2015 Central Regional Preview

NCAA_2015

2015 Central Regional
Saturday, February 28, 2015
Five Flags Center – Dubuque, Iowa

February 18th d3wrestle.com Rankings

2014 Results

Teams
Augustana, Buena Vista, Central, Coe, Cornell, Dubuque, Huntingdon, Knox, Loras, Luther, Simpson, University of the Ozarks, Wartburg

Top Ten Ranked Individuals – 2014 All-Americans in bold
125 – #8 Agnitsch (Wartburg), #9 Page (Central)
133 – #5 Campo (Wartburg), #7 Anderson (Central), #8 Obert (Luther)
141 – #2 Van Anrooy (Luther), #5 Steger (Loras)
149 – #3 Martin (Wartburg), #10 Engle (Cornell)
157 – #8 DeWitt (Loras)
165 – #1 Sewera (Coe), #3 Steiert (Wartburg)
174 – #2 Welter (Wartburg), #10 Hamm (Cornell)
184 – #4 DeVilbiss (Luther), #8 Lowy (Central), Sheldon (Coe)
197 – #7 Roman (Wartburg), #8 Seabold (Central), #9 Horner (Coe), #10 Watson (Loras)
285 – #5 Nagle (Wartburg)

Top 30 Teams (d3wrestle.com list)
#1 Wartburg
#9 Luther
#14 Central, Coe (tie)
#18 Loras

Wartburg started the year unranked and rightly so after graduating 100 team points and all of their All-Americans from last year’s championship team. They reloaded quickly and soon ascended back to the top of the rankings, and they enter the postseason as the favorite to win a fifth consecutive title. Unlike last year, their championship is far from a foregone conclusion, but their seven top ten individuals along with the rest of their strong lineup gives them a great shot at five in a row. Luther, Central, Coe, and Loras will be in the mix for second at the regional.

Only two All-Americans from last year return in the Central, but that has not kept the region from filling up the rankings as seen above. Coe’s Sewera is the only #1 ranked wrestler in the region, but he has yet to become an All-American. Both returning All-Americans are teammates of Sewera in Sheldon at 184 and Horner at 197, though both will have to perform to earn a repeat trip to the championships. Outside of Connor Campo, Wartburg’s only returning starter, the Wartburg lineup is full of wrestlers who have patiently waited their turns to shine. Agnitsch, Wagenhoffer, Welter, Roman, and Nagle are all upperclassmen who were not in the lineup last year. All but Wagenhoffer are ranked in the top ten, but Wagenhoffer was a 2o12 All-American.

A pair of highly ranked transfers could be challenging for national titles out of this region. Second ranked Drew Van Anrooy came to Luther from Oregon State and is undefeated at 141 in Division III after spending time in the Beavers starting lineup a year ago. Kenny Martin came to Wartburg from Clackamas Community college and has settled into the #3 spot in Division III. One more transfer to keep an eye on is 184 lbs. Devin Peterson. Peterson surfaced at Wartburg in the second semester. His performance has been a bit uneven, but he was once the #11 recruit nationally in his senior class.