LITTLE ROCK - The Little Rock wrestling team continues their trajectory up the charts, climbing to 18th in the nation following their third-ever win over a ranked team last weekend. After coming in at no. 25 two weeks ago and no. 20 last week, Little Rock has jumped another two spots in the NWCA Division I Men's Wrestling Coaches Poll, as announced by the National Wrestling Coaches Association on Tuesday.
Read the full NWCA release here.
"It's really cool seeing our hard work get recognized and our hard work pay off," said head coach
Neil Erisman. "I'm happy for the guys because they've earned it. We're going in the right direction to continue that upward trend."
The program is young, but has quickly built a foundation that has the potential to last, as Coach Erisman added, "I think we're far from building a dynasty, but this shows our team, recruits, and families now and in the future that what we're doing is unique. If they can continue to buy in, they're going to be part of something special."
The Trojans have taken out formerly ranked #16 Oregon State, #24 Arizona State, and now #23 Cal Poly over the past three weeks of competition. Their win over Cal Poly last Saturday was their widest margin of victory yet, taking the dual 21-12.
Read the recap of the dual here.
Two weeks ago was the first time that any Trojan team in department history has entered the top 25 of a national coaches poll, as the Little Rock wrestling team broke the NWCA Coaches Poll for the first time in program history, becoming the quickest Division I men's start-up program to hit the Coaches Poll.
Read more about the team's first national team ranking here.
Little Rock wrestling is still appearing in several national media polls as well. The team is 18th on FloWrestling's Dual team rankings and 29th on their Tournament team rankings. Little Rock also checks in at 21st on InterMat's Dual team rankings and 28th on their Tournament team rankings. In addition, the Trojans are highlighted as 21st on The Open Mat's Dual team rankings and 25th on their Tournament team rankings, while sitting 20th within WIN Magazine's Dual team rankings and 23rd on their Tournament power index.
Seven Trojans also landed in the first NCAA Coaches Rankings, announced on Monday, January 22. Before this year, the most that Little Rock wrestling had placed in one of the three NCAA Coaches Rankings every season was two. The coaches' ranking is one of several criteria that will be evaluated by the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee ahead of the NCAA Tournament in March.
The Trojans have one final home date left on the calendar. The team will host CSU-Bakersfield and SIUE for a tri-dual on Sunday, Feb. 11. Their final Pac-12 dual against CSU-Bakersfield will begin at 12 p.m.
For the latest information on Little Rock Wrestling, make sure to check out
LRTrojans.com. You can also find the team on social media at @LittleRockWRES on
Facebook,
Instagram, and
Twitter.
#LittleRocksTeam
