Complete Rankings - .pdf
EDMOND, Okla. -- In the final regular-season poll conducted by the NCAA Division II Wrestling Coaches Association,
Josh Shields remained the top-ranked 165-pounder while
Andy Lamancusa fell to No. 7 in the 157-lb. weight class despite not losing a match since the last rankings.
Shields is 30-3 on the season, with all his losses coming against Division I talent. The red-shirt junior and defending national champion is on a 14-match win streak, last suffering a defeat to Missouri's Zach Toal at the 47th Annual Midlands Tournament in December. His win total is tied for the 10th-best single season mark and most recently moved into the Mercyhurst top 10 for career victories with a mark of 82-16.
Lamancusa is the program's all-time wins leader, owning a career record of 111-42. He has won 15 of his last 16 matches and currently owns a six-match winning streak. His season record sits at 31-7, needing seven victories to break the single-season mark for wins which he set a season ago en route to a third-place finish at the National Championships.
Nebraska-Omaha received all eight first-place votes in balloting of coaches from around the country to finish with 160 points in the final poll of the regular season. The Mavericks have been No. 1 in 14 straight polls the past two years, having topped the rankings in every poll in 2008-09 and again so far this season.
Newberry (S.C.) received all eight second-place votes and stayed No. 2 with 152 points, while Upper Iowa remained third with 139 points. Wisconsin-Parkside moved up a spot to fourth and Augustana (S.D.) improved one slot to fifth.
Rounding out the top 10 is Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.), Nebraska-Kearney, Gannon (Pa.), Minnesota State and St. Cloud State (Minn.).
Four regional tournaments will be held around the country the weekend of Feb. 27-28 to determine the 160 individual qualifiers for the 2010 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships, which are set for March 12-13 in Omaha, Neb.
Mercyhurst will participate in the Super Region I Chamionships at Pitt-Johnstown. Lamancusa will try and become the first Laker to win four-straight years while Shields looks to defend his first title from a year ago.
