Attrition and head-to-head upsets have taken their toll on the NCWA rankings early this season with seven new #1 ranked wrestlers. For full rankings see the following: NCWA Rankings 11.23.16

Starting off at 125-lbs, news of a redshirt year taken by returning NCWA Champion Brent Newcomer (So, Emmanuel) allowed for Byron Smith (Jr, Middle Tennessee, 11-3, transfer from Memphis) to take over the #1 spot after going 1-1 at the Shorter Open this past weekend against Tim Sakow (Jr, Central Florida, 5-2). Smith got the go-ahead as the #1 guy after finishing higher in the tough tournament. Following close behind are Brendon Hazelton (So, Grand Valley, 11-0), and Anthony DeCesare (Fr, US Air Force Prep, 8-4) who won the Mott Open and NW Wyoming Open this past weekend, respectively. Four All-Americans have returned in all, including Smith, Sakow, Hazelton, and Jiro DeLoach (Jr, Texas State, 2-2).

At 133-lbs, the scenery hasn't changed at the top with returning National Champion Darius Bunch (So, Emmanuel, 7-2) heading the list. Following him are the only other returning All-Americans at the weight in De'Ante Evans (So, Toledo, 6-3, transfer from Defiance College) and Dylan Carlile (So, Emmanuel, 3-3). Rounding out the top-5 are Nicholas Reddy (Jr, Grand Valley, 1-1) and Justus Griffith (Sr, Central Florida, 3-1).

Emmanuel stays strong at the top of the 141-lb weight class with Stephen Hale (Sr, 0-0) as the new #1 wrestler after a runner-up finish to MOW Zachary Cooper of Grand Valley, who did not return this season. Hale is followed by five other returning All-Americans with new #2 Carlos Garcia (Jr, Middle Tennessee, 4-1) finishing 5th at 141 in 2015 and coming back from an injury-plagued 2016 campaign. The remaining returning All-Americans include Matthew Seymour (So, Central Florida, 1-2), Aaron Bright (Jr, Apprentice, 2-2), Brandon Robinson (So, Liberty, 11-4), and 3x AA Zach Vatalare (Sr, Michigan WC, 4-0) who is stepping up to 141 from 133.

Moving up 3 spots at 149-lbs, Tyler Megonigal (Fr, Liberty, 5-0) is the new #1 ranked wrestler and recently placed 1st at 157 at the Messiah Invitational. Megonigal has an impressive wrestling background with three Maryland state titles to go along with his Virginia state title as a Senior. He will look to follow in several Liberty alumni footsteps on his way to Maryland's Big10 squad in the future. Following Megonigal is Jeremiah Lutz (Sr, Emmanuel, 0-0) who finished 3rd at 157 in 2016, Antonio Martinez (Sr, Texas, 7-1), and Dan Ritz (So, Penn State WC, 3-1). Wrestling enthusiasts may recall that Martinez brought home the Gold medal from the Copa Sparta this year at 154 lbs, which shows how tough this weight class is.

It is never surprising to see a wrestler from the United States Air Force Preparatory Academy at the top of the rankings, but perhaps the impressive fashion in which Parker Simington (Fr, USAFA, 14-3) has done it. Parker has already placed 3rd at the very tough Cowboy Open, 3rd at the Northern Colorado Open, and 3rd at the NW Wyoming Open, losing only to Seitz of Nebraska-Kearney 3-2 and Krueger of Wyoming twice (5-4 and 8-5). Following him as the new #2 is James Neirem (Fr, South Florida, 3-1) who had an impressive first college tournament of his own taking former Ohio State Buckeye, Cam Tessari, to overtime in the finals of the Shorter Roman Open. The next four wrestlers in the rankings are all returning All-Americans in Joe Staley (Jr, James Madison, 3-2), Jay Sheppard (So, Emmanuel, 7-3), Brett Naylor (Jr, Utah State, 0-0), and Michael King (So, Middle Tennessee, 2-1).

With the exodus of former #1 Clay Kocsis to 174-lbs, Taylor Workman (Jr, Toledo, 8-1) takes over as the new #1 at 165-lbs. Workman has two first place finishes at the Blue Raider Open and Mott Open with a runner-up finish at the Ben McMullen Open sandwiched in between. The weight class is one that is wide open, however, as the #2 wrestler won a Championship at 157-lbs just last season in Trace Thome (Sr, Florida, 4-1). Following Thome are three returning All-Americans in John Prentice (Jr, Penn State-DuBois, 2-2), Michael Bryant (Jr, Liberty, 1-1), and Mason Temple (Sr, Cal State-Fresno, 0-0). The #4 wrestler, Peter Becher (So, East Carolina, 7-3) is not a returning All-American but has been impressive to start the season with a 3rd place finish at the Star City Open this past weekend.

Perhaps the deepest weight class in the NCWA this season is 174-lbs. Last year was dominated by U.S. Senior Open Champion, Geordan Speiller. However, with Speiller concentrating on MMA and perhaps another run at the U.S. world team, the title is up for grabs. Josh Ferenczy (Sr, Liberty, 9-3) is the most-likely to take the mantle as he has already finished 2nd at the Messiah Invitational, 1st at the Ursinus Fall Brawl, and held his own with NCAA-D1 wrestlers in the Joe Parisi at Lindenwood this past week. Ferenczy finished 2nd last season at 174 and will look for his first Championship in March. But it won't be easy as seven other returning All-Americans are gunning for the top spot: Phillip Marra (Sr, Penn State-New Kensington, 2-2), Bailey Bischer (Jr, Grand Valley, 3-2), Clay Kocsis (Sr, Penn State-Mont Alto), Shane Brown (Sr, Akron, 6-1), George Vanvalen (Jr, Alfred State, 7-0), Zakery Pitt (Sr, Emmanuel, 0-0), and George Andrews (So, UConn, 5-2) round out the top-8. There may be some movement to other weight classes by the time the Conference tournaments roll around.

The 184-lb weight class is not as top heavy with returning All-Americans, but the top-10 is filled with Juniors and Seniors looking for their first. Cody Chaney (Sr, Emmanuel, 0-0) is the current #1 with River Robertson (Jr, Maine, 3-0) following closely in the second spot. Robertson finished 1st at the STCC Open with an impressive win over George Andrews 12-8. Filling out the top-5 are Ron Spera (Jr, James Madison, 3-1), Paul Schoenberg (Sr, Penn State WC, 3-1), and Taylor Westlake (Jr, Liberty, 8-5). Two freshman also made the rankings in Victor Levin (Liberty, 10-5) and Brett Brown (Middle Tennessee, 5-3).

The top-8 at the 197-lb weight class are unchanged from the preseason with the favorite being Maveric Rechsteiner (Jr, Emmanuel, 5-2). Rechsteiner's only two losses this season came at the hands of NCAA-D1 opponents. He recently pinned and teched his way to the Georgia Intercollegiate Open championship going 4-0 on the day. Following him are Sean Kennedy (So, Middle Tennessee, 9-1, transfer from Newberry), and three returning All-Americans in Kyler Slade (So, Ohio State WC, 2-2), Jake Ferris (Sr, Central Washington, 0-0), and Jesse Slocum (So, Akron, 3-1). Of note, Kennedy's only loss came in the Shorter Open finals to #1 ranked NAIA wrestler Dalton Bailey of Life University in a 7-4 loss after being up 4-0 to begin the match.

Stevan Webb (Jr, UConn, 5-1) takes over the #1 spot at the 235-lb weight class as last year's National Champion, William Vincent, has left Mott CC. Following Webb are Seth Brennock (Jr, Ohio State WC, 1-2, transfer from American), and returning All-Americans Rickey Carter (Sr, Florida A&M, 0-0), Jeff Henderson (So, Henry Ford), and Harun Bogdanic (Jr, Grand Valley). Three of the top-5 are from the Great Lakes Conference so look out for a battle this season.

Last but certainly not least, the heavyweight division is topped by Jesse Gaudin (Jr, Central Florida, 5-2). Gaudin finished as runner-up last season and has already won the Pembroke Classic this season. He is closely followed by three returning All-Americans in Dylan Stadel (Jr, Utah State, 2-0), Austin Wells (Jr, Middle Tennessee, 5-3), and John Puleo (Sr, South Florida, 1-2). The #4 ranked wrestler is Donavan Lozada (Jr, Springfield Tech, 8-0) who has been impressive thus far this season with tournament wins at the STCC Open and the Doug Parker Invitational.

The Division 1 team race still seems to be in Emmanuel College's hands as they have a 13-point lead over #2 Liberty, at 61 points to 48 points. Middle Tennessee comes in at a close #3 with 46 points followed by #4 Grand Valley (42 pts) and #5 Central Florida (39 pts). Three teams are in the double digits in terms of ranked wrestlers with Liberty (12), Emmanuel (11) and Middle Tennessee (10).

Division 2 is a wide-open race and will likely come down to who can squeak out bonus point wins during the National tournament and perhaps place in the top-8 at the National Duals on January 27-28, 2017 hosted by Liberty University. The current rankings see three teams from Ohio battling it out with #1 Toledo (21 pts), and a tie for #2 with Akron and Ohio State WC (17 pts). The answer of which team is supreme may come soon as the three teams lock up in a tri-meet on January 21, 2017.