NCAA Wrestling: Coaches’ Panel Wrestling Rankings Released – 285lbs Weight Class

The 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).

imageedit_70_4129606507The 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.

imageedit_75_4271491251The 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.

Nick Gwiazdowski of North Carolina State is the defending national champion. He is a two-time national champion. In Last year’s finals, Gwiazdowski defeated No. 3-ranked wrestler, Adam Coon of Michigan.

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

285 1 Nick Gwiazdowski North Carolina St. ACC
285 2 Ty Walz Virginia Tech ACC
285 3 Adam Coon Michigan Big Ten
285 4 Austin Marsden Oklahoma St. Big 12
285 5 Denzel Dejournette Appalachian St. SoCon
285 6 Joe Stolfi Bucknell EIWA
285 6 Sam Stoll Iowa Big Ten
285 8 Michael Kroells Minnesota Big Ten
285 9 Tanner Hall Arizona St. Pac 12
285 10 Max Wessell Lehigh EIWA
285 11 Amarveer Dhesi Oregon St. Pac 12
285 12 Billy Smith Rutgers Big Ten
285 13 Jared Johnson Chattanooga SoCon
285 14 Ross Larson Oklahoma Big 12
285 15 Riley Shaw Cleveland St. EWL
285 16 Blaize Cabell UNI MAC
285 17 Ryan Solomon Pittsburgh ACC
285 18 Nathan Butler Stanford Pac 12
285 19 Tanner Harms Wyoming Big 12
285 20 William Miller Edinboro EWL
285 20 Mike Hughes Hofstra EIWA
285 22 Collin Jensen Nebraska Big Ten
285 23 Brooks Black Illinois Big Ten
285 24 Dawson Peck Maryland Big Ten
285 25 Jeramy Sweany Cornell EIWA
285 26 Nick Gajdzik Harvard EIWA
285 26 Ray O`Donnell Princeton EIWA
285 28 Gage Hutchison Eastern Mich. MAC
285 29 Garrett Ryan Columbia EIWA
285 30 Patrick Gillen Virginia ACC
285 31 Quean Smith Iowa St. Big 12
285 32 Brock Horwath Wisconsin Big Ten
285 33 Boyce Cornwell Gardner-Webb SoCon
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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).