MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE ANNOUNCES FIRST 2020 JANUARY WRESTLING RANKINGS
Missouri selected as the favorite in first January rankings over Old Dominion, Rider and Lock Haven
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Mid-American Conference (MAC) has embarked on a historic 2019-20 wrestling season as the MAC welcomes seven new affiliate members this season as the Conference membership increases to 15 wrestling members, the second-largest NCAA Division I Wrestling Conference in the nation.
The Mid-American Conference wrestling coaches announced the first January weight class individual rankings and team rankings in conjunction with the league office today. Based on the rankings, seven-time defending MAC Champion Missouri Tigers (37.0 points) were selected first in the Conference over second-place Rider (24.0 points) and third-place Lock Haven (20.0 points) and Old Dominion (20.0 points).
The rankings also witnessed Central Michigan (19.0 points) in fifth place and Northern Illinois (15.0 points) in sixth place. Buffalo (12.0 points) and Clarion (12.0 points) were tied for seventh-place, while Edinboro (11.0 points) ranked ninth. Ohio (8.5 points) placed tenth, while SIUE (8.0 points), Kent State (7.0 points), Bloomsburg (6.5 points), George Mason (6.0 points) and Cleveland State (4.0 points) rounded out the team scoring.
Currently, the MAC is home to No. 21-ranked Missouri, while Central Michigan, Rider, Lock Haven and Northern Illinois have also received votes.
Last season, the MAC witnessed six All-Americans and 31 wrestlers seeded in the 2019 NCAA Wrestling Championship, and the rise of MAC wrestling continues with great expectations for the 2019-20 wrestling season.
The MAC had six All-Americans in 2019 and will see three of these All-Americans returned this season, including sophomore Brock Mauller (Missouri, 149), who finished fifth at the NCAA Championships, junior Matt Stencel (Central Michigan, 285), who placed seventh at the NCAA Championships and senior Larry Early (Old Dominion, 157), who finished eighth at the NCAA Championships last season.
In addition, six MAC wrestlers who won their respective weight class at the 2019 MAC Wrestling Championships have returned this season as well: junior Michael McGee (Old Dominion, 125), sophomore Brock Mauller (Missouri, 149), sophomore Jarrett Jacques (Missouri, 157), senior Troy Keller (Buffalo, 165), senior Dylan Wisman (Missouri, 184) and junior Matt Stencel (Central Michigan, 285
Last March, the MAC announced a historic membership expansion in the sport of wrestling as the MAC added seven new affiliate members – Bloomsburg, Clarion, Edinboro, Lock Haven, Rider, George Mason and Cleveland State – to begin competing in the MAC with the 2019-20 wrestling season.
The addition of seven new affiliate members increases MAC wrestling membership to 15 total members. Bloomsburg, Clarion, Edinboro, Lock Haven, Rider, George Mason and Cleveland State all joined the MAC from the Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) making the MAC the second largest NCAA Division I Wrestling conference.
The rankings will be released each month throughout the season, with one additional ranking system (two total) in January and February. The first January rankings are voted on by the league’s head coaches in an open forum as follows:
2020 MAC Weight Class Rankings:
125 lb. weight class
1. Drew Hildebrandt (Central Michigan, Junior)
2. Luke Werner (Lock Haven, Junior)
3. Killian Cardinale (Old Dominion, Sophomore)
4. Jonathan Tropea (Rider, Junior)
5. Bryce West (Northern Illinois, Sophomore)
6. Dack Punke (Missouri, Sophomore)
133 lb. weight class
1. Derek Spann (Buffalo, Junior)
2. DJ Fehlman (Lock Haven, Senior)
3. Tim Rooney (Kent State, Senior)
4. Allan Hart (Missouri, Sophomore)
5. Tye Varndell (Edinboro, Freshman)
6. Mario Guillen (Ohio, Junior)
141 lb. weight class
1. Sa’Derian Perry (Old Dominion, Senior)
2. Grant Leeth (Missouri, Junior)
3. Kyle Shoop (Lock Haven, Senior)
4. Dresden Simon (Central Michigan, Junior)
5. Evan Cheek (Cleveland State, Senior)
6. Shakur Laney (Ohio, Senior)
149 lb. weight class
1. Brock Mauller (Missouri, Sophomore)
2. Brock Zacherl (Clarion, Senior)
3. Colston DiBlasi (George Mason, Senior)
4. Alec Hagan (Ohio, Sophomore)
5. Tyshawn Williams (SIUE, Senior)
6. McCoy Kent (Northern Illinois, Senior)
157 lb. weight class
1. Jesse Dellavecchia (Rider, Senior)
2. Jarrett Jacques (Missouri, Sophomore)
3. Larry Early (Old Dominion, Senior)
4. Logan Parks (Central Michigan, Senior)
5. Justin Ruffin (SIUE, Sophomore)
6. Alex Klucker (Lock Haven, Senior)
165 lb. weight class
1. Troy Keller (Buffalo, Senior)
2. Shane Jones (Old Dominion, Senior)
3. Izzak Olejnik (Northern Illinois, Redshirt Freshman)
4. Peyton Mocco (Missouri, Redshirt Freshman)
5. Cornelius Schuster (George Mason, Sophomore)
t-6. Joe Terry (Ohio, Junior)
t-6. Nate Newberry (Bloomsburg, Senior)
174 lb. weight class
1. Dean Sherry (Rider, Senior)
2. Jeremiah Kent (Missouri, Redshirt Freshman)
3. Jacob Oliver (Edinboro, Sophomore)
4. Andrew McNally (Kent State, Junior)
5. Jared Siegrist (Lock Haven, Senior)
6. Kenny Moore (Northern Illinois, Senior)
184 lb. weight class
1. Trevor Allard (Bloomsburg, Junior)
2. Dylan Wisman (Missouri, Senior)
3. Brit Wilson (Northern Illinois, Sophomore)
4. Corey Hazel (Lock Haven, Senior)
5. George Walton (Rider, Sophomore)
6. Antonio Agee (Old Dominion, Senior)
197 lb. weight class
1. Ethan Laird (Rider, Junior)
2. Greg Bulsak (Clarion, Junior)
3. Wyatt Koelling (Missouri, Junior)
4. Gage Braun (Northern Illinois, Redshirt Freshman)
5. Ben Smith (Cleveland State, Sophomore)
6. Landon Pelham (Central Michigan, Junior)
285 lb. weight class
1. Matt Stencel (Central Michigan, Junior)
2. Jon Spaulding (Edinboro, Junior)
3. Colton McKiernan (SIUE, Sophomore)
4. Jordan Earnest (Ohio, Redshirt Freshman)
5. Ty Bagoly (Clarion, Sophomore)
6. Ryan Cloud (Rider, Senior)
The first January team rankings were also decided in the same forum. The 15 schools were ranked based on the number of first through sixth-place votes that were earned in the individual voting system. A first-place vote was worth six team points; a second-place vote earned five team points; third-seeded votes were worth four team points, while a fourth-place tally earned three points, with a fifth-place vote earned two points and a sixth-place vote received one point in the team ranking system. The team rankings for the MAC are as follows:
2020 MAC January (first of two) Rankings
1. Missouri (37.0)
2. Rider (24.0)
t-3. Lock Haven (20.0)
t-3. Old Dominion (20.0)
5. Central Michigan (19.0)
6. Northern Illinois (15.0)
t-7. Buffalo (12.0)
t-7. Clarion (12.0)
9. Edinboro (11.0)
10. Ohio (8.5)
11. SIUE (8.0)
12. Kent State (7.0)
13. Bloomsburg (6.5)
14. George Mason (6.0)
15. Cleveland State (4.0)
The 2019 MAC Wrestling Championships will be held March 7-8 and hosted by Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Ill.
Last year, Missouri won its seventh consecutive MAC Championship with 180 points, followed by second-place Buffalo (113.5 points) and third-place Central Michigan (112.5 points). Old Dominion (111.0 points) finished fourth, followed by Ohio (99.5 points), Northern Illinois (98.0 points), SIU Edwardsville (68.5 points) and Kent State (66.0 points).
