2022-23 NCAA Division III Rankings

285 pounds

We are one month into the season and there have been plenty of results that have caused major shake-ups in the individual rankings. Individuals across the country are showing success at new weight classes, up and down from the competition weight in 2022. We have two new #1-ranked wrestlers and a change at the top in the tournament poll as well. 

At 184, Shane Liegel of Loras takes over the #1 spot after defeating defending NCAA champion Jarritt Shinhoster of UW-Whitewater in the CUW Open finals, 3-1 in SV-1. This was a rematch of the 2022 NCAA semifinals where Shinhoster upset Liegel and went on to win the title in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Both of these wrestlers will be in the mix for the title in 2023. 184 continues to prove it will be one of the deepest weight classes in the country. A few individuals from 197 have made the move down to make it even tougher. Quinn Haddad of TCNJ, Donovan Corn of Luther College, and Bentley Schwanbeck-Ostermann of Augsburg University all are coming down to 184. Haddad and Corn were NCAA qualifiers at 197 in 2022 and Ostermann was an All-American at 197. Corn beat Ostermann earlier this season, all three wrestlers are in the top 10 at 184. 

The other new #1 is at 197, Ben Kawcyznski of UW-La Crosse is making the move down from 285 and picked up the biggest win of the season. He took out previous #1 Beau Yineman of UW-Oshkosh, 3-2, and proves he is ready to compete at a high level at the new weight. It is worth noting that Kawcyznski did take a loss at the CUW Open to Derek Venteicher of Loras. However, he cruised in the consolation bracket and has the best win at the weight on the season. Plus, every other returning All-American at the weight took a similar loss over the first month of the season. Considering all this, Kawcyznski stayed at #1 but there will likely continue to be a lot of movement here throughout the season. Someone to keep your eye on is Massoma Endene of Wartburg College. He won the CUW Open in dominant fashion and was a JUCO national finalist in 2022 for Iowa Lakes Community College. He makes his debut in the national rankings at #10. 

At 149, national finalist Michael Petrella of Baldwin Wallace is up at 157 and has been looking great, he comes in at #4. Hunter Gutierrez of Stevens had a good season at 157 in 2022. He had a breakout performance at the CUW Open at his new weight class and claimed MOW honors at the event with five bonus point wins. Gutierrez moves to #3 in the latest poll after picking up some great wins out west.

Augsburg University takes over the #1 spot in the tournament poll with seven nationally ranked individuals. Matt Rogge at 165 continues to improve and picked up a big win over All-American Will Esmoil of Coe to jump up in the rankings to #5. Tyler Shilson still holds the #1 spot at 157 and continues to be dominant, making a nice 1-2 punch for the middle of the Auggies line-up. UW-La Crosse has had an impressive start to the season and moves up to #2 in the latest tournament poll. La Crosse also has seven individuals ranked and three of those individuals are ranked in the top 3 at their respective weight. Brossard takes over the #2 spot after securing two wins over All-American Major and All-American Hertel sits at #3 at 157. Wartburg College slides down to #3 but that is due to the fact a few of their wrestlers have not competed yet and were removed from the rankings. All-Americans Kris Rumph and Joe Pins have been inactive thus far but will find their way into the Knights line-up soon. Once they compete they will be ranked appropriately. Wartburg has a packed room at 149 with Rumph, Romero, and Coast Guard transfer Tony Ulaszek. Ulaszek was an NCAA qualifier for the Bears in 2022 and it will be interesting to see how the Wartburg line-up shakes out as we continue to move forward through the season. 

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