COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Wrestling will open the 2016-17 season as the No. 5-ranked team in the USA Today/NWCA Division I Coaches Poll, as announced on Wednesday by the National Wrestling Coaches Association.
The No. 5 ranking marks the third consecutive season Mizzou has opened the season in the top-10, ranking No. 6 in the 2014 preseason poll and No. 9 in the 2015 preseason poll. Mizzou is one of three Mid-American Conference teams ranked in the first NWCA Coaches Poll. The Tigers are joined by No. 19 Central Michigan and No. 22 Northern Iowa.
In 2016-17, the Tigers return all four NCAA All-Americans from last year's team which captured its fifth consecutive conference championship and finished sixth at the NCAA Championships in New York. Senior 197-pounder J'den Cox (Columbia, Mo.) became the second wrestler to win two NCAA titles when he outlasted top-seeded Morgan McIntosh (Penn State), 3-2, in the NCAA 197-pound final inside Madison Square Garden. Joining Cox on the podium as All-Americans in the world's most famous arena was redshirt senior 149-pounder Lavion Mayes (Mascoutah, Ill.), redshirt sophomore 165-pounder Daniel Lewis (Blue Springs, Mo.) and redshirt junior 184-pounder Willie Miklus (Altoona, Iowa).
For all the latest on Mizzou Wrestling, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (MizzouWrestling).
USA Today/NWCA Division I Coaches Poll
|
Rank |
Team (First) |
2015-16 Record |
Points |
Conference |
|
1 |
Oklahoma State (10) |
13-3 |
392 |
Big 12 |
|
2 |
Penn State (5) |
16-0 |
371 |
Big Ten |
|
3 |
Iowa |
16-1 |
357 |
Big Ten |
|
4 |
Ohio State (1) |
11-3 |
349 |
Big Ten |
|
5 |
Mizzou |
14-2 |
344 |
MAC |
|
6 |
Virginia Tech |
16-2 |
326 |
ACC |
|
7 |
Nebraska |
10-6 |
303 |
Big Ten |
|
8 |
Cornell |
6-5 |
263 |
EIWA |
|
9 |
NC State |
23-1 |
256 |
ACC |
|
10 |
Michigan |
13-3 |
239 |
Big Ten |
|
11 |
Lehigh |
13-3 |
236 |
EIWA |
|
12 |
Rutgers |
16-5 |
236 |
Big Ten |
|
13 |
Illinois |
13-5 |
210 |
Big Ten |
|
14 |
Iowa State |
10-6 |
173 |
Big 12 |
|
15 |
Minnesota |
10-8 |
168 |
Big Ten |
|
16 |
Oregon State |
11-6 |
153 |
Pac-12 |
|
17 |
Stanford |
11-4 |
148 |
Pac-12 |
|
18 |
Oklahoma |
10-5 |
101 |
Big 12 |
|
19 |
Central Michigan |
11-5 |
92 |
MAC |
|
20 |
Wisconsin |
4-8 |
85 |
Big Ten |
|
21 |
Arizona State |
12-7 |
75 |
Pac-12 |
|
22 |
Northern Iowa |
4-10 |
52 |
MAC |
|
23 |
Pittsburgh |
10-7 |
49 |
ACC |
|
24 |
Chattanooga |
12-4 |
46 |
SoCon |
|
25 |
North Carolina |
13-5 |
42 |
ACC |