Kansas City, Mo. - Four members of the Central Methodist Men's Wrestling team are ranked nationally in their respective weight classes, as the NAIA Men's Wrestling Coaches' Top 20 poll was released Thursday.
It is the most ranked individuals for the CMU Men in program history.
As a team, the Eagles continue to receive votes. Other Heart programs featured or mentioned in the Top 20 poll include; No. 1 Grand View, No. 17 Baker, No. 19 Missouri Valley, (RV) Graceland, (RV) William Penn, (RV) Benedictine College, (RV) Dickinson State, (RV) St. Ambrose, and (RV) Waldorf.
Junior Donald Griffin is the highest ranked grappler for CMU, as the native of St. Louis, Mo. is No. 10 at 157 pounds. Jason Shaw is ranked for the third straight poll, this time at No. 14 in the 133-pound weight class.
Freshman Elijah Hynes landed at No. 18 at 197, and two-time national qualifier Brenden Shelton is ranked 22nd at the 285-pound weight class.
Central is set to host rival Missouri Valley College Friday, Jan. 27 at 7:00 p.m. inside Puckett Field House for Senior Night.
To view the poll methodology and the complete Top 20 poll, please see below.
Poll Methodology
- The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the eight conferences.
- Two days prior to the national poll, 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 | Team | Conference | Points |
| 1 | 1 | Grand View (Iowa) | Heart | 299 |
| 2 | 2 | Life (Ga.) | Appalachian | 280 |
| 3 | 3 | Southeastern (Fla.) | Appalachian | 241 |
| 4 | 4 | Doane (Neb.) | Great Plains | 181 |
| 5 | 5 | Indiana Tech | Wolverine-Hoosier | 175 |
| 6 | 7 | Menlo (Calif.) | Cascade | 163 |
| 7 | 6 | Marian (Ind.) | Wolverine-Hoosier | 162 |
| 8 | 11 | Eastern Oregon | Cascade | 143 |
| 9 | 8 | Providence (Mont.) | Cascade | 130 |
| 10 | 12 | Reinhardt (Ga.) | Appalachian | 117 |
| 11 | 9 | Ottawa (Kan.) | Kansas Collegiate | 114 |
| 12 | 10 | Campbellsville (Ky.) | Mid-South | 109 |
| 13 | 15 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | Mid-South | 107 |
| 14 | 14 | Morningside (Iowa) | Great Plains | 101 |
| 15 | 13 | Cumberland (Tenn.) | Mid-South | 91 |
| 16 | 17 | Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) | Cascade | 77 |
| 17 | 19 | Baker (Kan.) | Heart | 74 |
| 18 | 18 | Thomas More (Ky.) | Mid-South | 73 |
| 19 | RV | Missouri Valley | Heart | 73 |
| 20 | 16 | Cumberlands (Ky.) | Mid-South | 70 |
Dropped From Poll: Southern Oregon
Receiving Votes: Montana State-Northern 69; Southern Oregon 62; Vanguard (Calif.) 54; Lourdes (Ohio) 44; Central Methodist (Mo.) 44; Oklahoma City 41; Keiser (Fla.) 38; Graceland (Iowa) 32; Briar Cliff (Iowa) 31; Saint Mary (Kan.) 30; Corban (Ore.) 29; Cornerstone (Mich.) 25; Midway (Ky.) 24; Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) 23; Avila (Mo.) 23; Brewton-Parker (Ga.) 22; Oklahoma Wesleyan 19; Rochester (Mich.) 16; Montreat (N.C.) 14; Concordia (Neb.) 14; Wayland Baptist (Texas) 12; William Penn (Iowa) 11; Northwestern (Iowa) 10; Benedictine (Kan.) 8; Rio Grande (Ohio) 7; Dickinson State (N.D.) 7; St. Ambrose (Iowa) 6; Waldorf (Iowa) 3; Texas Wesleyan 3; St. Thomas (Fla.) 2; Missouri Baptist 2
Top-Ranked Individuals | Individual Rankings
125 – Esco Walker, Grand View (Iowa)
133 – Carson Taylor, Grand View (Iowa)
141 – Baterdene Boldmaa, Doane (Neb.)
149 – Ryan Moore, Thomas More (Ky.)
157 – Giovanni Bonilla, Grand View (Iowa)
165 – Jack Bass, Life (Ga.)
174 – Isaiah Luellen, Grand View (Iowa)
184 – Eric Vermillion, Indiana Tech
197 – Zane Lanham, Life (Ga.)
285 – Greg Hagan, Grand View (Iowa)
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