Men's Wrestling | 12/28/2017 7:38:00 PM

    FAYETTE, Iowa – Darius Bunch was ranked No. 1 nationally and Coach Mitch Smith's West Liberty University mat squad landed in a three-way tie at No. 19 on Tuesday when the latest set of NCAA Division II team and individual rankings were released by the NCAA D2 Wrestling Coaches Association.
    Bunch, a 133-pound transfer from Emmanuel (Ga.) College, had been unranked when the initial national rankings came out in late November but a stunning performance at the prestigious Midwest Classic earlier this month vaulted the talented junior to the top of the national heap.
    The Hilltopper standout was voted Most Outstanding Wrestler at the 39th annual event after beating three Top 10 wrestlers in his unbeaten run to the title. Bunch highlighted his weekend by pinning No. 1-ranked Dustin Kirk of King (Tenn.) just 19 seconds into the second period of their semifinal bout. It was Kirk's first NCAA Division II loss of the season.
    Bunch went on to defeat nationally-ranked Airk Furseth of Wisconsin-Parkside in the championship final, cementing his status as the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler and the nation's top 133-pounder.
    Wheeling Jesuit's D.J. Warner – who lost an overtime decision to Bunch in a dual meet earlier this season – is ranked No. 2 at 133 with Furseth at No. 3 and Kirk slipping to No. 4. Upper Iowa's Josh Walker rounds out the top five.
    In the team rankings, St. Cloud State held onto the No. 1 spot and Wisconsin-Parkside moved up to No. 2 after running away with the team title at the Midwest Classic. Ashland, California Baptist and McKendree rounded out the top five.
    West Liberty, Minnesota State and Maryville were in a three-way tie at No. 19 while Wheeling Jesuit held onto a Top 25 spot at No. 24.
    The Hilltoppers hit the mats again on Jan. 6 when they compete in a triangular against East Stroudsburg (Pa.) and Keystone (Pa.) College in La Plume, Pa.
  Team                                               Pts                Pvs
  1 St. Cloud State                        78                 1
  2 Wis.-Parkside                          72                 RV
  3 Ashland                                     69                 10
  4 California Baptist                   58                 2
  5 McKendree                              47                 3
  6 Pitt-Johnstown                       46                 5
  7 CSU-Pueblo                              45                 7
  8 Notre Dame                             38                 4
  9 Indianapolis                             38                 11
10 Upper Iowa                             37                 9
11 Simon Fraser                           36                 12
12 Nebraska-Kearney                 34                 23
13 Central Oklahoma                 32                 6
(tie) Newberry                              32                 RV
15 Lake Erie                                   25                 15
(tie) Findlay                                   25                 18
17 Western State                        24                 RV
18 Gannon                                     21                 7
19 WEST LIBERTY                        20                 NR
(tie) Minnesota State                 20                 19
(tie) Maryville                               20                 17
22 University of Mary                19                 23
23 Lindenwood                            17                 15
24 WHEELING JESUIT                 17                 23
25 Seton Hill                                 14                 13
     Others Receiving Votes: Augustana 13; Fort Hays State 13; Kutztown 13; Shippensburg 13; King 12; Limestone 12; Tiffin 11; LIU-Post 10; Ohio Valley 10; Mercyhurst 9; Newman 9; East Stroudsburg 7; Moorhead 6; Colorado School of Mines 3; Coker 3; Millersville 1; Central Missouri 1. 1 DARIUS BUNCH, WEST LIBERTY
2 Dustin Warner, Wheeling Jesuit
3 Airk Furseth, Wis.-Parkside
4 Dustin Kirk, King
5 Josh Walker, Upper Iowa
6 Paul Garcia, CSU-Pueblo
7 Tate Barnhardt, Mary
8 Bryce Shoemaker, Nebraska-Kearney
9 David Bavery, Notre Dame
10 Lawrence Dudgeon, Ashland
11 Hunter Haralson, Lindenwood
12 Naquan Hardy, McKendree