INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The NCAA released its Division I wrestling coaches' panel and ratings percentage index (RPI) rankings on Thursday afternoon, and several Old Dominion wrestlers were named on both lists.
Redshirt seniors Larry Early and Shane Jones and redshirt sophomore Killian Cardinale are the three Monarchs that were featured on both rankings that the NCAA released. Early was the highest-ranked Monarch in both instances, checking in at 10th in the RPI and 11th on the coaches' panel at 157 pounds. Early has won 12 of his last 13 matches, dating back to December 29. Of those 12 wins, five came against ranked opponents and two came by way of pins.
In the 125-pound weight class, Cardinale can be found in the top-15 on both lists, checking in at the No. 11 in the RPI rankings and No. 14 in the coaches' poll. The Bristow, Virginia native has won 20 bouts this season, the most on the Monarchs, and is currently in the midst of a five-match winning streak. Both Cardinale and Early have defeated ranked opponents five different times, the most ranked victories on the team.
Jones checks in at 31st and 32nd in the RPI rankings and the coaches' poll respectively. He has four major decision victories, a technical fall and a pin so far this season. Jones' biggest win of the year came against No. 10 Thomas Bullard in the Monarchs' match against NC State early in the campaign. Jones managed to nab a 3-2 win by decision over the top-10 combatant.
Sa'Derian Perry rounded out the top-25 on the coaches' panel at 141 pounds. He is coming off of a 16-0 technical fall victory over Drexel's Julian Flores in the Monarchs' 25-11 victory over the Dragons this past Monday. Perry has two wins over top-15 opponents this season defeating No. 8 Grant Leeth of Missouri and No. 15 Kyle Shoop of Lock Haven, both Mid-American Conference (MAC) foes.
Coming in at 28th in the RPI rankings at 149 pounds was Kenan Carter. The Aurora, Illinois native has won three of his last four bouts, including a 9-6 win by decision over No. 23 Bryce Andonian of Virginia Tech. Carter has 16 wins this season and has pinned four opponents, tied for most on the squad.
The rankings are determined by a vote of 14 coaches in each weight class with two head coaches from each of the seven conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, EIWA, MAC, Pac-12 and SoCon), which is double the voters that had previously been used for the coaches' panel rankings. For ranking purposes, coaches may only consider a wrestler that has been designated as a starter at a respective weight class. Wrestlers must have participated in at least five matches against Division I opponents in the weight class and have wrestled within the last 30 days to be ranked.
The RPI is a calculation that considers a wrestler's winning percentage, opponent winning percentage (strength of schedule) and opponent's opponent winning percentage (opponent's strength of schedule). Only matches against Division I opponents at the designated weight class count towards the RPI and a wrestler needs to have wrestled 15 matches to be ranked.
This is the second of four ranking periods the NCAA releases throughout the wrestling season. The first two rankings are used primarily for educational purposes to promote the selection criteria to coaches, student-athletes, media and fans. The third ranking, which will be released on February 27, will be the ranking that will be used by the NCAA Wrestling Committee to assist in determining the advance allocations to each qualifying tournament. The final ranking following conference tournaments will be used to provide the most accurate and up-to-date rankings to the committee as an important element of the selection criteria during the in-person selection meeting.
To read the full NCAA release, click here.
The Monarchs hit the road for the final time in the 2019-2020 regular season this weekend when they take on Navy on Friday, February 14 at 7:30 p.m., followed by a Sunday match against George Mason at 12 p.m. ODU will then host its final match of the regular season when it welcomes Bloomsburg to Chartway Arena on Sunday, February 23.
Five Monarch Wrestlers Named in Latest NCAA Rankings
Larry Early is one of three Monarchs featured in both the NCAA coaches' panel and RPI rankings