INDIANAPOLIS--- The NCAA released Thursday the first of three coaches' panel rankings for the 2009-10 wrestling season. The final rankings will be one of the tools used as part of the selection process to determine the qualifiers for the 2010 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.

Wrestlers in each weight class will be measured by winning percentage, rating percentage index (RPI) and coaches' rankings to earn spots for the 2010 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. The coaches' rankings are compiled by a vote of coaches across the nation. Each qualifying tournament has five coaches rank the top 33 wrestlers in two weight classes. For ranking purposes, coaches must select a wrestler as a starter at a designated weight class. In addition, coaches may only select one wrestler per weight class.

A full description of the entire selection process is available in appendix C of the 2010 Division I Wrestling Championships Handbook which is available at http://web1.ncaa.org/web_files/champ_handbooks/wrestling/2009/1_wrestling_handbook.pdf.

The top-ranked wrestlers at each weight class in the inaugural rankings are: Angel Escobedo, Indiana University, Bloomington (125 pounds); Franklin Gomez, Michigan State University (133 pounds); Kyle Dake, Cornell University (141 pounds); Brent Metcalf, University of Iowa (149 pounds); J.P. O'Connor, Harvard University (157 pounds); Andrew Howe, University of Wisconsin, Madison (165 pounds); Mack Lewnes, Cornell (174 pounds); Kirk Smith, Boise State University (184 pounds); Jake Varner, Iowa State University (197 pounds) and Jared Rosholt, Oklahoma State University (Heavyweight).