Four among individual top 20s spotlight national ranking

Morningside University's wrestling program climbed into the first 20 of the Week Three edition of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics' coaches poll, released Thursday, Dec. 30.

Head coach Jake Stevenson's Mustangs, sporting a 1-0 dual record, received 46 poll points to take the No. 19 slot. They were one of three Great Plains Athletic Conference schools listed as Doane University (No. 4), and Hastings College (No. 12) were the other two.

Individually, four Mside student-athletes were part of their respective weight class top 20. Junior John Diener (Kaukauna, Wis.) led the quartet with a No. 5 ranking at 149; fellow junior Taylor Vasquez (Fountain, Colo.) was No. 11 at 133; sophomore Hunter DeJong (Sibley, Iowa) was No. 14 at 197; and junior 125-pounder Evan Shell (Fort Collins, Colo.) was No. 19 at 125.

The Mustangs are scheduled to return to action Thursday, Jan. 6, traveling to the University of Jamestown for GPAC dual action.