iowa 5. Nathan Morgan, Jr. Oklahoma State 6. Jeff Jaggers, So. Ohio State 7. Don Fisch, Jr. Rider 8. C.J. Ettelson, Jr. Northern Iowa 9. Max Meltzer, Jr. Harvard 10. Manuel Rivera, Jr. Minnesota 11. Derek Moore, Sr. UC-Davis 12. Cassio Pero, Sr. Illinois 13. Michael Keefe, Sr. UT-Chattanooga 14. Charles Griffin, Jr. Hofstra 15. Dave Roberts, Sr. Cal Poly 16. Dominick Moyer, Sr. Nebraska 17. Matt Ciasulli, Sr. Lehigh 18. Keith Dickey, Sr. Cornell 19. Cesar Grajales, So. Penn 20. Mitch Mueller, Fr. Iowa State 149 pounds 1. Dustin Schlatter, So. Minnesota 2. Matt Storniolo, Sr. Oklahoma 3. Gregor Gillespie, So. Edinboro 4. Matt Dragon, So. Penn 5. Tyler Turner, Sr. Wisconsin 6. Josh Churella, Jr. Michigan 7. John Cox, Sr. Navy 8. David Jauregui, So. West Virginia 9. Trevor Chinn, So. Lehigh 10. Robert Sanders, So. Nebraska 11. Aaron Martin, Sr. UT-Chattanooga 12. Troy Tirapelle, So. Illinois 13. Jordan Leen, So. Cornell 14. Matt Coughlin, Fr. Indiana 15. Joey Ecklof, So. Pittsburgh 16. Mike Grimes, Sr. Northern Illinois 17. Jason Knipp/Aron Scott/Cyler Sanderson, Jr./Jr./Fr. Iowa State 18. Morgan Atkinson, Jr. Cal State-Fullerton 19. Jason Johnstone/Lance Palmer So./Fr. Ohio State 20. Mike Kessler, So. Rider 157 pounds 1. Brian Stith, Sr. Arizona State 2. Trent Paulson, Sr. Iowa State 3. Brandon Becker, Jr. Indiana 4. Matt Kocher, Jr. Pittsburgh 5. Andrew Flanagan, So. Harvard 6. C.P. Schlatter, Jr. Minnesota 7. Mike Poeta, So. Illinois 8. Travis Piccard, Sr. The Citadel 9. Tyler Sherfey, Jr. Boise State 10. Michael Chandler, Jr. Missouri 11. Nathan Galloway, Sr. Penn State 12. James Strouse, Sr. Hofstra 13. Chris Oliver, So. Nebraska 14. Chris Vondruska, Sr. Ohio State 15. Ryan Hluschak, Jr. Drexel 16. Seth Martin, Sr. Lock Haven 17. Matt Hill, Sr. Edinboro 18. Kurt Gross, Jr. Kent State 19. Will Rowe, Jr. Oklahoma 20. Jake Yost, Sr. UT-Chattanooga 165 pounds 1. Johny Hendricks, Sr. Oklahoma State 2. Mark Perry, Jr. Iowa 3. Mike Patrovich, Sr. Hofstra 4. Deonte Penn, Sr. Edinboro 5. Travis Paulson, Sr. Iowa State 6. Eric Tannenbaum, Jr. Michigan 7. Nick Baima, Sr. Northern Iowa 8. Matt Pell, Sr. Missouri 9. Pat Pitsch, Jr. Arizona State 10. Johnny Galloway, Jr. Northern Illinois 11. Larry Hall, Jr. West Virginia 12. Marc Harwood, Jr. Nebraska 13. Steve Anceravage, Jr. Cornell 14. Max Dean, Jr. Indiana 15. Jarrod King, So. Oklahoma 16. Dan Bedoy, Jr. Purdue 17. Jake Donar, Jr. Wisconsin 18. Rocky Cozart, Fr. Michigan State 19. Trevor Stewart, So. Central Michigan 20. Mitch Kuhlman, Jr. Minnesota 174 pounds 1. Ben Askren, Sr. Missouri 2. Matt Herrington, Sr. Penn 3. James Yonushonis, Sr. Penn State 4. Matt Palmer, Sr. Columbia 5. Ken Cook, Sr. UC-Davis 6. Brandon Mason, So. Oklahoma State 7. Ken Robertson, Sr. Eastern Illinois 8. David Helfrich, Sr. Lehigh 9. Kurt Brenner, Jr. West Virginia 10. Steve Luke, So. Michigan 11. Eric Ring, Sr. Edinboro 12. Gabe Dretsch, Jr. Minnesota 13. Blake Maurer, Jr. Ohio State 14. Donny Reynolds, Sr. Illinois 15. Brandon Sinnott, Jr. Central Michigan 16. David Bertolino/Grant Turner, Jr./Sr. Iowa State 17. Josh Weitzel/Shane Seibert, Sr./Sr. Oklahoma 18. Chad Beatty/Eric Luedke, Fr./Sr. Iowa 19. Aaron Miller, Sr. Kent State 20. Jeremy Larson, Sr. Oregon State 184 pounds 1. Jake Herbert, Jr. Northwestern 2. Roger Kish, Jr. Minnesota 3. Alex Clemsen, Sr. Edinboro 4. Raymond Jordan, So. Missouri 5. Joe Rovelli, Jr. Hofstra 6. Vince Jones, So. Nebraska 7. Christian Sinnott, Jr. Central Michigan 8. Tyrel Todd, So. Michigan 9. Steve Borja, Sr. Virginia Tech 10. Jake Varner, Fr. Iowa State 11. Louis Caputo, So. Harvard 12. Rocco Caponi, So. Virginia 13. Alex Picazo/Mike Pucillo, Sr./Fr. Ohio State 14. Joe Williams, Jr. Michigan State 15. Greg Gifford, Sr. Arizona State 16. Brent Parkey, Jr. Oklahoma State 17. Matt Wetterling, Jr. North Dakota State 18. Jeremy Colbert, Jr. N.C. State 19. Josh Haines, So. Maryland 20. Chance Litton, So. West Virginia 197 pounds 1. Phil Davis, Jr. Penn State 2. Jerry Rinaldi, Sr. Cornell 3. Josh Glenn, Jr. American 4. Joel Flaggert, Jr. Oklahoma 5. J.D. Bergman, Jr. Ohio State 6. Chris Weidman, Sr. Hofstra 7. Wynn Michalak, Jr. Central Michigan 8. Kurt Backes, Sr. Iowa State 9. Nathan Moore, Sr. Purdue 10. Dallas Herbst, Jr. Wisconsin 11. Hudson Taylor, Fr. Maryland 12. Max Askren, Fr. Missouri 13. Matt Montiero, Sr. Cal Poly 14. Mike Tamillow, Jr. Northwestern 15. Ryan Goodman, So. N.C. State 16. David Dashiell, Sr. North Carolina 17. Jared Villers, Jr. West Virginia 18. Matt Koz, Jr. UT-Chattanooga 19. Jon Oplinger, Jr. Drexel 20. T.J. Morrison, Jr. Rider 285 pounds 1. Cole Konrad, Sr. Minnesota 2. Bode Ogunwole, Sr. Harvard 3. Kirk Nail, Jr. Ohio State 4. Spencer Nadolsky, Sr. North Carolina 5. Dustin Fox, Jr. Northwestern 6. Matt Fields, Jr. Iowa 7. Ty Watterson, Sr. Oregon State 8. Payam Zarrinpour, Sr. Sacred Heart 9. Adam LoPiccolo, Jr. American 10. Reece Hopkin, Jr. Northern Colorado 11. Rashard Goff, Jr. Cleveland State 12. Andy Patrick, Jr. Boise State 13. Jared Rosholt, Fr. Oklahoma State 14. Jon May, So. Nebraska 15. Bubba Gritter, Jr. Central Michigan 16. Paul Weibel, Sr. Lehigh 17. Israel Silva, Sr. UT-Chattanooga 18. Joe Sapp, Sr. Northern Illinois 19. Mike Spaid, Jr. Bloomsburg 20. Jainor Palma, Sr. N.C. State The National Wrestling Coaches Association, established in 1928, is a professional organization dedicated to serve and provide leadership for the advancement of all levels of the sport of wrestling with primary emphasis on scholastic and collegiate programs. The membership embraces all people interested in amateur wrestling. The NWCA, through its organizational structure, promotes communication, recognizes achievement, recommends rules and regulations, sponsors events, and serves as an educational and informational source. Additionally, the NWCA strives to foster the sportsmanship and integrity that are the cornerstones of athletic competition.