INDIANAPOLIS (Jan. 18, 2018) -- The NCAA released the first of four coaches' panel rankings for the 2017-18 wrestling season on Thursday afternoon. The final rankings will be one of the tools used as part of the selection process to determine the qualifiers for the 2018 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. This year's event is March 15-17 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.

Two-time All-American Bryce Meredith leads UW as the top wrestler at 141 pounds. He is followed by redshirt freshman Montorie Bridges ranked eighth at 133 pounds. Senior Archie Colgan is tenth at 157 pounds, while junior Branson Ashworth is ranked 14th (165 pounds). Redshirt freshman Sam Turner holds the 24th spot at 149 pounds, as senior Kyle Pope rounds out the Pokes as the 32nd-ranked wrestler at 174 pounds.

Wrestlers in each weight class will be measured by winning percentage, rating percentage index (RPI) and coaches' rankings to earn spots in their qualifying tournaments for the 2018 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. The coaches' rankings are compiled by a vote of coaches representing each qualifying tournament. For ranking purposes, coaches may only consider a wrestler that has been designated as a starter at a respective weight class. To be eligible for the rankings, 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.

Wt. – Name (Coaches Rank)
133 - Montorie Bridges (8^th)
141 – Bryce Meredith (1^st)
149 – Sam Turner (24^th)
157 – Archie Colgan (10^th)
165 – Branson Ashworth (14^th)
174 – Kyle Pope (32^nd)