College wrestling rankings: NCAA standings feature multiple ties in second week of release

INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA has released updated standings for the 2019 NCAA Wrestling Awards that will be awarded in March at the respective Division I, II and III Wrestling Championships.

The inaugural NCAA Wrestling Awards were presented at the 2012 wrestling championships. The three awards, given in each division, honor the Most Dominant Wrestler as well as the student-athletes that have accumulated the most falls and the most technical falls throughout the course of the regular and postseasons.

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For falls and tech falls to be counted they must come against opponents in the same division (i.e. Division II vs. Division II). Ties in the two categories are broken based on the aggregate time.

The Division I lead in falls is also the all-division best mark as George Mason 165-pounder Colston DiBlasi has put his opponents’ shoulders down 14 times this season, two more than Central Michigan heavyweight Matt Stencel. Penn State national champion Bo Nickal and Kent State’s Andrew McNally are also in double figures with 10.

A three-way tie with eight falls marks the Division II standings for the second week in a row between Lake Erie’s Evan Loughman, Upper Iowa’s Justin Folley and Mercyhurst’s Jacob Robb. Loughman wins the tiebreaker with an aggregate time of 17:01 at heavyweight to rank first.

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The falls race in Division III features four wrestlers with 13 this season, paced by SUNY Oneonta heavyweight James Bethel with an aggregate time of 15:56 as it is taking him less than 75 seconds on average to deliver the fall. Wartburg’s Brennen Doebel, Mount Union’s Conner Homan and NYU’s Izaake Zuckerman also have reached 13 falls this season, while four more wrestlers are nipping at their heels with 12.

Oklahoma State’s Daton Fix has moved into a tie with Lock Haven’s Kyle Shoop, last year’s winner for most tech falls, with 10 in Division I. Shoop holds an eight-minute advantage in aggregate time to hold the tiebreaker and the top spot in this week’s standings. Minnesota’s Ethan Lizak is alone in third with eight at 133 pounds, followed by three more competitors with seven.

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Tech falls have been a little harder to come by in Division II, where four wrestlers have each earned a quartet of tech falls. Central Oklahoma 184-pounder Heath Gray holds the tiebreaker with an aggregate time of 18:13 over Augustana (South Dakota) 184-pounder Daniel Bishop in 19:44. Mercyhurst’s Logan Grass (20:24) and Josh Portillo of Nebraska-Kearney (21:18) are also within three minutes of the lead.

Messiah 149-pounder Stephen Maloney is pulling away early in Division III with 12 tech falls to lead all NCAA divisions. Heidelberg’s Jeremiah Slagle is trying to keep pace in solo second with nine, while Jordin James of Mount Union is in solo third with eight.

The initial Most Dominant Wrestler standings will be released later this season to allow wrestlers to achieve the minimum amount of matches required to be eligible for the standings.

NCAA STAT LEADERS — FALLS

NCAA STAT LEADERS — TECH FALLS

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