Dec. 4, 2007
NORFOLK, Va. -- The Monarch wrestling program bumped up to 24th in the national rankings, according to the USA Today/InterMat/NWCA National Rankings. Four Monarchs are ranked nationally including redshirt sophomore Kaylen Baxter (Fairbanks, Alaska), earning his first ranking of the season. The Monarchs earned their first national ranking since 1991 last week at 25th in the nation and slid up a slot this week after the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.
ODU has 174 points for 24th in the nation, 20 points back of Maryland and over 82 points ahead of Harvard for the final spot in the Top 25.
Sophomore Ryan Williams (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) slid up three spots at 141 lbs., to 14th nationally. He finished 6th at the Las Vegas Invitational and has already tallied 15 wins this season for the Monarchs.
New entry into the rankings this week for ODU is 149-pounder Kaylen Baxter. Baxter leads the team in wins with 16 and finished 8th at the Las Vegas Invitational. He comes in at 19th in the nation for ODU.
David Mendoza (Wyomissing, Va.) maintained his national ranking in the 197-lb class, at 19th, while Chris Brown (Chesapeake, Va.) slipped to 17th nationally at 165 lbs.
ODU is off until the last weekend of December, where they will head to Greensboro, N.C. for the Southern Scuffle.