Full NWCA Preseason Release
INDIANAPOLIS – Three teams from the Great Midwest Athletic Conference appeared in the preseason edition of Division II rankings released by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA)/Intermat on Friday.
Previously, The Open Mat (TOM) and FloWrestling published preseason team/individual rankings with plenty of Great Midwest representation for the 2020-21 season slated to start in January.
Tiffin and new associate member Ashland are both in the top 10 of the NWCA rankings, slotted in at No. 8 and No. 9, respectively. Findlay is also in the mix assigned at No. 17. Lake Erie received 10 votes to be on the radar.
Individually, many of the same familiar faces were listed in the NWCA/Intermat weight class rankings with 13 Great Midwest standouts. Ashland led Great Midwest schools with five individuals, Findlay and Tiffin each sport three and Lake Erie had two.
Ashland's nationally ranked grapplers includes Carson Speelman locked at No. 4 for 149, Drew Wiechers appearing at No. 12 for 157, Aiden Pasiuk No. 3 at 184 pounds, Peter Abraham ranked 11th at 197 and Tristen Weirich starting sixth at heavyweight.
Ashland's program announced a recent head coaching hire with the addition of Colton Sponseller.
Tiffin, coached by Joey Simcoe was paced by 2019 national champ Nick Mason placed second at 197 pounds. Chris Donathan is No. 3 at 149 and Bryan LaVearn is No. 6 at 157.
Findlay, coached by Shawn Nelson, features No. 12 ranked Zachary Collins at 125 pounds, co-Freshman of the Year Branson Proudlock is at No. 5 for 141 pounds and James Wimer is No. 3 at 157 pounds.
Lake Erie, coached by Jeff Breese, was repped by James Penfold at 165 pounds ranked 10th and Chris Droege starting the season seventh at 197.
The only weight classes without a Great Midwest wrestler in the NWCA/Intermat rankings was 133 and 174 pounds.
The NCAA Division II Coaches Rankings are voted on and compiled by two head coaches from each of the six Super Regions. Following the preseason edition of the poll, three regular season rankings are planned throughout the season leading up to the 2021 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships.
The Great Midwest Wrestling Championship will be conducted on Saturday, Jan. 23, hosted by Kentucky Wesleyan in Jones Gymnasium with all six Great Midwest programs in attendance. Instead of the team duals format, each weight class will be seeded using the same method for super regionals. There will be a team champion and individual champion in all 10 weight classes while the top three place winners in each weight will receive hardware on the all-conference team. In addition, a Great Midwest Wrestler of the Meet will also be voted upon by the league's participating coaches.
Great Midwest Wrestlers - NWCA/Intermat Preseason Rankings
125 Pounds
No. 12 - Zachary Collins (Findlay)
141 Pounds
No. 5 - Branson Proudlock (Findlay)
149 Pounds
No. 3 - Chris Donathan (Tiffin)
No. 4 - Carson Speelman (Ashland)
157 Pounds
No. 3 - James Wimer (Findlay)
No. 12 - Drew Wiechers (Ashland)
165 Pounds
No. 6 - Bryan LaVearn (Tiffin)
No. 10 - James Penfold (Lake Erie)
184 Pounds
No. 3 - Aiden Pasiuk (Ashland)
197 Pounds
No. 2 - Nick Mason (Tiffin)
No. 7 - Chris Droege (Lake Erie)
No. 11 - Peter Abraham (Ashland)
HWT
No. 6 - Tristen Weirich (Ashland)