KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Grand View (Iowa) holds the No. 1 ranking in the fourth regular-season edition of the NAIA Wrestling Coaches' Top 20 Poll, the national office announced Wednesday. The fifth regular-season installment will be released on Feb. 10.
Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 2000-01):
• Four-time defending national champion Grand View (Iowa) earned its 28th-consecutive No. 1 ranking with 180.5 points. The Vikings, who had 12 individuals garner a mention in the installment, have at least one ranked individual in every weight class except for at 197 pounds.
• Godwin Cutler (133), Andrew Long (149), Grant Henderson (157) and Michael Pixley (184) are Grand View's top-ranked individuals.
• No. 2 Montana State-Northern, which enters the week coming off a team title at the Missouri Valley Invitational, claimed 90.5 points en route to its highest ranking since checking in at No. 2 on Jan. 1, 2014. The Lights have been ranked in the top five as a team all season and are highlighted by top-ranked Garrett DeMers at 197 pounds.
• Rounding out the top five teams are No. 3 Oklahoma City, No. 4 Indiana Tech and No. 5 Missouri Valley. Indiana Tech and Missouri Valley both boast nine ranked grapplers, while Oklahoma City garnered eight.
• Adrian Gaines (125) of Oklahoma City, Cutler and Andrew Schulte of Concordia (Neb.) are the new top-ranked individuals in this edition. Gaines is 17-0 this season, including a technical fall (23-7) win against No. 5 Quintel Fuchs of Montana State-Northern in the championship of the Missouri Valley Invitational. Cutler boasts a 15-4 record with his only losses coming against individuals from NCAA Division I institutions. Schulte has been equally dominant compared to his counterparts, claiming a 10-0 record at 141 pounds and a 27-6 mark overall.
• No. 16 Dickinson State (N.D.) and No. 18 Baker (Kan.) are the newcomers to the poll. The Blue Hawks were last ranked in this season's Preseason Poll, while the Wildcats are receiving their first mention since the 2015 postseason edition.
• Since 2001, only Grand View (2013-14, 2014-15), former members Notre Dame (Ohio) (2010-11) and Lindenwood (2006-07) have spent the entire season ranked No. 1.
Poll Methodology:
• The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the six national qualifying groups.
• One day prior to the national poll, each qualifying group rater submits the top six individuals from each weight class in his geographic area into the system. Only wrestlers listed on a qualifying group ballot are considered for the national ballot.
• The top 16 individuals in each weight class is based on how each voter ranks the best individuals. An individual receives 20 points for each first place vote, 18 for second place and so on through the list. This same point system is used to determine the team ranking.
• For the complete Top 20 calendar, click here.
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