Oklahoma State remains the top-ranked team in the nation in InterMat poll

<< Back to Articles
Jason Bryant (InterMat)
12/05/2006


MANHEIM, Pa. - Coach John Smith and his Oklahoma State Cowboys wrestling team came into the season as underdogs to win the school's 34th NCAA wrestling championship. As it stands now, the Cowboys are in good shape as they garnered nine of a possible 12 first-place votes in the USA Today/InterMat/NWCA Division I Coaches Poll to remain atop the rankings.

After a 17-15 win over rival Oklahoma, the Cowboys will face third-ranked Minnesota in Minneapolis on Wednesday.

Second-ranked Missouri closed the gap on their Big 12 rival Cowboys and are fresh of a dominant performance at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational this past weekend in Primm, Nev. Keying the second-ranked Tigers is top-ranked Ben Askren at 174 pounds and younger brother Max, ranked second at 197 pounds after beating previous No. 2 Jerry Rinaldi of Cornell.

Minnesota comes in third, followed by Iowa, which thumped intra-state rival Iowa State 24-6 on Sunday. The Hawkeyes won eight of 10 bouts against the Cyclones in the first head-to-head coaching matchup between the school's first-year head coaches, who both are Olympic Gold Medalists. Tom Brands led his Hawkeyes to the resounding victory in front of 13,732 fans at Carver-Hawkeye arena. The crowd is the 11th largest in NCAA wrestling history.

Hofstra maintains its position in fifth, despite not wrestling several of its starters in Las Vegas.

Oklahoma's comes in sixth, followed by Iowa State, Penn State, Michigan and Northwestern. 

Duals this week of note are #1 Oklahoma State vs. #3 Minnesota; #3 Minnesota vs. #7 Iowa State, and #5 Hofstra vs. #8 Penn State.
 
USA Today/InterMat/NWCA Division I Team Rankings
December 5, 2006 
1 Oklahoma State
2 Missouri
3 Minnesota
4 Iowa
5 Hofstra
6 Oklahoma
7 Iowa State
8 Penn State
9 Michigan
10 Northwestern 
11 Central Michigan 
12 Edinboro
13 Cornell
14 Ohio State
14 Penn
16 Illinois
17 Indiana
18 Nebraska
19 Michigan State
20 Pittsburgh
21 Cal Poly
22 Harvard
23 Wisconsin
24 Northern Iowa
25 West Virginia
 
Others receiving votes: Lehigh, Rider, UT-Chattanooga, Columbia, Navy, Arizona State 

InterMat/NWCA/NWMA Division I Individual Rankings

125 pounds
1. Sam Hazewinkel, Sr. Oklahoma
2. Troy Nickerson, So. Cornell
3. Mark McKnight, Jr. Penn State
4. Franklin Gomez, Fr. Michigan State
5. Chad Mendes, Jr. Cal Poly
6. Obe Blanc, Jr. Lock Haven
7. Tanner Gardner, Jr. Stanford
8. Dave Tomasette, Jr. Hofstra
9. Jayson Ness, Fr. Minnesota
10. Mike Sees, Jr. Bloomsburg
11. Paul Donahoe, So. Nebraska
12. Angel Escobedo, Fr. Indiana
13. Luke Smith, Jr. Central Michigan
14. Gabe Flores, So. Illinois
15. Matt Eveleth, Sr. Penn
16. Eric Hoffman, Jr. North Dakota State
17. Kyle Anson, Fr. Northern Iowa
18. Javier Maldonado, Jr. UT-Chattanooga
19. Tyler Shinn, Fr. Oklahoma State
20. Steve Mytych, So. Drexel

133 pounds
1. Nick Simmons, Sr. Michigan State
2. Matt Keller, Sr. UT-Chattanooga
3. Matt Valenti, Sr. Penn
4. Coleman Scott, Jr. Oklahoma State
5. Darrell Vasquez, Sr. Cal Poly
6. Mario Galanakis, Sr. Iowa
7. Jake Strayer, So. Penn State
8. Drew Headlee, Jr. Pittsburgh
9. Mark Budd, Sr. Buffalo
10. Tyler McCormick, Jr. Missouri
11. Rob Preston, Sr. Harvard
12. Mike Rowe, Fr. Nebraska
13. Joe Baker, So. Navy
14. Eric Albright, So. Virginia
15. Ricky Deubel, So. Edinboro
16. T.J. Enright, Jr. Ohio State
17. Cameron Doggett, Fr. Purdue
18. Terryl Williams, Sr. Appalachian State
19. Matt DeLorenzo, Sr. Columbia
20. Lou Ruggirello, Fr. Hofstra

141 pounds
1. Ryan Lang, Jr. Northwestern
2. Derek Moore, Sr. UC-Davis
3. Nathan Morgan, Jr. Oklahoma State
4. Andy Simmons, Sr. Michigan State
5. Manuel Rivera, Jr. Minnesota
6. Dominick Moyer, Sr. Nebraska
7. Brandon Rader, So. West Virginia
8. Cassio Pero, Sr. Illinois
9. C.J. Ettelson, Jr. Northern Iowa
10. Alex Tsirtsis, Jr. Iowa
11. Mitch Mueller, Fr. Iowa State
12. Max Meltzer, Jr. Harvard
13. Pat Payne, Jr. Arizona State
14. Vincent Ramirez, So. North Carolina
15. Charlie Pinto, Sr. Maryland
16. Dave Roberts, Sr. Cal Poly
17. Michael Keefe, Sr. UT-Chattanooga
18. Kyle Ruschell, Fr. Wisconsin
19. Charles Griffin, Jr. Hofstra
20. Chris Bencivenga, Jr. UNC Greensboro

149 pounds
1. Dustin Schlatter, So. Minnesota
2. Matt Storniolo, Sr. Oklahoma
3. Gregor Gillespie, So. Edinboro
4. Josh Churella, Jr. Michigan
5. Matt Coughlin, Fr. Indiana
6. Jordan Leen, So. Cornell
7. David Jauregui, So. West Virginia
8. Trevor Chinn, So. Lehigh
9. J.P. O'Connor, Fr. Harvard
10. Tyler Turner, Sr. Wisconsin
11. Morgan Atkinson, Jr. Cal State-Fullerton
12. Cyler Sanderson, Fr. Iowa State
13. Aaron Martin, Sr. UT-Chattanooga
14. Scott Ervin, Jr. Appalachian State
15. Jermain Thompson, Sr. Eastern Michigan
16. John Cox, Sr. Navy
17. Jon Bonilla-Bowman, Fr. Virginia Tech
18. Sam Alvarenga, Sr. VMI
19. Lance Palmer, Fr. Ohio State
20. Troy Tirapelle, So. Illinois

157 pounds
1. Trent Paulson, Sr. Iowa State
2. Brian Stith, Sr. Arizona State
3. Brandon Becker, Jr. Indiana
4. Craig Henning, Jr. Wisconsin
5. Andrew Flanagan, So. Harvard
6. Mike Poeta, So. Illinois
7. Matt Hill, Sr. Edinboro
8. James Strouse, Sr. Hofstra
9. Matt Kocher, Jr. Pittsburgh
10. C.P. Schlatter, Jr. Minnesota
11. Chris Oliver, So. Nebraska
12. Ryan Morningstar, Fr. Iowa
13. Michael Chandler, Jr. Missouri
14. Ryan Hluschak, Jr. Drexel
15. Seth Martin, Sr. Lock Haven
16. Matt Dragon, So. Penn
17. Josh Zupancic, Jr. Stanford
18. Will Rowe, So. Oklahoma
19. Travis Piccard, Sr. The Citadel
20. Tyler Sherfey, Jr. Boise State

165 pounds
1. Johny Hendricks, Sr. Oklahoma State
2. Mark Perry, Jr. Iowa
3. Mike Patrovich, Sr. Hofstra
4. Travis Paulson, Sr. Iowa State
5. Eric Tannenbaum, Jr. Michigan
6. Nick Baima, Sr. Northern Iowa
7. Matt Pell, Sr. Missouri
8. Deonte Penn, Sr. Edinboro
9. Pat Pitsch, Jr. Arizona State
10. Johnny Galloway, Jr. Northern Illinois
11. Steve Anceravage, Jr. Cornell
12. Max Dean, Jr. Indiana
13. Larry Hall, Jr. West Virginia
14. Keegan Mueller, Jr. North Carolina
15. Shane Siebert, Sr. Oklahoma
16. Trevor Stewart, So. Central Michigan
17. Andy Rendos, Fr. Bucknell
18. Jason Kiessling, Sr. Maryland
19. Chris Vondruska, Sr. Ohio State
20. Zach Shanaman, Jr. Penn

174 pounds
1. Ben Askren, Sr. Missouri
2. James Yonushonis, Sr. Penn State
3. Matt Herrington, Sr. Penn
4. Keith Gavin, Jr. Pittsburgh
5. Eric Luedke, Sr. Iowa
6. Brandon Sinnott, Jr. Central Michigan
7. Steve Luke, So. Michigan
8. Brandon Mason, So. Oklahoma State
9. Matt Stolpinski, So. Navy
10. Matt Palmer, Sr. Columbia
11. Ken Cook, Sr. UC-Davis
12. Ken Robertson, Sr. Eastern Illinois
13. Gabe Dretsch, Jr. Minnesota
14. Josh Weitzel, Jr. Oklahoma
15. Jeremy Larson, Sr. Oregon State
16. Doug Umbehauer, So. Rider
17. Alton Lucas, So. Hofstra
18. Donny Reynolds, Sr. Illinois
19. Kurt Brenner, Jr. West Virginia
20. Blake Maurer, So. Ohio State

184 pounds
1. Jake Herbert, Jr. Northwestern
2. Roger Kish, Jr. Minnesota
3. Jake Varner, Fr. Iowa State
4. Mike Pucillo, Fr. Ohio State
5. Tyrel Todd, So. Michigan
6. Christian Sinnott, Jr. Central Michigan
7. Joe Rovelli, Jr. Hofstra
8. Marc Bennett, Sr. Indiana
9. Louis Caputo, So. Harvard
10. Raymond Jordan, So. Missouri
11. Alex Clemsen, Sr. Edinboro
12. Joe Williams, Jr. Michigan State
13. Phil Keddy, Fr. Iowa
14. Lior Zamir, Sr. Penn
15. Rocco Caponi, So. Virginia
16. Eric Chine, So. Kent State
17. Justin Barent, Sr. Columbia
18. Antonio Miranda, Sr. Navy
19. Nate Shirk, Sr. Bloomsburg
20. Steve Borja, Sr. Virginia Tech

197 pounds
1. Phil Davis, Jr. Penn State
2. Max Askren, Fr. Missouri
3. Jerry Rinaldi, Sr. Cornell
4. Josh Glenn, Jr. American
5. Joel Flaggert, Jr. Oklahoma
6. Chris Weidman, Sr. Hofstra
7. J.D. Bergman, Jr. Ohio State
8. Wynn Michalak, Jr. Central Michigan
9. Nathan Moore, Sr. Purdue
10. Dallas Herbst, Jr. Wisconsin
11. Mike Tamillow, Jr. Northwestern
12. Nick Roy, Sr. Michigan
13. Jared Villers, Jr. West Virginia
14. Kurt Backes, Sr. Iowa State
15. Hudson Taylor, Fr. Maryland
16. Matt Cassidy, Sr. Lehigh
17. Jon Oplinger, Jr. Drexel
18. Matt Montiero, Sr. Cal Poly
19. Sam Wendland, Sr. Wyoming
20. Andrew Anderson, Jr. Northern Iowa

285 pounds
1. Cole Konrad, Sr. Minnesota
2. Bode Ogunwole, Sr. Harvard
3. Dustin Fox, Jr. Northwestern
4. Matt Fields, Jr. Iowa
5. Ty Watterson, Sr. Oregon State
6. Jon May, So. Nebraska
7. Bubba Gritter, Jr. Central Michigan
8. Adam LoPiccolo, Jr. American
9. Ed Prendergast, Jr. Navy
10. Spencer Nadolsky, Sr. North Carolina
11. Jared Rosholt, Fr. Oklahoma State
12. Aaron Anspach, Sr. Penn State
13. Joe Fendone, So. Edinboro
14. Paul Weibel, Sr. Lehigh
15. Payam Zarrinpour, Sr. Sacred Heart
16. Andy Patrick, Jr. Boise State
17. Reece Hopkin, Jr. Northern Colorado
18. Jainor Palma, Sr. N.C. State
19. Mike Spaid, Jr. Bloomsburg
20. Wade Sauer, So. Cal State-Fullerton