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InterMat releases preseason Division I rankings
10/23/2009
InterMat Staff
InterMat has released its NCAA Division I preseason team and individual wrestling rankings for the 2009-10 season.
InterMat ranks the top 20 individual wrestlers in each weight class and the top 25 teams.
Two-time defending NCAA champion Iowa begins the season ranked No. 1. The Hawkeyes have eight wrestlers ranked, including 2008 NCAA champion Brent Metcalf, who is ranked No. 1 at 149 pounds.
Iowa State comes in at No. 2. The Cyclones, under the direction of first-year head coach Kevin Jackson, have nine wrestlers ranked. Jake Varner, a defending NCAA champion and 2009 U.S. Freestyle World Team member, is ranked No. 1 at 197 pounds.
Ohio State, who has had NCAA runner-up finishes the past two seasons, is ranked No. 3. The Buckeyes return seven starters and have two No. 1-ranked wrestlers in Reece Humphrey (141) and Mike Pucillo (184).
Defending NCAA champion Troy Nickerson (125) leads No. 4-ranked Cornell, who has finished in the top 20 every year since 2002, including three top-five finishes.
Minnesota, a program that has won three national titles since 2001, is ranked No. 5. The Golden Gophers have seven wrestlers ranked, including No. 1-ranked Dustin Schlatter (165), a 2006 NCAA champion and 2009 U.S. Freestyle World Team member.
Oklahoma State, Nebraska, Missouri, Boise State, and Maryland round out the top 10.
The Big Ten has the most representation of any conference in the team rankings with seven schools ranked. Those schools include Iowa (No. 1), Ohio State (No. 3), Minnesota (No. 5), Wisconsin (No. 11), Penn State (No. 14), Indiana (No. 15), and Michigan State (No. 21).
All five Big 12 schools appear in the team rankings, with four of those schools, Iowa State (No. 2), Oklahoma State (No. 6), Nebraska (No. 7), and Missouri (No. 8), ranked in the top 10.
Six 2009 NCAA champion are back to defend their titles: Nickerson (125), Franklin Gomez of Michigan State (133), Jordan Burroughs of Nebraska (157), Jarrod King of Edinboro (165), Jake Varner of Iowa State (197), and Mark Ellis of Missouri (285).
Additionally, four past NCAA champions return, including Angel Escobedo of Indiana (125), a 2008 NCAA champion; Metcalf (149), a 2008 NCAA champion; Schlatter (165), who won the NCAA title at 149 pounds in 2006; and Pucillo (184), a 2008 NCAA champion.
Rankings Link: http://www.intermatwrestle.com/rankings/college
InterMat ranks the top 20 individual wrestlers in each weight class and the top 25 teams.
Iowa State comes in at No. 2. The Cyclones, under the direction of first-year head coach Kevin Jackson, have nine wrestlers ranked. Jake Varner, a defending NCAA champion and 2009 U.S. Freestyle World Team member, is ranked No. 1 at 197 pounds.
Ohio State, who has had NCAA runner-up finishes the past two seasons, is ranked No. 3. The Buckeyes return seven starters and have two No. 1-ranked wrestlers in Reece Humphrey (141) and Mike Pucillo (184).
Defending NCAA champion Troy Nickerson (125) leads No. 4-ranked Cornell, who has finished in the top 20 every year since 2002, including three top-five finishes.
Minnesota, a program that has won three national titles since 2001, is ranked No. 5. The Golden Gophers have seven wrestlers ranked, including No. 1-ranked Dustin Schlatter (165), a 2006 NCAA champion and 2009 U.S. Freestyle World Team member.
Oklahoma State, Nebraska, Missouri, Boise State, and Maryland round out the top 10.
The Big Ten has the most representation of any conference in the team rankings with seven schools ranked. Those schools include Iowa (No. 1), Ohio State (No. 3), Minnesota (No. 5), Wisconsin (No. 11), Penn State (No. 14), Indiana (No. 15), and Michigan State (No. 21).
All five Big 12 schools appear in the team rankings, with four of those schools, Iowa State (No. 2), Oklahoma State (No. 6), Nebraska (No. 7), and Missouri (No. 8), ranked in the top 10.
Six 2009 NCAA champion are back to defend their titles: Nickerson (125), Franklin Gomez of Michigan State (133), Jordan Burroughs of Nebraska (157), Jarrod King of Edinboro (165), Jake Varner of Iowa State (197), and Mark Ellis of Missouri (285).
Additionally, four past NCAA champions return, including Angel Escobedo of Indiana (125), a 2008 NCAA champion; Metcalf (149), a 2008 NCAA champion; Schlatter (165), who won the NCAA title at 149 pounds in 2006; and Pucillo (184), a 2008 NCAA champion.
Rankings Link: http://www.intermatwrestle.com/rankings/college