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IOWA CITY, Iowa — Five University of Iowa wrestlers are ranked in the top five of the Division I Coaches Poll released by the NCAA on Thursday.
Brandon Sorensen (149), Michael Kemerer (157), and Alex Marinelli (165) are all ranked second in their respective weight classes. Spencer Lee (125) checks in at No. 3, and heavyweight Sam Stoll is ranked fifth. Cash Wilcke (197) also cracked the top 10, coming in at No. 8.
Sorensen is the top-ranked wrestler at 149 in the rating percentage index (RPI). Stoll is ranked second in RPI and Kemerer is fifth. To be eligible for an RPI ranking, a wrestler must have a minimum of 17 Division I matches at a given weight.
The NCAA uses RPI and coaches’ rankings when determining how many automatic qualifiers from each conference tournament advance to the 2018 NCAA Wrestling Championships in Cleveland on March 15-17. The NCAA awarded the Big Ten Conference 80 of the 283 automatic qualifying bids, including six at 197, seven at 133, 174, and 285, eight at 141, 157, and 184, nine at 149, and 10 at 125 and 165.
The Big Ten hosts its qualifying tournament March 3-4 in East Lansing, Michigan. It is one of eight qualifying tournaments across the country.
After all of the qualifying events have concluded, the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee will meet in-person to select the remaining 47 at-large qualifiers, which will be announced on March 6. All weight classes will consist of 33 wrestlers.
The at-large selections will be made based on the following criteria: head-to-head competition, quality wins, coaches’ ranking, results against common opponents, RPI, qualifying event placement, and winning percentage.
A complete list of RPI and coaches rankings, and automatic qualifiers by conference/qualifying tournament, as available at NCAA.com.
