Kansas City, Mo. - The Central Methodist Men's Wrestling team had five grapplers nationally ranked in their respective weight classes, as the NAIA announced the second edition of the NAIA Men's Wrestling Coaches' Top 20 poll last week.
It marks the most wrestlers ranked by the program in a single poll in school history.
Redshirt sophomore Colton King remains at No. 6 in the 125 pound weight class. Fellow redshirt sophomore James Griffin lands at No. 13 at 157 pounds, while freshman Roman Garcia enters the Top 25 for the first time at No. 16 in the 165 pound weight class.
Juniors Cameron Cornman and Garine Gibson are ranked 25th and 21st in the 197 and 285 pound weight class respectively.
As a team, Central continues to receive votes in the Top 20 poll.
CMU will next compete in the Eagle Duals hosted by Avila University Saturday, Jan. 16 beginning at 10:00 a.m. in Kansas City, Mo.
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) | 276 |
| 2 | 2 | Life (Ga.) | 234 |
| 3 | 4 | Menlo (Calif.) | 174 |
| 4 | 3 | Southeastern (Fla.) | 163 |
| 5 | 6 | Doane (Neb.) | 155 |
| 6 | 11 | Providence (Mont.) | 127 |
| 7 | 13 | Reinhardt (Ga.) | 123 |
| 8 | 7 | Campbellsville (Ky.) | 120 |
| 9 | 10 | Cumberlands (Ky.) | 117 |
| 10 | 12 | Ottawa (Kan.) | 115 |
| 11 | RV | Missouri Valley | 103 |
| 12 | RV | Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) | 100 |
| 12 | 18 | Indiana Tech | 100 |
| 14 | 5 | Morningside (Iowa) | 99 |
| 15 | 15 | Cumberland (Tenn.) | 96 |
| 15 | 9 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 96 |
| 17 | 14 | Marian (Ind.) | 89 |
| 18 | 20 | Baker (Kan.) | 88 |
| 19 | 16 | Saint Mary (Kan.) | 87 |
| 20 | RV | Oklahoma City | 81 |
| 20 | 19 | Southern Oregon | 81 |
Dropped From Top 20: Eastern Oregon; Montana State-Northern
Receiving Votes: Eastern Oregon 76; Montana State-Northern 73; Keiser (Fla.) 60; Corban (Ore.) 55; Central Methodist (Mo.) 54; Lourdes (Ohio) 51; Briar Cliff (Iowa) 50; St. Thomas (Fla.) 43; Cornerstone (Mich.) 37; Texas Wesleyan 34; Rochester (Mich.) 29; William Penn (Iowa) 29; Graceland (Iowa) 27; Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) 26; Wayland Baptist (Texas) 24; Midway (Ky.) 23; Avila (Mo.) 22; Northwestern (Iowa) 20; Concordia (Neb.) 19; Rio Grande (Ohio) 19; Vanguard (Calif.) 18; Missouri Baptist 16; Dickinson State (N.D.) 15; St. Ambrose (Iowa) 15; Oklahoma Wesleyan 11; Arizona Christian 10; Brewton-Parker (Ga.) 10; Simpson (Calif.) 8; Siena Heights (Mich.) 6; Friends (Kan.) 4; Jamestown (N.D.) 4; Central Baptist (Ark.) 2
Top-Ranked Individuals | Individual Rankings
125 – Hunter Sparks, Eastern Oregon
133 – Carson Taylor, Grand View (Iowa)
141 – Evan Potter, Southern Oregon
149 – Blake Gonzalez, Grand View (Iowa)
157 – Brevin Balmeceda, Life (Ga.)
165 – Matt Jenkins, Reinhardt (Ga.)
174 – Riley Smucker, Life (Ga.)
184 – Isaiah Luellen Grand View (Iowa)
197 – Owen Braungardt, Grand View (Iowa)
285 – Greg Hagan, Grand View (Iowa)
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