NCAA Wrestling: Coaches’ Panel Wrestling Rankings Released – 149lbs Weight Class

imageedit_32_4037076041The Division-1 college wrestling coaches’ panel rankings have been released. The Big Ten claims five of the top Ten No. 1 ranked wrestlers in the nation. Five of the ten No. 1 wrestlers in the nation are former national champions. Nathan Tomasello of Ohio State (125 pounds), Isaiah Martinez of Illinois (157), Alex Dieringer of Oklahoma State (165), Gabriel Dean of Cornell (184) and Nick Gwiazdowski of North Carolina State (heavyweight).

The additional top-ranked wrestlers at each weight class in the inaugural rankings are: Nahshon Garrett, Cornell (133 pounds); Dean Heil, Oklahoma State (141); Zain Retherford, Penn State (149); Bo Nickal, Penn State (174) and Morgan McIntosh, Penn State (197).

Wrestlers in each weight class will be measured by winning percentage, rating percentage index (RPI) and coaches’ rankings to earn spots in their qualifying tournaments for the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. The coaches’ rankings are compiled by a vote of coaches representing each qualifying tournament. For ranking purposes, coaches may only consider a wrestler that has been designated as a starter at a respective weight class. In order to be eligible for the rankings, wrestlers must have participated in at least five matches against Division I opponents in the weight class and have wrestled within the last 30 days.

The first of four coaches’ panel rankings for the 2015-16 wrestling season were released Thursday out of Indianapolis. The final rankings will be one of the components used as part of the selection process to determine the qualifiers for the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. This year’s event is March 17-19 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Zain Retherford is a red-shirt sophomore. He is an All-American and Big Ten Runner-up. He has only lost in the Big Ten finals against 4x champion Logan Stieber and in the NCAA championship tournament. He also beat Logan Stieber in dual action two seasons ago as a true freshmen. He red-shirted last season.

Rankings are through matches of Jan. 17th, 2016.

149 1 Zain Retherford Penn St. Big Ten
149 2 Brandon Sorensen Iowa Big Ten
149 3 Lavion Mayes Missouri MAC
149 4 Jason Tsirtsis Northwestern Big Ten
149 5 Jake Sueflohn Nebraska Big Ten
149 6 Alec Pantaleo Michigan Big Ten
149 7 Evan Henderson North Carolina ACC
149 8 Alexander Richardson Old Dominion MAC
149 9 Colin Heffernan Central Mich. MAC
149 10 Matthew Cimato Drexel EIWA
149 11 Charles Cobb Penn EIWA
149 12 Jake Short Minnesota Big Ten
149 13 Mitch Finesilver Duke ACC
149 14 Matthew Kraus Arizona St. Pac 12
149 15 Anthony Collica Oklahoma St. Big 12
149 16 Geo Martinez Boise St. Pac 12
149 17 Bryant Clagon Rider EWL
149 18 Gabe Moreno Iowa St. Big 12
149 18 Mike DePalma Kent St. MAC
149 20 Paul Fox Stanford Pac 12
149 21 Victor Lopez Bucknell EIWA
149 22 Daniel Neff Lock Haven EWL
149 23 Davion Jeffries Oklahoma Big 12
149 24 Nick Barber Eastern Mich. MAC
149 25 Laike Gardner Lehigh EIWA
149 26 Alex Griffin Purdue Big Ten
149 27 Coleman Hammond CSU Bakersfield Pac 12
149 28 Chris Perez Princeton EIWA
149 29 Luke Blanton Indiana Big Ten
149 30 Tyson Dippery Rutgers Big Ten
149 30 Matthew Frisch The Citadel SoCon
149 32 Timmy Box Northern Colo. Big 12
149 33 Steven Galiardo Brown EIWA
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Kyle Carroll
Kyle Carroll is a Long Island, N.Y. native and avid MMA and amateur wrestling fan. He has been a part of the wrestling community for nearly 20 years. Carroll has six years of experience coaching high school wrestling. His father coached high school wrestling over 35 years, passing on his strong knowledge. Carroll has been reporting MMA news since January 2011. The former wrestler’s coverage includes the 2012 U.S. Olympic Wrestling Team Trials, 2013 & 2016 NCAA D1 Wrestling Championship, and numerous MMA events (Bellator MMA, King of the Cage, North American Fighting Championship, and Glory).