KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Isaac Bartel is the top-ranked wrestler at 197 pounds, helping Montana State-Northern to a tie for 17th in the latest edition of the NAIA wrestling coaches' top 20 poll, which was released Thursday.
Nick Kunz, the Lights' reigning national champion at 125 pounds, is ranked fourth at 133 this year. Chase Short is also ranked 19th at 174 for MSUN.
Providence is among other teams to receive votes in the coaches' poll, with Jordan Komac (fourth at 165 pounds), Hayden Schrull (11th at 184) and Eli Walston (18th at 125) receiving individual rankings.
Keegan Mulhill, a Bozeman native in his junior year at Eastern Oregon, is ranked ninth at 174 pounds. The Mountaineers are 20th in the team rankings.
Grand View (Iowa), which has two top-ranked wrestlers, is first in the team rankings, followed by Life University (Ga.), Lindsey Wilson (Ky.), Reinhardt (Ga.) and Indiana Tech to round out the top five.
The team rankings and top-ranked individuals are below. For complete individual rankings, please click here.
2020-21 NAIA Wrestling Coaches' Top 20 Poll 3 (January 7, 2021)
Team | Points | |
1 | Grand View (Iowa) | 207 |
2 | Life University | 170 |
3 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 167 |
4 | Reinhardt (Ga.) | 120 |
5 | Indiana Tech | 106 |
5 | Southeastern | 91 |
6 | Cumberland (Tenn.) | 90 |
7 | Missouri Valley | 79 |
8 | Oklahoma City | 78 |
9 | Graceland University | 64 |
10 | Cumberlands (Ky.) | 63 |
11 | Campbellsville (Ky.) | 61 |
12 | Doane University | 60 |
12 | Marian University (IN) | 60 |
14 | Ottawa University | 49 |
15 | York (Neb.) | 44 |
16 | Lourdes University | 40 |
17 | Montana State-Northern | 39 |
17 | Vanguard University | 39 |
19 | University of Saint Mary (KS) | 37 |
20 | Eastern Oregon University (OR) | 32 |
Receiving Votes: Arizona Christian 31, Providence (Mont.) 30, Briar Cliff (Iowa) 28, Baker (Kan.) 27, Warner Pacific 26, Southern Oregon 22, Williams Baptist 20, Hastings (Neb.) 19, Morningside (Iowa) 19, Concordia (Neb.) 18, Texas Wesleyan 17, Midway 16, Thomas More 16, William Penn (Iowa) 16, Simpson (Calif.) 15, Corban (Ore.) 14, Dickinson State (N.D.) 14, Bluefield College 13, Northwestern (Iowa) 13, Brewton-Parker (Ga.) 11, Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) 8, Rochester 8, Midland (Neb.) 7, Life Pacific 4, Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.) 3.
Top-Ranked Individuals
125 – Justin Portillo, Grand View (Iowa)
133 – Austin Wallace-Lister, Warner Pacific
141 – Baterdene Boldmaa, Doane (Neb.)
149 – Marty Margolis, Grand View (Iowa)
157 – Nolan Saxton, Reinhardt (Ga.)
165 – Elias Vaoifi, Missouri Valley
174 – Brennan Swafford, Graceland (Iowa)
184 – Riley Jaramillo, Saint Mary (Kan.)
197 – Issac Bartel, Montana State-Northern
285 – Brandon Reed, Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)