Dec. 19, 2012 NAIA Rankings

By Alan Grosbach, Manager of Communications and Sports Information

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – For the third week in a row, Grand View (Iowa) claims the No. 1 ranking in the NAIA Wrestling Coaches’ Top 20 Poll. The Vikings boast 11 ranked wrestlers, including top-ranked Derek Nightser at 197 pounds, en route to 148 team points in the third regular-season installment.
Four of the top five remained unchanged with No. 2 Southern Oregon (139.5 points), No. 3 Great Falls (Mont.) (102 points) and No. 4 Montana State-Northern (75 points) rounding out the quartet. No. 5 Missouri Valley returns to the top five after a one week hiatus with 74 points.

Four individuals have been ranked atop of their respective weight classes all season (including the preseason poll): Mitchell Lofstedt of Southern Oregon at 125 pounds, Jimmy Eggemeyer of Southern Oregon at 149 pounds, Ethan Heinbauch of Montana State-Northern at 165 pounds and Brock Gutches of Southern Oregon at 174 pounds.

Campbellsville’s Connor Young at 157 pounds and heavyweight Brandon Gebhardt of Baker (Kan.) are the edition’s individual newcomers, as eight of the 10 No. 1 ranked individuals held their position. Young boasts a 14-2 record this season and most recently finished second at the 34th annual Midwest Classic in Indianapolis, Ind., on Dec. 15 – 16. Gebhardt snaps former-No. 1 Eric Thompson’s (Grand View) streak of eight-straight top mentions in the heavyweight division. Gebhardt earned the top spot with a 5-2 overtime victory against Thompson at the Desert Duals in Las Vegas, Nev., on Dec. 16. The victory avenges Gebhardt’s loss against Thompson in the 2012 national championships title match.

The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the Qualifying Groups.
For a complete look at the 2012-13 NAIA Wrestling Coaches’ Top 20 Poll calendar, click here. The next regular-season poll will be announced on Jan. 9.

2012-13 NAIA Wrestling Coaches’ Top 20 Poll – No. 3 (Dec. 19)
Rank Prvs. School Total Team Points

1   1    Grand View (Iowa)   148
2   2     Southern Oregon   139.5
3   6  Great Falls (Mont.)  102
4   4   Montana State-Northern  75
5  9   Missouri Valley  74
6   4   Campbellsville (Ky.)  71
7  13   Oklahoma City   65
8   11   Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)  61
9   5   Morningside (Iowa)  59
10  9  Dickinson State (N.D.)   48
11  11  Baker (Kan.)  46.5
12   11  Cumberlands (Ky.)  42.5
13  16  Indiana Tech   42
13   12  Missouri Baptist  42
15  17  Midland (Neb.)  40
16   11   Menlo (Calif.)   35
17  17   Cumberland (Tenn.)  24
18  20  York (Neb.)  23
19   17  Dakota State (S.D.)  22.5
20  18  Bacone (Okla.)  17

Others receiving votes: Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) 16; Waldorf (Iowa) 16; Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.) 13; Northwestern (Iowa) 9.5; Life (Ga.) 9; Calumet (Ind.) 4.5; Concordia (Neb.) 4; Hastings (Neb.) 4; St. Andrews (N.C.) 4; Jamestown (N.D.) 3.5; Simpson (Calif.) 2.5; Brewton-Parker (Ga.) 1.5

Top-Ranked Individuals | Click here for Individual Rankings – PDF
125 – Mitchell Lofstedt, Southern Oregon
133 – Prescott Gardner, Southern Oregon
141 – Myles Mazurkiewicz, Great Falls (Mont.)
149 – Jimmy Eggemeyer, Southern Oregon
157 – Connor Young, Campbellsville (Ky.)
165 – Ethan Hinebauch, Montana State-Northern
174 – Brock Gutches, Southern Oregon
184 – Brian Block, Morningside (Iowa)
197 – Derek Nightser, Grand View (Iowa)
HWT – Brandon Gebhardt, Baker (Kan.)