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At 18th, JHU Wrestling Grabs Highest-Ever National Ranking
Nov. 1, 2012
BALTIMORE, MD – The Johns Hopkins wrestling team will carry the highest national ranking in school history into the opening weekend of the 2012 season as the Blue Jays check in at number 18 in the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Division III Preseason Rankings. The Blue Jays are also ranked second in the 2012 Preseason Centennial Conference Coaches Poll. The Blue Jays earned four first-place votes and 56 points in the CC poll, while Ursinus grabbed four first-place votes and 59 points to grab the top spot. Stevens earned the final first-place vote and checks in at number three with 53 points. In addition, four Johns Hopkins wrestlers earned preseason top 10 rankings in their respective weight classes from the NWCA. The rankings are the second of the preseason for each of the four, who previously were ranked by d3wrestle.com. Leading the way for the Blue Jays is sophomore Paul Bewak, who is ranked fifth at 125 pounds by the NWCA after previously earning a number four ranking from d3wrestle.com. Bewak posted a 30-9 record as a freshman last season en route to earning All-America honors at the NCAA Championships with a seventh-place finish. He won the Centennial Conference title, led the team with eight pins and his seventh-place finish is the highest ever for a Johns Hopkins wrestler at the NCAAs. Senior Reid Mosquera, a two-time NCAA qualifier and two-time Centennial Conference champion, checks in at number five in the preseason rankings at 197; this matches his d3wrestle.com preseason ranking. Mosquera also earned All-America honors last season with an eighth-place finish at the NCAAs and posted a 16-5 record a year ago. He boasts a career record of 55-25. Junior Henry Stauber is the third Johns Hopkins wrestler to earn a number five ranking from the NWCA after previously grabbing a number eight ranking from d3wrestle.com. Stauber won the Centennial Conference title at 149 pounds last season. Entering the tournament as the number four seed, he upset the top two seeds to win the tournament and earn his way to the NCAA Championships for the first time in his career. He finished the season with a 15-11 record.
Senior Paul Marcello returns for his final season with three Centennial Conference titles to his credit and he opens the season ranked eighth by the NWCA and ninth by d3wrestle.com at 141. The only three-time Centennial champion and three-time NCAA qualifier in school history, Marcello posted a 22-5 record last season and enters this season with a 47-19 career record. He is looking to become just the seventh wrestler in Centennial history to win four individual conference titles. Johns Hopkins won its first-ever Centennial Conference team championship last season and will open the 2012-13 season on Saturday, November 3 when the Blue Jays compete in the Messiah Invitational. One day later, the Blue Jays will take the competition level up a notch when they visit nearby College Park to take on host Maryland and West Virginia in the Terrapin Duals. The Terrapins are ranked 15th in the NWCA’s Preseason Division I Poll, while the Mountainers are among seven teams listed as receiving votes just outside the top 25 in that poll. 2012 NWCA Division III Preseason Rankings 2012 Centennial Conference Preseason Coaches Poll - 30 - |
