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Smith Ranked No. 5 Nationally
February 07, 2017 04:56 PM | Wrestling
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University wrestler Jacob A. Smith (197) picked up his eighth straight win to retain a top-5 national ranking as announced by wrestling publications InterMat, FloWrestling and The Open Mat on Tuesday.
Teammate Dylan Cottrell (165) also remains in the national rankings.
Smith won an 8-5 decision over Malik McDonald in WVU’s loss at NC State. McDonald ranks at No. 24 in the first Coaches’ Panel Rankings Index, released in late January. Smith remains at No. 5 in both InterMat’s and FloWrestling’s rankings at 197 pounds and is No. 9 according to The Open Mat. He boasts a team-best 14-4 mark on the season and was rated at No. 6 in the first edition of the NCAA Division I Coaches’ Panel Rankings Index.
Cottrell, who missed Sunday’s dual with the Wolfpack, remains at No. 12 in InterMat’s rankings at 165 pounds. He drops to No. 20 in rankings released by FloWrestling and is No. 15 according to The Open Mat. Cottrell, who is 12-4 on the year, was ranked ninth in the first Coaches’ Panel Rankings Index.
Cory Stainbrook joins the two in the Coaches’ Panel, ranking at No. 30 at 133 pounds.
The Mountaineers (2-11, 0-2) will host a pair of Big 12 foes at the WVU Coliseum this week. WVU will face No. 16 South Dakota State on Thursday at 7 p.m. before welcoming Iowa State on Sunday in a 2 p.m. dual.
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