Grand View remains No. 1 in sixth edition of NAIA Wrestling Coaches' Poll

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Alan Grosbach (NAIA)
02/07/2013


KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Grand View (Iowa) retains the No. 1 ranking in the sixth edition of the NAIA Wrestling Coaches' Top 20 Poll, the national office announced Wednesday. The Vikings, who have occupied the top spot in every poll since Nov. 21, racked up 168 points. Southern Oregon held on to its No. 2 spot for the sixth-straight poll with 118 points, while Great Falls (Mont.) checks in at No. 3 with 93 points for the fifth-consecutive edition. No. 4 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) and No. 5 Campbellsville (Ky.) rounds out the top five with 90.5 and 85 points. 

Fueled by a duo of top-ranked wrestlers - Gustavo Martinez (141 pounds) and Derek Nightser (197 pounds) - and 10 others scattered throughout the ranks, Grand View improved to 10-0 in dual matches with a 26-12 victory over then-No. 7 Missouri Valley on Jan. 31. The victory extended the Viking's duals winning streak to 25-straight with their last loss coming on Jan. 16, 2011 against former NAIA member Lindenwood (Mo.). Grand View wraps up its regular-season on Thursday in a dual against Waldorf (Iowa).

For the sixth-straight week, Southern Oregon boasts the most top-ranked individuals with three - Mitchell Lofstedt (125 pounds), Prescott Gardner (133 pounds and Brock Gutches (174 pounds). Lofstedt, who has now been ranked No. 1 in 16-straight polls, enters the week with a 27-1 overall record, including a 10-0 mark against NAIA opponents. Gardner and Gutches have been similarly dominant with 20-5 (10-0 NAIA) and 16-3 (8-1 NAIA) records, respectively. 

Missouri Valley, propelled by 10 ranked wrestlers, made the biggest improvement this week, leaping three places from No. 10 to No. 7. Conversely, Cumberlands (Ky.) suffered the largest fall in the poll from No. 15 to No. 19. 

No new teams joined the poll this week.

Grand View's Martinez is the only new top-ranked individual this week. Martinez has won six-straight matches, including two wins against opponents currently ranked amongst the top 16 in the 141-pound weight class. He replaces Great Falls' Myles Mazurkiewicz, who had previously held the No. 1 position for five-consecutive polls. 

The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the four Qualifying Groups. Qualifying Group tournaments, which decide the automatic qualifiers to the 2013 NAIA Wrestling National Championships on March 1-2 in Des Moines, Iowa, will be contests on Feb. 16. 

For a complete look at the 2012-13 NAIA Wrestling Coaches' Top 20 Poll calendar, click here. The final poll will be announced on Feb. 20. 

Notes: (all information dates back to 2000-01 season) There have been 24 teams represented through six polls this season (includes preseason poll) ... Grand View's (Iowa) No. 1 ranking is its 11th all-time, which ranks third since 2000-01 ... Former NAIA member Lindenwood (Mo.) boasts the most all-time No. 1 rankings with 39, while former NAIA member Notre Dame (Ohio) is second with 14 ... Nine programs have appeared in the top 20 for at least 20-consecutive editions, led by No. 3 Great Falls' (Mont.) and No. 6 Campbellsville's (Ky.) current run of 61-straight polls, dating back to the 2005-06 season ... No. 4 Montana State-Northern is the only other school with at least 50-straight appearances (53) ... Southern Oregon's Mitchell Lofstedt has been ranked No. 1 at 125 pounds for 16-straight polls ... Lofstedt (125 pounds), Brock Gutches (174 pounds) of Southern Oregon and Montana State-Northern's Ethan Hinebauch (165 pounds) have been ranked atop their respective weight class in all seven polls this season ... Notre Dame and Lindenwood are the only programs that have spent an entire season ranked No. 1 (Notre Dame: 2010-11; Lindenwood: 2006-07). 

2012-13 NAIA Wrestling Coaches' Top 20 Poll - No. 6 (Feb. 6)
Rank/Prvs./School/Total Team Points
1	1	Grand View (Iowa)	168
2	2	Southern Oregon	118
3	3	Great Falls (Mont.)	93
4	5	Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)	90.5
5	6	Campbellsville (Ky.)	85
6	4	Montana State-Northern	80
7	10	Missouri Valley	63.5
8	8	Dickinson State (N.D.)	60
9	9	Oklahoma City	57
10	7	Morningside (Iowa)	56
11	11	Cumberland (Tenn.)	49.5
12	13	Missouri Baptist	48
13	13	Midland (Neb.)	45.5
14	11	Baker (Kan.)	41.5
15	16	Indiana Tech	29.5
16	18	William Penn (Iowa)	28.5
17	17	Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.)	26
18	19	Menlo (Calif.)	20
T19	20	Jamestown (N.D.)	17
T19	15	Cumberlands (Ky.)	17
 
Others receiving votes: Bethany (Kan.) 13.5; Hastings (Neb.) 12; Brewton-Parker (Ga.) 7; Simpson (Calif.) 5.5; Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.) 5; Life (Ga.) 4.5; Waldorf (Iowa) 4.5; Benedictine (Kan.) 4; Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) 3.5; St. Andrews (N.C.) 3; York (Neb.) 3; Briar Cliff (Iowa) 2.5; Calumet (Ind.) 2; Northwestern (Iowa) 2. 

125 pounds
1.	Mitchell Lofstedt (Southern Oregon)
2.	Gabriel Roman (Missouri Baptist)
3.	Kory Kistner (Morningside)
4.	Bryden Lazaro (Dickinson State)
5.	Kidd Gomez (Oklahoma City)
6. 	Sean Blumhardt (Jamestown)
7.	Derteoreious Prayther (Missouri Baptist)
8.	Aspen Kmlec (Midland)
9.	Aaron LaFarge (Montana State-Northern)
10. 	Ryan Stearns (Missouri Valley)
11. 	Sean Silva (Embry-Riddle)
12.	Ethan Miller (Lindsey Wilson)
12.	Andrew Clark (Grand View)
14.	Drake Madieros (Menlo)
15.	Alan Callahan (Baker)
15.	Kyle Robinson (Briar Cliff)

133 pounds
1.	Prescott Gardner (Southern Oregon)
2.	Angel Garcia (Menlo)
3. 	Joao Vicente (William Penn)
4.	Luis Baltazar (Southern Oregon)
5. 	Richard Rios (Dakota Wesleyan)
6.	Cameron Neiss (Montana State-Northern)
7.	Tyler Alsip (Campbellsville)
8. 	Jacob McCombs (Lindsey Wilson)
9.	Dennis Welch (Missouri Valley)
10.	Travis Barroquillo (Indiana Tech)
11.	Chris Padilla (Missouri Baptist)
11.	Jared Wilmert (Midland)
13.	Nathan Ryan (Morningside)
14.	Colt Rogers (Bethany)
15.	Jacob Luning-Hoshino (Midland)
16.	DeCoreus Leavell (Campbellsville)

141 pounds
1.	Gustavo Martinez (Grand View)
2.	Myles Mazurkiewicz (Great Falls)
3.	Wismit Moinius (Lindsey Wilson)
4. 	Jake Williams (Cumberland – TN)
5.	Brad Steele (Dickinson State)
6. 	Chris Teague (Campbellsville)
7. 	Blake Fruchti (Hastings)
8. 	Garrett Lambrecht (Morningside)
9.	Ryan Martin (Great Falls)
10.	Kevin Olson (Morningside)
11.	Dillon Kifer (Jamestown)
12.	Brandon Westerman (Campbellsville)
13.	Joel Olivas (Baker)
14.	Hunter Azure (Montana State-Northern)
15. 	Dillon Schouw (Life)
16.	Todd Brackett (Missouri Valley)

.149 pounds
1.	Mike Vassar (Great Falls)
2.	Jimmy Eggemeyer (Southern Oregon)
3.	Isaiah Tatum (Grand View)
4.	Steven Sandefer (Cumberland – TN)
5.	Jake Ekster (Missouri Valley)
6. 	Nick Haugen (Baker)
7.	Kyle Terry (Campbellsville)
8.	Cody Green (Midland)
9.	Jeremiah Lutz (Brewton-Parker)
10. 	Jared Leithead (Hastings)
11.	Courtney Strauss (Bethany)
12.	Nester Ruleas (Dickinson State)
13.	Robbie Collum (Brewton-Parker)
14.	Nicholas Clarke (York)
14.	Josh Stewart (Oklahoma City)
16.	Joseph Weber (Briar Cliff)

157 pounds
1.	Conor Young (Campbellsville)
2.	Quinten Haynes (Grand View)
3.	Ryan Leonard (Great Falls)
4.	Mark Meyer (Oklahoma City)
5.	Chad Lowman (Grand View)
6.	Trever Devestern (Dakota Wesleyan)
7.	Colby Crank (Bethany)
8.	Michael Gonzalez (Cumberland-TN)
9.	Joe Cozart (Lindsey Wilson)
10.	Kyle Gerlach (Dakota Wesleyan)
11.	Dalton Urrutia (Southern Oregon)
12.	Shawn McGhee (Campbellsville)
13.	Tyler McMichael (Midland)
14.	Dylan King (Missouri Valley)
15.	Edward Cheff (Montana State-Northern)
16.	Chad Cebulski (Great Falls)

165 pounds
1.	Ethan Hinebauch (Montana State-Northern)
2.	Jimmie Schuessler (Grand View)
3.	Dallas Houchins (Grand View)
4.	Shawn Lau (Great Falls)
5.	James Bennett (Indiana Tech)
6.	James Haywood (Lindsey Wilson)
7.	Gian Traverso (Missouri Valley)
8.	Zach Skates (Oklahoma City)
9.	Sterling Terry (Midland)
9.	Nathan Sommer (Baker)
11.	Michael Nord (Jamestown)
12.	Bryce Alexander (Hannibal-LaGrange)
13.	Zachary Barkett (Cumberlands – KY)
14.	Zach Fishman (Northwestern)
15.	Brady Beamon (Simpson)
16.	Jason Fraser (Life)
16.	Chad Morehead (Morningside)

174 pounds
1.	Brock Gutches (Southern Oregon)
2.	Max Payne (Montana-State Northern)
3.	Thomas Moman (Grand View)
4.	Eziekiel Hunt (Cumberland – TN)
5.	Jameel Bryant (Lindsey Wilson)
6.	Tanner Martin (Indiana Tech)
7.	Rulin Pederson (Morningside)
8.	Cody Swim (Grand View)
9.	Anthony Pike (Waldorf)
10.	Stephen Loosbrock (Benedictine)
11.	Cameron Schrempp (Dickinson State)
12.	Taylor Vaughan (Great Falls)
13.	Teagan Franco (Oklahoma City)
14.	Andrew Carter-Johnson (Missouri Baptist)
14.	Nathan Downs (Hannibal-LaGrange)
16.	Parker Owen (Baker)

184 pounds
1.	Kody Reed (Montana State-Northern)
2.	Joseph Stephens (Lindsey Wilson)
3.	Josh Ashbrook (Campellsville)
4.	Mitchell Eichenauer (Oklahoma City)
5.	Jesse Hellinger (Dickinson State)
6.	Weston Keleher (Missouri Baptist)
7.	Jahsua Marsh (Midland)
8.	Brian Block (Morningside)
9.	Jacob Abrams (Southern Oregon)
10.	Christian Mays (Grand View)
11. 	Cody Linton (Cumberland – KY)
12.	Cody Sivertsen (Oklahoma City)
13.	Andrew Anthofer (Morningside)
14.	Jared Price (Baker)
14.	Trey Hicks (Life)
16.	Brett Bader (Missouri Valley)

197 pounds
1.	Derek Nightser (Grand View)
2.	Charles Johnson (Southern Oregon)
3.	Allen Scruggs (Campbellsville)
4.	Josh Manu (Missouri Valley)
5.	Jacob Bradford (Lindsey Wilson)
6.	Kyle Soderblom (William Penn)
7.	John Sievert (Morningside)
8.	Carl Lawrence (Missouri Valley)
9.	Kolton Kersten (Midland)
10.	Toby Cheff (Montana State-Northern)
11. 	Kevin Keisler (Dickinson State)
12.	Mike Brown (Oklahoma City)
13.	Fred Byars (Cumberlands KY)
14.	Eric Johnson (Calumet)
15.	Dylan Lemery (Great Falls)
16.	Bradlee Carls (York)

285 pounds
1.	Brandon Gebhardt (Baker)
2.	Eric Thompson (Grand View)
3.	Sears Tiernan (Great Falls)
4.	Jose Lopez (Dickinson State)
5.	Michael Pezzuto (Cumberlands – KY)
6.	Daniel Mueller (Missouri Valley)
7. 	Theodore Furnish (Lindsey Wilson)
8.	Lonnie Brown (Midland)
9.	Julius Anglikas (Missouri Baptist)
10.	Austin Lobsinger (Simpson)
11.	Logan Rimmer (Indiana Tech)
12.	Denzel Vaughan (St. Andrews)
13.	Nate Veverka (William Penn)
14.	Luis Contreras (Missouri Baptist)
15.	Stanley Lattimore (Oklahoma City)
16.	Bubba Owens (Southern Oregon)