10 Huskers in First Coaches? Panel Rankings

All 10 Husker starters earned spots in the first NCAA Coaches’ Panel Rankings, released on Thursday.

Senior Jake Sueflohn garnered the highest ranking among the Huskers with the No. 5 spot at 149 pounds. Sueflohn, a three-time NCAA Championships qualifier, is one of four Huskers who achieved top-10 rankings from the NCAA.

Austin Wilson (No. 8 at 165), Tim Lambert (No. 9 at 125) and TJ Dudley (No. 9 at 184) are also ranked in the top 10. Wilson, a senior from Hastings, Neb., is a three-time NCAA qualifier and holds a 17-4 record this season.

Lambert, a junior from Forest Hills, Mich., is 18-4 this season and has qualified for the national tournament twice. Dudley, a junior from Irmo, S.C., is a two-time NCAA qualifier and earned All-America honors in 2015 with an eighth-place finish at 184 pounds.

Eric Montoya (11th at 133), Aaron Studebaker (11th at 197), Tyler Berger (15th at 157), Anthony Abidin (17th at 141), Micah Barnes (17th at 174) and Collin Jensen (22nd at heavyweight) are also ranked by the NCAA.

Thursday’s set of rankings was the first of four coaches’ panel rankings that will be released this season. The final rankings will be one of the tools used as part of the selection process to determine the qualifiers for the NCAA Championships. Wrestlers in each weight class will be measured by winning percentage, rating percentage index (RPI) and coaches’ rankings to earn spots in their qualifying tournaments for the NCAA Championships.

The Huskers compete next on Sunday at home against No. 2 Iowa. The dual starts at 2 p.m. (CT) at the Devaney Center and will be streamed on BTN Plus (subscription required). The NCAA Championships are set for March 17-19 at Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y.

NCAA Coaches’ Panel Rankings (Jan. 21)
125: #9 Tim Lambert
133: #11 Eric Montoya
141: #17 Anthony Abidin
149: #5 Jake Sueflohn
157: #15 Tyler Berger
165: #8 Austin Wilson
174: #17 Micah Barnes
184: #9 TJ Dudley
197: #11 Aaron Studebaker
HWT: #22 Collin Jensen