INDIANAPOLIS -- On the heels of capturing the team title at the Midwest Classic, the Wisconsin-Parkside wrestling team is ranked fifth in the nation in the latest Division II Wrestling Coaches Association Top 25 Poll released on Wednesday.

The Rangers, who received votes in the previous poll, vaulted to No. 5 in the latest rankings. St. Cloud State retained its position atop the rankings with 68 points, while Notre Dame moved up a spot to No. 2 with 58 points. Maryville is ranked third with 51 points followed by Nebraska-Kearney (47 pts) and Wisconsin-Parkside (38 pts).

Five Rangers are ranked individually led by Nick Becker who is the top ranked wrestler at 174 pounds. Becker, who is 5-0 on the season, won the 174-pound title at the Midwest Classic in his first action of the season.

Montrail Johnson, who also made his first appearance of the year at the Midwest Classic, is 5-0 on the season and ranked second nationally at 184 pounds.

Ronzel Darling, James Lehman and Brett Scoles are also ranked for the Rangers. Darling, who is 16-3 on the season, is ranked third in the nation at 125 pounds. Lehman, who has posted a 20-2 record this season, is ranked sixth in the nation at 197 pounds, while Scoles has posted a 14-5 record on his way to being ranked 12th at 157 pounds.

In the regional rankings, Wisconsin-Parkside is ranked second behind only Findlay in Super Region Two.

Becker, Johnson and Darling are each the top ranked wrestler in their weight category regionally, while Lehman is ranked second, Scoles is third, Airk Furseth and Josh Anthony are each ranked fifth and Matt Halverson is ranked sixth.

Wisconsin-Parkside returns to action on Thursday (Jan. 5) at the prestigious NWCA National Duals in Fort Wayne, Ind. The Rangers open competition against Upper Iowa at 8 a.m. on Thursday. The winner of the match will meet the winner of the Tiffin-Nebraska-Kearney match at 12 p.m. on Thursday.

The semifinals and finals will be held on Friday at the Fort Wayne Convention Center.

Division II Wrestling Coaches Association Poll
1. St. Cloud State 68 pts
2. Notre Dame 58 pts
3. Maryville 51 pts
4. Nebraska-Kearney 47 pts
5. Wisconsin-Parkside 38 pts
6. Mercyhurst 34 pts
7. Northern State 30 pts
8t. Findlay 26 pts
8t. Central Oklahoma 26 pts
8t. Pittsburgh-Johnstown 26 pts
8t. McKendree 26 pts
12. California Baptist 25 pts
13. Ashland 21 pts
14. Tiffin 18 pts
15t. Lake Erie 17 pts
15t. Seton Hill 17 pts
17. Newberry 16 pts
18t. Fort Hays State 15 pts
18t. UNC-Pembroke 15 pts
18t. Augustana 15 pts
21. Colorado State-Pueblo 13 pts
22. Kutztown 12 pts
23t. Simon Fraser 11 pts
23t. Lindenwood 11 pts
23t. Minnesota State-Mankato 11 pts
23t. Newman 11 pts

Individual Rankings
125 Pounds
1. Brett Valazquez, St. Cloud State
2. Willie Bohince, Mercyhurst
3. Ronzel Darling, Wisconsin-Parkside
4. Josh Lindsey, Central Oklahoma
5. Dustin Reed, Newman
6. Ronnie Wardleigh, Western State
7. Trung Doung, Newberry
8. Ivan McClay, Notre Dame
9. Richard Casillas, Northern State
10. Weston Basler, McKendree
11. Vlad Kazakov, Nebraska-Kearney
12. Austin Petril, Kutztown

157 Pounds
1. Destin McCauley, Nebraska-Kearney
2. Cody Law, Pittsburgh-Johnstown
3. Issac Dulgarian, Notre Dame
4. Ryan Strope, McKendree
5. Greg Hegarty, Maryville
6. Blake Perryman, Northern State
7. Larry Bomstad, St. Cloud State
8. Scott Bosak, Belmont Abbey
9. Payton Tawter, Colorado Mesa
10. Joey White, Findlay
11. Kyle Fantin, Colorado State-Pueblo
12. Brett Scoles, Wisconsin-Parkside

174 Pounds
1. Nick Becker, Wisconsin-Parkside
2. Robert Shade, UNC-Pembroke
3. Adam Cooling, Minnesota State-Mankato
4. Calvin Ochs, Nebraska-Kearney
5. Clayton Jennissen, St. Cloud State
6. Justan Rivera, Notre Dame
7. Bradley Metz, Findlay
8. Huston Evans, Newberry
9. Nolan Kistler, Cal Baptist
10. Batchka Zulkhuu, Lindenwood
11. John Blankenship, Pittsburgh-Johnstown
12. Reid Watkins, Simon Fraser

184 Pounds
1. Garrett Lineberger, Notre Dame
2. Montrail Johnson, Wisconsin-Parkside
3. Aero Amo, Augustana
4. Nick Fiegener, Cal Baptist
5. Zeb Wahle, Maryville
6. Uthman Rabiu, St. Cloud State
7. Cody Spinks, Alderson Broaddus
8. Tyler Hughes, Lake Erie
9. Mikey Thomas, UNC-Pembroke
10. Dakota DesLauriers, Mercyhurst
11. Zach Stodden, Nebraska-Kearney
12. Morgan Smith, Simon Fraser

197 Pounds
1. Jake Waste, Cal Baptist
2. Jon Inman, Fort Hays State
3. Vince Dietz, St. Cloud State
4. Matt Rudy, Limestone
5. Evan Ramos, Shippensburg
6. James Lehman, Wisconsin-Parkside
7. Greg Wilson, Central Oklahoma
8. Ethan Sheretz, Maryville
9. Luke Cramer, Ashland
10. Jared Rennick, Drury
11. Joe Gomez, Northern State
12. Evan Rosbrough, Lake Erie