Wrestlers jump to 18th in NAIA poll

Individual Rankings
Wayland Baptist jumped one spot to 18^th in the latest NAIA Wrestling Coaches' Top 20 Poll.

The Pioneers (8-7) were 19^th in the previous poll after being tied at that position before that. Wayland was the equivalent of tied for 21^st in the preseason poll.

The Pioneers have faced some tough competition of late, including top-ranked Grand View, Iowa, among Wayland's four ranked opponents. WBU has won once in its last six duals. That followed an impressive run of seven straight victories.

In the individual rankings, four Pioneers remain ranked in the top 16 of their respective weight classes. Despite dropping one spot since the last rankings, Andrew Porras holds WBU's highest ranking, sixth, in the 133-pound class. Victor Thomas jumped from 13^th to 10^th in 149s while Chris Hart went from sixth to 10^th in 141s. Mich Napier remained 12^th in 184s.

The third regular-season poll, announced Dec. 31, was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the four Qualifying Groups. The fourth regular-season poll will be announced Feb. 11.

Wayland next wrestles Jan. 25 at Colby Community College (Kan.) followed by the Midwest Duals in Kearney, Neb.
 

Rank	Previous Rank	School	Total Team Points
1	1	Grand View (Iowa)	177
2	2	Southern Oregon	111.5
3	3	Montana State-Northern	82.5
4	5	Campbellsville (Ky.)	72
5	4	Great Falls (Mont.)	70.5
6	T7	Indiana Tech	69.5
7	10	Menlo (Calif.)	48.5
8	13	Midland (Neb.)	48
9	T11	Embry-Riddle (Ariz.)	47.5
10	9	Missouri Valley	47
11	T11	Life (Ga.)	45.5
12	14	Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)	42.5
13	T7	Oklahoma City	42
14	6	Concordia (Neb.)	41
15	16	Baker (Kan.)	31.5
16	18	William Penn (Iowa)	29.5
17	20	Benedictine (Kan.)	23
18	19	Wayland Baptist (Texas)	21
19	RV	Morningside (Iowa)	20.5
20	17	York (Neb.)	20

Others receiving votes: Simpson (Calif.) 18.5; Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) 16; Warner Pacific (Ore.) 14; Cumberlands (Ky.) 12.5; Northwestern (Iowa) 12.5; Calumet (Ind.) 12; Doane (Neb.) 11.5; Dickinson State (N.D.) 11; Bethany (Kan.) 10; Briar Cliff (Iowa) 10; Jamestown (N.D.) 8; Cumberland (Tenn.) 7; Brewton-Parker (Ga.) 6; Missouri Baptist 5; Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.) 4.5; Williams Baptist (Ark.) 3; Lindenwood - Belleville (Ill.) 3; St. Catharine (Ky.) 2.5; Waldorf (Iowa) 2.5.