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No Change atop Wrestling Poll
By RANDAL HOROBIK
Tribune Sports Editor
A pair of dual losses heading into the holiday break appears not to have fazed the Northwest College Trappers in the eyes of the nation's pollsters. NWC remains entrenched at No. 5 in the latest NJCAA wrestling hierarchy.
The Trappers remain in the chase behind top-ranked Iowa Central, which holds the No. 1 ranking ahead of St. Louis-Meramec, North Idaho and Labette. The top five teams remained the same from the previous poll. The top two teams were unchanged. North Idaho, which defeated Northwest College on the final weekend of action in 2009, jumped ahead of Labette and into third place.
Clackamas moved into the No. 6 position behind NWC, followed by Highline, Lincoln, Colby and Muskegon. Muskegon was the biggest mover, jumping three spots from the previous poll.
Iowa Lakes, Niagara County, Rend Lake, Southwestern Oregon and Pratt round out the top 15. Southwestern Oregon, the other team to defeat Northwest prior to the holiday break, did not budge from its No. 14 ranking as a result of the dual.
Seven members of the Trappers' dual lineup remain ranked in the top 10 of their respective weight classes heading into the spring semester. That group continues to be led by sophomore Landon Harris, who remains atop the 285-pound division.
Saul Guerrero (133 pounds) and McCade Ford (141) remained at No. 3 in their respective divisions, unchanged from the previous poll. Nick Petersen jumped three spots to No. 4 in the 174-pound rankings.
Jesse Hillhouse, who has battled throughout the fall semester with teammate Philip Grout for the Trappers' 125-pound roster spot, sits at No. 5 in the national rankings. Powell sophomore Mak Jones dropped one spot in the standings to No. 7 nationally at 197 pounds while teammate Briston Brenton moved up one spot to No. 9 in the 157-pound division.
The Trapper wrestlers resumed practice this week. The team travels to Kansas the weekend of Jan. 7-9 for four duals that could have a profound impact on the national rankings.
The Trappers face off against No. 4 Labette on Jan. 7. Two days later, the team will show down against No. 15 Pratt, No. 16 Neosho County and No. 2 St. Louis-Meramec. The next home competition for the Trappers comes Jan. 29-30 when Northwest College hosts the ever-tough Apodaca Dual Showdown.