Kansas City, Mo. - Three members of the Central Methodist Men's Wrestling program are ranked in the Top 20 of their respective weight classes in the Preseason edition of the NAIA Men's Wrestling Coaches' Top 20 poll.
Colton King (125), James Griffin (157), and Garine Gibson (285) are the three Eagles representing the program.
King, a redshirt sophomore, is ranked No. 6 in his respective weight class and is the highest ranked wrestler in the Heart at 125 pounds.
Newcomer Garine Gibson lands at No. 19 in the 285-pound weight class.
Griffin is the highest-ranked wrestler for the Eagles, as he lands at No. 2 in the 157 pound weight class. In his first year in 2022-23, Griffin posted a 6-2 record at the NAIA National Championships last March, earning a fourth-place standing and becoming one of the first NAIA All-Americans in program history.
As a team, the Eagles are receiving votes in the national polls after finishing last year 14th at the NAIA National Championships. It marked the highest finish for the team in program history.
To view the poll methodology and the complete Top 20 poll, please see below.
Rating Methodology
- The rating was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the eight conferences/groups.
- Two days prior to the national rating, each qualifying group rater submits the top 10 individuals from each weight class in his conference into the system. Only wrestlers listed on a conference ballot are considered for the national ballot.
- The top 25 individuals in each weight class is based on how each voter ranks the best individuals. An individual receives 25 points for each first place vote, 24 for second place and so on through the list. This same point system is used to determine the team ranking.
- The highest and lowest ranking for each team (a non-rating is considered a low rating) is removed and the team's ranking will be recalculated with an additional point added to each team for every ballot
- For the complete Top 20 calendar, click here.
| Rank | Last Time | Team | Points |
| 1 | 1 | Grand View (Iowa) | 250 |
| 2 | 2 | Life (Ga.) | 227 |
| 3 | 3 | Southeastern (Fla.) | 168 |
| 4 | 7 | Menlo (Calif.) | 144 |
| 5 | 13 | Campbellsville (Ky.) | 142 |
| 6 | 10 | Morningside (Iowa) | 141 |
| 7 | 20 | Montana State-Northern | 118 |
| 8 | 9 | Providence (Mont.) | 116 |
| 9 | 12 | Ottawa (Kan.) | 114 |
| 10 | 16 | Cumberlands (Ky.) | 113 |
| 11 | 4 | Doane (Neb.) | 109 |
| 12 | 11 | Reinhardt (Ga.) | 104 |
| 13 | 15 | Cumberland (Tenn.) | 102 |
| 14 | 14 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 101 |
| 15 | 5 | Indiana Tech | 100 |
| 16 | RV | Oklahoma City | 96 |
| 17 | 8 | Eastern Oregon | 92 |
| 18 | 6 | Marian (Ind.) | 85 |
| 19 | 19 | Baker (Kan.) | 84 |
| 20 | RV | Southern Oregon | 75 |
Receiving Votes: Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) 74; Missouri Valley 71; Keiser (Fla.) 60; Briar Cliff (Iowa) 58; Lourdes (Ohio) 58; Central Methodist (Mo.) 54; Saint Mary (Kan.) 52; William Penn (Iowa) 46; Corban (Ore.) 45; Midway (Ky.) 45; Cornerstone (Mich.) 44; Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) 37; Oklahoma Wesleyan 33; Texas Wesleyan 33; St. Thomas (Fla.) 32; Rio Grande (Ohio) 32; Wayland Baptist (Texas) 32; Avila (Mo.) 28; Graceland (Iowa) 24; Northwestern (Iowa) 22; Vanguard (Calif.) 22; Dickinson State (N.D.) 21; St. Ambrose (Iowa) 20; Concordia (Neb.) 17; Missouri Baptist 16; Simpson (Calif.) 12; Arizona Christian 10; Bethany (Kan.) 8; Rochester (Mich.) 8; Waldorf (Iowa) 6; Brewton-Parker (Ga.) 5; York (Neb.) 5; Montreat (N.C.) 3; Central Baptist (Ark.) 2
Top-Ranked Individuals | Individual Rankings
125 – Hunter Sparks, Eastern Oregon
133 – Carson Taylor, Grand View (Iowa)
141 – Pat Gould, Keiser (Fla.)
149 – Brevin Balmeceda, Life (Ga.)
157 – Salvador Silva, Southeastern (Fla.)
165 – Rysan Leong, Menlo (Calif.)
174 – Riley Smucker, Life (Ga.)
184 – Jesse Daniel Perez, Ottawa (Kan.)
197 – Owen Braungardt, Grand View (Iowa)
285 – Greg Hagan, Grand View (Iowa)
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