St. Cloud tops 2011-12 preseason NCAA Div. II rankings

EDMOND, Okla. — St. Cloud State (Minn.) enters the 2011-12 season as the No. 1 team in NCAA Division II wrestling, according to the preseason poll released by the NCAA Division II Wrestling Coaches Association Wednesday.

The Huskies, coming off a best-ever runner-up finish in last year’s national tournament, received four of the eight first-place votes cast in balloting of coaches from around the country and finished with 153 points in earning the favorite’s tag.

Newberry (S.C.), which has won four straight Super Region I titles and was sixth nationally last season, earned three first-place votes and is second in the poll with 150 points.  Upper Iowa came in third with 144 points, Nebraska-Kearney had the other first-place vote in finishing fourth with 132 and Grand Canyon (Ariz.) is fifth with 130.

Rounding out the top 10 is Augustana (S.D.), Central Oklahoma, Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.), Wisconsin-Parkside and Ashland (Ohio).

Twenty-nine teams received points in the wide-open voting, with first-year program Maryville (Mo.) coming in 15th with 47 points.  Nebraska-Omaha had its program disbanded last year after winning its third straight national championship and several members of that team, led by long-time head coach Mike Denney, went to Maryville.

The top 20 poll, with points and each team’s finish in last year’s national tournament following by the individual rankings at each weight:

Rank                School (State)            Points            Last Year’s Finish

1.  St. Cloud State (Minn.)   153  2nd

2. Newberry (S.C.)  150  6th

3. Upper Iowa  144  4th

4. Nebraska-Kearney   132  8th

5. Grand Canyon (Ariz.)   130  7th

6. Augustana (S.D.)   124  3rd

7. Central Oklahoma 107 13th

8. Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.)   94 T-10th

9. Wisconsin-Parkside   90  9th

10.  Ashland (Ohio)     74   20th

11.  Mercyhurst (Pa.)     70   25th

12.  Minnesota State      69  T-10th

13.    Adams State (Colo.)      63    21st

14.  Findlay (Ohio)      53   14th

15.  Maryville (Mo.)     47    NR

16.      Fort Hays State (Kan.)     44  T-22nd

17.  Limestone (S.C.)     31   27th

18.     North Carolina-Pembroke   28  T-17th

19.      San Francisco State (Calif.)      23  T-17th

20.  Shippensburg (Pa.)     15  T-22nd

Others receiving votes: Central Missouri, Colorado School of Mines, East Stroudsburg (Pa.), Gannon (Pa.), King (Tenn.), Kutztown (Pa.), Mary (N.D.), Northern State (S.D.), Western State (Colo.).

Individual Rankings

125 Pounds

1.         Connor McDonald, Newberry (S.C.)

2.         Kyle Pedretti, Upper Iowa

3.         Corey Ulmer, Minnesota State-Moorhead

4.         Terrell McKinney, Maryville (Mo.)

5.         Ben Sergent, Findlay (Ohio)

6.         Jerry Huff, Adams State (Colo.)

7.         Brandon Davis, Ashland (Ohio)

8.         Shane Summerlin, Belmont Abbey (N.C.)

133 Pounds

1.         Trevor Franklin, Upper Iowa

2.         Jason Jeremiason, Augustana (S.D.)

3.         Ryan Link, Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.)

4.         Trison Graham, Central Oklahoma

5.         Matt Oliver, Newberry (S.C.)

6.         Michael Magaha, Limestone (S.C.)

7.         Dan Mandara, Ashland (Ohio)

8.         Tyler Nelson, Colorado Mesa

141 Pounds

1.         Dalton Jensen, Nebraska-Kearney

2.         B.J. Young, Newberry (S.C.)

3.         Jack Bachman, Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.)

4.         Dan Genetin, Ashland (Ohio)

5.         Simon Rice, Shippensburg (Pa.)

6.         Adam Hluschak, East Stroudsburg (Pa.)

7.         Madison Gambrell, Grand Canyon (Ariz.)

8.         Nick Wykoff, West Liberty (W. Va.)

149 Pounds

1.         Nate Herda, Augustana (S.D.)

2.         Mitchell Means, Fort Hays State (Kan.)

3.         Tommy Abbott, Minnesota State

4.         Josh Hensley, Adams State (Colo.)

5.         Ethan Swope, Gannon (Pa.)

6.         Deral Brown, Newberry (S.C.)

7.         Nathan Link, Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.)

8.         Ryan Maus, Truman State (Mo.)

157 Pounds

1.         Dillon Bera, Wisconsin-Parkside

2.         T.J. Hepburn, Nebraska-Kearney

3.         Jordan Shields, Mercyhurst (Pa.)

4.         Teddy Bristol, Grand Canyon (Ariz.)

5.         Cory Dauphin, Central Oklahoma

6.         Marcus Edgington, Augustana (S.D.)

7.         J.D. Horn, St. Cloud State (Minn.)

8.         Winston Robbins, Upper Iowa

165 Pounds

1.         Tad Merritt, St. Cloud State (Minn.)

2.         Joey Wilson, Nebraska-Kearney

3.         Mike Williams, North Carolina-Pembroke

4.         Dylan Granard, Colorado Mesa

5.         Sean Brynes, Newberry (S.C.)

6.         Isaiah Jimenez, San Francisco State (Colo.)

7.         Jordan Larsen, Colorado School of Mines

8.         Ronald Tetreault, American International (Mass.)

174 Pounds

1.         Michael Lybarger, Findlay (Ohio)

2.         Luke Rynish, Wisconsin-Parkside

3.         Victor Carazo, Grand Canyon (Ariz.)

4.         Shamus O’Grady, St. Cloud State (Minn.)

5.         Kelly Henderson, Central Oklahoma

6.         Bryce Sopko, Limestone (S.C.)

7.         Carl Serck, Augustana (S.D.)

8.         Brendan Eichman, Minnesota State


184 Pounds

1.         Ross Brunkhardt, Nebraska-Kearney

2.         Mitch Schultz, Upper Iowa

3.         Matt Gille, Wisconsin-Parkside

4.         Derek Skala, St. Cloud State (Minn.)

5.         Tanner Keck, Central Oklahoma

6.         Brady Anderson, Mary (N.D.)

7.         Brandon Tressler, King (Tenn.)

8.         Londele Cox, Mercyhurst (Pa.)

197 Pounds

1.         Carl Broghammer, Upper Iowa

2.         Dan Scanlan, Limestone (S.C.

3.         Luke McPeek, Adams State (Colo.)

4.         Matt Baker, Maryville (Mo.)

5.         Pat Mahan, Minnesota State

6.         Frank Morgan, King (Tenn.)

7.         Eddie Ebewo, East Stroudsburg (Pa.)

8.         Karl Reed, Newberry (S.C.)

285 Pounds

1.         Matt Meuleners, Northern State (S.D.)

2.         Jacob Kahnke, St. Cloud State (Minn.)

3.         Jacob Southwick, Ashland (Ohio)

4.         Jake Elkins, Newberry (S.C.)

5.         Zach Rosol, Upper Iowa

6.         Fred Hale, Mercyhurst (Pa.)

7.         J.D. Ramsey, West Liberty (W. Va.)

8.            Cody Beck, Central Missouri