KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Northwestern College wrestling team will enter the 2021-22 campaign receiving votes, as announced in the National Association for Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Preseason Coaches’ Poll Thursday.
The Raiders tallied six votes in the preseason installment of the national rankings. The NAIA wrestling rankings only rank the top-20 teams.
The Raiders return Luke Jenness (So., Primghar, Iowa/Homeschooled) who wrestled to first team All-Conference honors at 184 pounds a season ago. The two-time NAIA national qualifier, Jenness is listed to compete at 184-pound again this season.
Northwestern also returns honorable mention All-Conference performer Breckin Sperling (Fr., Lincoln, Neb./East). Sperling is a spark plug in the Raider line-up, always looking to put his opponents away as quickly as possible.
Senior captain Blake Pomajzl (Sedalia, Mo./Smith-Colton) moves up to 165-pound weight class after wrestling to a placement at the GPAC Championships at 157 pounds last year.
Only one Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) squad is ranked inside the top-20 to begin the season in No. 3-ranked Doane University Tigers. Six other GPAC teams are receiving votes, led by the Hastings Broncos (36 points) and the Briar Cliff Chargers (33 points).
The season is set to begin on Saturday, November 6 as the Raiders will travel to Rochester, Minnesota to compete in the Yellowjacket Open, hosted by Rochester Community and Technical College.
| 1 | Grand View (Iowa) | 210 |
| 2 | Life University (Ga.) | 166 |
| 3 | Doane University (Neb.) | 100 |
| 4 | Southeastern (Fla.) | 97 |
| 5 | Baker (Kan.) | 91 |
| 6 | Indiana Tech | 90 |
| 6 | Reinhardt University (GA) | 90 |
| 8 | Cumberland (Tenn.) | 83 |
| 9 | Campbellsville (Ky.) | 78 |
| 10 | Cumberlands (Ky.) | 77 |
| 11 | Oklahoma City | 70 |
| 12 | Missouri Valley | 69 |
| 13 | Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) | 61 |
| 14 | Marian University (Ind.) | 60 |
| 15 | Thomas More (Ky.) | 56 |
| 16 | Lourdes University (Ohio) | 53 |
| 17 | Ottawa University (Kan.) | 52 |
| 18 | Montana State-Northern | 51 |
| 19 | Eastern Oregon University (Ore.) | 49 |
| 20 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 42 |
Recieving Votes: Vanguard University 41; Hastings (Neb.) 36; Texas Wesleyan 34; Briar Cliff (Iowa) 33; Wayland Baptist (Texas) 33; Providence (Mont.) 32; Menlo (Calif.) 27; Morningside (Iowa) 27; York (Neb.) 23; Midway University (Tenn.) 20; Midland (Neb.) 18; Southern Oregon 18; Concordia (Neb.) 15; University of Saint Mary (Kan.) 15; Williams Baptist (Ark.) 15; Truett-McConnell (Ga.) 12; Brewton-Parker (Ga.) 12; Avila (Mo.) 11; Bethany (Kan.) 8; Northwestern (Iowa) 6; Bluefield College (Va.) 6; Graceland University (Ind.) 4; Warner Pacific (Ore.) 4; Central Methodist (Mo.) 3; Lincoln College (Ill.) 3; Friends University (Kan.) 2; Montreat College (N.C.) 2; Rochester University (Mich.) 2
