University of Northern Iowa Athletics
UNI Wrestler David Bonin Leads MAC Rankings
12/20/2012 1:00:00 AM | Wrestling
MAC wrestling coaches announced the December Coaches Rankings for each weight class in conjunction with the league office today. The rankings will be released each month throughout the season, with one additional ranking system (two total) in January and February.
UNI moved into fourth place. The Panthers were ranked seventh. David Bonin is ranked as the conference's best wrestler at 157 pounds. Last month he and teammate Ryan Loder were ranked fourth in their weight classes. Loder has moved into second in the 184-pound weight class.
Five other Panthers made their debut to the rankings list:
- 133 - Levi Wolfensperger 4th
- 141 - Joey Lazor 4th
- 174 - Cody Caldwell 3rd
- 285 - Blayne Beale/Cody Krumwiede 4th
Based on the individual rankings, new MAC affiliate member Missouri is expected to win the 2013 conference championship and end the 11-year consecutive run by the Central Michigan Chippewas as MAC defending champions.
Earlier this fall, the conference announced the addition of the University of Missouri, the University of Northern Iowa and Old Dominion University as affiliate members in the sport of wrestling. All three universities joined the MAC with five-year agreements, with Missouri and Northern Iowa joining the MAC for the conference tournament only for the 2012-13 season and then to participate fully in regular season and tournament action for the next four consecutive years (2013-14 season through 2016-17 academic season). Old Dominion will join the MAC for the regular season and tournament action in the 2013-14 season through the 2017-18 academic season.
The 2012-13 December coaches rankings, voted on by the league's head coaches in an open forum are as follows:
2012-13 MAC Rankings:
125 - 1. Alan Waters (Missouri); 2. Christian Cullinan (CMU); 3. Jared Germaine (EMU); 4. Max Soria (UB).
133 - 1. Scotti Sentes (CMU); 2. Nathan McCormick (Missouri); 3. Erik Galloway (UB); 4. Levi Wolfensperger (Northern Iowa).
141 - 1. Nick Hucke (Missouri); 2. Scott Mattingly (CMU); 3. Andrew Schutt (UB); 4. Joey Lazor (Northern Iowa).
149 - 1. Drake Houdasheldt (Missouri); 2. Donnie Corby (CMU); 3. Nick Carr (KSU); 4. Blake Roulo (UB).
157 - 1. David Bonin (Northern Iowa); 2. Kyle Bradley (Missouri); 3. Aaron Sulzer (EMU) 4. Spartak Chino (Ohio).
165 - 1. Zach Toal (Missouri); 2. Mike Ottinger (CMU); 3. Mark Lewandowski (UB); 4. Harrison Hightower (Ohio).
174 - 1. John-Martin Cannon (UB); 2. Todd Porter (Missouri) 3. Cody Caldwell (Northern Iowa); 4. Cody Walters (Ohio).
184 - 1. Ben Bennett (CMU); 2. Ryan Loder (Northern Iowa); 3. Mike Larson (Missouri); 4. Casey Newburg (KSU).
197 -1. Dustin Kilgore (KSU); 2. Brent Haynes (Missouri); 3. Nick Wittenberg (EMU); 4. Angelo Malvestuto (UB).
HWT - 1. Dom Bradley (Missouri); 2. Jarod Trice (CMU); 3. Jeremy Johnson (OU); 4. Blayne Beale/Cody Krumwiede (Northern Iowa).
The monthly team rankings also were decided in the same forum. The eight schools were ranked based on the number of first through fourth-place votes that were earned in the individual voting system. A first-place vote was worth four team points; a second-place vote earned three team points; third-seeded votes were worth two team points, while a fourth-place tally earned that team one point in the team ranking system. The monthly team rankings for the MAC are as follows:
2012-13 MAC December Coaches Rankings
1. Missouri (34)
2. Central Michigan (23)
3. Buffalo (13)
4. Northern Iowa (12)
5. Kent State (7)
6. Eastern Michigan (6)
7. Ohio (5)
8. Northern Illinois (0)
The 2013 MAC Wrestling Championships will be held March 10 and hosted by the University at Buffalo.
Last year, Central Michigan won its 11th consecutive MAC wrestling championship with 89 team points. Kent State was the runner-up with 79 points, while Eastern Michigan was third with 49 points.
The UNI wrestling team's next competition will be at the Midlands tournament Dec. 29-30.
Players Mentioned
