Inching Up The Rankings
MOORHEAD, Minn. (12/17/13)—Concordia inched up one spot in the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Division III rankings and is now in the No.9 spot.
The Cobbers, who were ranked 10th in the last NWCA rankings, are 2-1 in dual meets this season with their only loss coming at the hands of St. Cloud State who is ranked fifth in Division II. The No.9 ranking for the Cobbers is the highest they have been ranked since Mar. 1, 2011 when they ended the year in the No.7 spot.
Concordia has four individual wrestlers ranked in the top 10 of the nation. That is one more than they had in the previous poll. Senior Kyle LeDuc joins Will McCarthy, Jake Long and Cody Kasprick as the nationally ranked wrestlers for CC. LeDuc is now ranked seventh at 157 with a 13-4 overall record. He is tied for the team lead in victories this season.
Long continues to be the top ranked wrestler for Concordia. Like the team, he inched up one spot and is now ranked second at 149. He is 11-6 on the season with all six losses coming at the hands of NCAA Division I or II athletes.
Kasprick also moved up in the latest rankings. He was in the No.6 spot two weeks ago but has now climbed into the fourth position at 285. Kasprick is 9-6 this year and has also only lost to Division I or II opponents.
McCarthy, who hasn't wrestled since the middle of November, is now ranked ninth at 125. He drops one spot in the rankings and will be looking to get back into action in the next few team meets.
Concordia has one final competition before the Christmas break. The Cobbers will compete in the Gator Duals held in Nashville, Tenn. and hosted by Luther College (Iowa) on Saturday, Dec. 21. CC will take on Elmhurst at 8 a.m. and then square off against the University of Chicago at 9:45. Concordia will finish off the multi-team dual meet by facing Loras at 11:30 a.m. and then No.3-ranked Messiah at 1:15 p.m.
NWCA Division III Top 25 Poll (Dec. 17, 2013)
1. Wartburg College (IA) (1 - 0)
2. Augsburg College (MN) (2 – 0)
3. Messiah College (PA) (6 – 0)
4. Cortland State (NY) (1 – 0)
5. Wilkes University (PA) (10 – 1)
6. Ithaca College (NY) (4 – 0)
7. Coe College (IA) (4 – 0)
8. Delaware Valley College (PA) (0 – 0)
9. Concordia College – Moorhead (MN) (2 – 1)
10. Wabash College (IN) (0 – 0)
11. UW–La Crosse (6 – 1)
12. Luther College (IA) (2 – 1)
13. Johnson & Wales University (RI) (3 – 0)
14. Olivet College (MI) (4 – 1)
15. UW–Whitewater (6 – 2)
16. Roger Williams University (RI) (5 – 0)
17. Cornell College (IA) (5 – 2)
18. Saint John's University (MN) (2 – 3)
19. Stevens Institute of Technology (NJ) (4 – 2)
20. University of Mount Union (OH) (4 – 1)
21. Springfield College (MA) (0 – 0)
22. Ursinus College (PA) (3 – 0)
23. UW–Oshkosh (1 – 1)
24. UW–Stevens Point (4 – 5)
25. Thiel College (PA) (3 – 2)
26. Heidelberg College (OH) (3 – 3)
27. Alma College (MI) (3 – 2)
28. Wheaton College (IL) (2 – 1)
29. Rhode Island College (4 – 1)
30. Augustana College (IL) (5 – 0)