Defending champion Nebraska-Kearney remains at No. 1 in Div. II poll,

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01/03/2013


EDMOND, Okla. -- Nebraska-Kearney maintained its perch atop the NCAA Division II wrestling rankings by the slimmest of margins Thursday, edging Newberry (S.C.) by one point in the new Division II Wrestling Coaches Association poll.

The defending champion Lopers earned four first-place votes and finished with 150 points in balloting of head coaches from around the country to stay No. 1, with the Wolves picking up three first-vote votes and 149 points for second.

Seven-time Division II champion Central Oklahoma received the other first-place nod and was five points behind Newberry in third place, while St. Cloud State (Minn.) came in fourth by two points over Upper Iowa. 

Rounding out the top 10 is Grand Canyon (Ariz.), Notre Dame (Ohio), Findlay (Ohio) Minnesota State-Mankato, Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) and West Liberty (W.Va.). 

The top nine teams in the poll along with No. 13 Augustana (S.D.), No. 17 Wisconsin-Parkside, No. 19 Fort Hays State (Kan.) and No. 20 Kutztown (Pa.) will be competing in the 16-team NWCA Division II National Duals Jan. 12-13 in Springfield, Ill.

Nebraska-Kearney is led by top-ranked 149-pounder Raufeon Stotts, while Newberry and Central Oklahoma both have six wrestlers in the individual rankings.

The top 20 poll, with points and each team’s last ranking following by the individual rankings at each weight:

Rank/School (State)/Points/Last Ranking
1.              Nebraska-Kearney         150     1st
2.              Newberry (S.C.) 149     5th
3.              Central Oklahoma         144     2nd
4.              St. Cloud State (Minn.)  135     3rd
5.              Upper Iowa      133     4th
6.              Grand Canyon (Ariz.)     125     6th
7.              Notre Dame (Ohio)       113     7th
8.              Findlay (Ohio)   104     8th
9.              Minnesota State-Mankato 99      9th
T10.    Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) 77      10th
T10.    West Liberty (W.Va.)    77      12th
12.             Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.)      67      11th
13.             Augustana (S.D.)        45      14th
14.             Colorado Mesa   44      17th
15.             Maryville (Mo.) 42      13th
16.             Adams State (Colo.)     40      18th
17.             Wisconsin-Parkside       38      16th
18      .       Ashland (Ohio)  37      T-20th
19.             Fort Hays State (Kan.)  22      NR
20.             Kutztown (Pa.)  20      15th

Others receiving votes:  Indianapolis (Ind.), Lake Erie (Ohio), Mercyhurst (Pa.), North Carolina-Pembroke, Shippensburg (Pa.), Tiffin (Ohio).

INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS

125 Pounds
1.      Jesse Hillhouse, Colorado State-Pueblo
2.      Kyle McCrite, Grand Canyon (Ariz.)
3.      David Demo, Minnesota State-Mankato
4.      Alex Johns, Indianapolis (Ind.)
5.      Jeff Vesta, Newberry (S.C.)
6.      Ben Sergent, Findlay (Ohio) 
7.      Chris Kochinsky, Shippensburg (Pa.)
8.      Garrett Evans, Ouachita Baptist (Ark.)

133 Pounds
1.      Trevor Franklin, Upper Iowa
2.      Andy Pokorny, St. Cloud State (Minn.)
3.      Casy Rowell, Central Oklahoma
4.      Michael Labry, Ashland (Ohio)
5.      Justin Reinsma, Southwest Minnesota
6.      Daniel DeShazer, Nebraska-Kearney
7.      Jeremiah Peterson, Augustana (S.D.)
8.      Dave Fogle, Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.)

141 Pounds
1.      Daniel Ownbey, North Carolina-Pembroke
2.      B.J. Young, Newberry (S.C.)
3.      Trevor Johnson, Mary (N.D.)
4.      Naveed Bagheri, San Francisco State (Calif.)
5.      Josh Myers, Ouachita Baptist (Ark.)
6.      C.J. Napier, Fort Hays State (Kan.)
7.      Ryan Fillingame, Adams State (Colo.)
8.      Maurice Miller, Notre Dame (Ohio)

149 Pounds
1.      Raufeon Stotts, Nebraska-Kearney
2.      Jordan Basks, Central Oklahoma
3.      Bobby Ward, Grand Canyon (Ariz.)
4.      Keenan Hagerty, Maryville (Mo.)
5.      Nate Herda, Augustana (S.D.)
6.      Dan Telhada, Anderson (S.C.)
7.      Ryan Maus, Truman State (Mo.)
8.      Deral Brown, Newberry (S.C.)

157 Pounds
1.      Dillon Bera, Wisconsin-Parkside
2.      Bryce Lumzy, Upper Iowa
3.      Jon Gappmaier, Colorado Mesa
4.      Derek Koehn, Fort Hays State (Kan.)
5.      Bobby Williams, Ouachita Baptist (Ark.)
6.      Taylor Knapp, Newberry (S.C.)
7.      Braden Turner, East Stroudsburg State (Pa.)
8.      Jeffery Pelton, Notre Dame (Ohio)

165 Pounds
1.      Joey Davis, Notre Dame (Ohio)
2.      Blake Ridenour, Newberry (S.C.)
3.      Matt Vandermeer, Lake Erie (Ohio)
4.      Cody Quinn, Minnesota State-Mankato
5.      Wade Gobin, Upper Iowa
6.      Mason True, Findlay (Ohio)
7.      Chris Watson, Central Oklahoma
8.      Isaiah Jimenez, San Francisco State (Calif.)

174 Pounds
1.      Mike Williams, North Carolina-Pembroke
2.      Elliot Copeland, Western State (Colo.)
3.      Travis Sheehy, Newberry (S.C.)
4.      Kelly Henderson, Central Oklahoma
5.      Jake Cramer, Tiffin (Ohio)
6.      Brendon Eichmann, Minnesota State-Mankato
7.      Blake Sorenson, Upper Iowa
8.      Zak Slotten, Colorado Mesa

184 Pounds
1.      Adam Walters, Findlay (Ohio)
2.      Shamus O’Grady, St. Cloud State (Minn.)
3.      Dallas Smith, Ouachita Baptist (Ark.)
4.      Tanner Keck, Central Oklahoma
5.      Aaron Norgren, Minnesota State-Mankato
6.      Mitch Schultz, Upper Iowa
7.      Matt Gille, Wisconsin-Parkside
8.      Travis McKillop, Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.)

197 Pounds
1.      Carl Broghammer, Upper Iowa
2.      Matt Baker, Maryville (Mo.)
3.      Joe Brandt, Ashland (Ohio)
4.      Celic Bell, Grand Canyon (Ariz.)
5.      Jayd Docken, Augustana (S.D.)
6.      Tanner Kriss, Fort Hays State (Kan.)
7.      Matt Lenagh, Nebraska-Kearney
8.      Tyson Searer, East Stroudsburg (Pa.)

285 Pounds
1.      Matt Meuleners, Northern State (S.D.)
2.      Jake Kahnke, St. Cloud State (Minn.)
3.      Tyrell Fortune, Grand Canyon (Ariz.)
4.      James Malechek, Wisconsin-Parkside
5.      Orlando Scales, Notre Dame (Ohio)
6.      Ziad Haddad, Kutztown (Pa.)
7.      Andrew Tumlin, Findlay (Ohio)
8.      Cody Dauphin, Central Oklahoma