The Mid-American Conference put out their second February rankings today, and despite Northern Iowa moving up to a tie for first with Missouri, not a whole lot changed in the poll.
The Panthers and Tigers both share the nine of the ten number one spots, but Bryce Steiert’s pinfall win over Daniel Lewis vaulted him to number one at 165 pounds. Lewis fell to second and that flip now has UNI sitting with five number one spots to Missouri’s four. Steiert joins #1’s Dylan Peters, Josh Alber, Taylor Lujan, and Drew Foster.
Max Thomsen stands as UNI’s only non-number one ranked wrestler, clocking in at third for the second poll in a row. The reigning MAC Wrestler of the week, Thomsen won 9-2 over #1 Lavion Mayes last Sunday, but lost last month to #2 Justin Oliver. Oliver lost to Mayes at the Central Michigan-Missouri dual meet 11-4.
Edit: I completely missed JJ Everard. He comes in at #2 at heavyweight. Everard had some nice wins, including two over ranked wrestlers, before he injured his knee during a match with Ohio’s number one Zack Parker. Everard has not wrestled since sustaining the injury.
Despite wins over two top-20 ranked wrestlers in the last couple of weeks, Jacob Holschlag is unranked at 197 pounds. The MAC is fairly deep at the weight, and Holschlag hasn’t had the chance to wrestle any of the top four, except the two-time NCAA Champion and Olympic Bronze Medalist J’den Cox.
The complete MAC poll can be found below, along with the team standings. This will probably be the final poll of the year, and will be a good start for seeding the MAC tournament, which is being held at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls in just over two weeks.
2017 MAC Second February Weight Class Rankings:
125 – t-1. Dylan Peters (Northern Iowa, Senior); t-1. Shakur Laney (Ohio, Sophomore); 3. Brent Fleetwood (Central Michigan, Junior); 4. Noah Gonser (Eastern Michigan, Redshirt Freshman).
133 – 1. Josh Alber (Northern Iowa, Sophomore); 2. John Erneste (Missouri, Sophomore); t-3. Cameron Kelly (Ohio, Sophomore); t-3. Bryan Lantry (Buffalo, Sophomore).
141 – 1. Jaydin Eierman (Missouri, R-Freshman); 2. Noah Forrider (Ohio, Junior); 3. Kyle Springer (Eastern Michigan, Junior); 4. Mason Smith (Central Michigan, R-Freshman).
149 – 1. Lavion Mayes (Missouri, Senior); 2. Justin Oliver (Central Michigan, Sophomore); 3. Max Thomsen (Northern Iowa, R-Freshman); 4. Steve Bleise (Northern Illinois, Sophomore).
157 – 1. Joey Lavalle (Missouri, Junior); 2. Colin Heffernan (Central Michigan, Junior); 3. Casey Sparkman (Kent State, Sophomore); 4. Caden McWhirter (Northern Illinois, R-Freshman).
165 – 1. Bryce Steiert (Northern Iowa, Sophomore); 2. Daniel Lewis (Missouri, Sophomore); 3. Seldon Wright (Old Dominion, Sophomore); 4. Devan Marry (Eastern Michigan, Senior).
174 – 1. Taylor Lujan (Northern Iowa, R-Freshman); 2. C.J. Brucki (Central Michigan, Junior); 3. Trace Engelkes (Northern Illinois, Senior); 4. Dylan Wisman (Missouri, Redshirt Freshman).
184 – 1. Drew Foster (Northern Iowa, Sophomore); 2. Jack Dechow (Old Dominion, Senior); 3. Jordan Ellingwood (Central Michigan, Junior); 4. Brett Perry (Buffalo, Sophomore).
197 – 1. J’den Cox (Missouri, Senior); 2. Austin Severn (Central Michigan, Senior); t-3. Kevin Beazley (Old Dominion, Junior); t-3. Shawn Scott (Northern Illinois, Senior).
HWT – 1. Zack Parker (Ohio, Sophomore); 2. JJ Everard (Northern Iowa, Senior); t-3. Austin Myers (Missouri, Redshirt Freshman); t-3. Newton Smerchek (Central Michigan, Junior).
2017 MAC Second February Wrestling Rankings
1. Missouri (24.5)
1. Northern Iowa (24.5)
3. Central Michigan (18.5)
4. Ohio (12.0)
5. Old Dominion (6.5)
6. Northern Illinois (5.5)
7. Eastern Michigan (4.0)
8. Buffalo (2.5)
9. Kent State (2.0)