MANHEIM, Pa. – The National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) released their Preseason National Team and Individual Rankings on Thursday (Oct. 24) afternoon ahead of next week's official start date.
Colorado Mesa checked into the rankings at No. 18 at 26.5 points with four ranked wrestlers heading into the season. The Mavericks are the second team from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in the poll with Adams State just a half-point better at No. 17 with 27 points.
Fellow NCAA Super Region VI foe Nebraska-Kearney is the preseason favorite with 73 total points and eight nationally ranked wrestlers. Lander is the only team in the rankings that has all 10 wrestlers ranked in the preseason.
The Mavericks finished in a tie for 17
th place with three All-Americans at last season's NCAA National Championship. Two of those three All-Americans were featured in the NWCA Preseason National Rankings.
At 125 pounds, junior
Dayson Torgerson will open the season ranked No. 4 after earning All-American honors during last year's NCAA National Championships. He won the Super Region VI Tournament after defeating a pair of wrestlers ranked ahead of him and later went on to finish seventh at the NCAA Championships. He finished the season 23-8 and upped his career record to 42-19.
Alex Castaneda will begin the year ranked No. 13 at 149 pounds. The Eaton, Colo. native narrowly missed the National Tournament after placing fourth at the NCAA Super Region VI Tournament falling to Western Colorado's Dean Noble 17-16 in the third-place bout. Castaneda finished the season with a 19-11 overall record and is now 41-32 in his career.
Redshirt junior
Owen Cline will start the season ranked No. 5 at 157 pounds after reaching the semifinals of the NCAA National Championships and finishing in fourth place a season ago. Cline lost his opening bout of the NCAA Super Region VI Tournament before rattling off four straight wins to capture third place and his ticket to the NCAA Tournament. He finished the season with a 16-5 record and is 33-16 in his career.
The Mavericks final preseason nationally ranked wrestler is redshirt senior
Gabriel Carranza. The Victorville, Calif. native checks into the preseason rankings at No. 10 at 197 pounds after qualifying for the NCAA Championships. He placed third at the NCAA Super Region VI Tournament and finished the season with a 15-9 record and is now 59-29 in his career.
The Mavericks are slated to open the season with a pair of exhibition duals against Colorado Northwestern CC and Northeastern Junior College on Saturday November 1 at 12pm.
