Men's Wrestling Moves into NAIA Top 5

Men's Wrestling moved up one spot in the latest NAIA National Coaches' Poll released on Thursday. The Tigers cracked the Top 5 for the first time this season, coming in at No. 5 after holding the No. 6 spot in the early November poll.

In total, 11 individual Doane wrestlers earned Top 25 rankings in their respective weight classes. Three Tigers earned a national ranking for the first time in their career while two others earned rankings in a different weight class.

In the 125 division, Hunter Bennett held on to his Top 15 ranking, coming in at No. 15 this week. He is currently 10-7 on the season. Devin Avedissian returns to the rankings at 133 after spending the previous two polls ranked at 141. He is tied for 11th in the poll after going 5-1 at 133 in the Conner/Oppenheim Doane Open on Saturday. Avedissian is 7-5 overall on the season.

Nate Lendt held at No. 3 at 149, his fourth straight week inside the Top 10 dating back to last year. He is 7-1 on the season. Benjamin Miller sits No. 15 in this week's rankings for 157. He is 12-4 on the season with two Top 25 wins. Benjamin Dobler debuted at 157 for the first time in his career, ranked No. 24. He had been ranked in the last seven polls at 165. Dobler is 9-6 on the season and 1-2 at his current weight class.

Cael Jordan earned his first career ranking at 174, entering in a tie for 17th. He is 9-3 on the year, with two of his losses coming to Top 12 opponents in the division. Tyson Beauperthuy holds onto the No. 5 spot in the poll at 184. He is 13-1 on the season and 3-1 against the Top 25 this season. Chase Stieb earned his first national ranking at 184, entering at No. 19. He is 9-4 on the season and 2-4 against Top 25 wrestlers.

Doane has two wrestlers also ranked in the 197 division. Bradley Antesberger and Kasten Grape continue to hold Top 10 rankings with Antesberger at No. 2 and Grape at No. 6 this week. Antesberger is 9-0 on the year with one Top 25 win while Grape is 11-1 overall and 4-1 against ranked wrestlers with his lone loss coming to Antesberger.

The final Tiger to make his rankings debut is Eli Criblez. He comes in at No. 25 at 285 while holding a 13-7 record with a 2-2 mark against national ranked opponents.

Doane will take on Midland tonight (Thursday) at 7 PM in Fremont in a conference dual.