NCAA Division II Preseason Rankings

EDMOND, Okla. - The Shippensburg University wrestling program, under the guidance of eighth-year head coach Don Tabar, has been ranked at No. 20 in the preseason NCAA Division II wrestling poll released recently by the NCAA Division II Wrestling Coaches Association.   

Shippensburg is one of only two PSAC Division II programs represented in the pre-season team rankings and returns 13 student-athletes to the mat. New conference member Mercyhurst is ranked 12th, while Division II powerhouse Nebraska-Omaha earned the top spot in the poll.

Rounding out the top of the rankings include six-time Division II champion Central Oklahoma, Newberry, Pittsburgh-Johnstown, Chadron State and Upper Iowa.

After a strong finish last season in which the Red Raiders finished 15th in the country, Shippensburg is priming for another standout year with a young and experienced line-up.   

Pacing the Red Raiders in the individual rankings is national runner-up Steve Fittery, who was voted as the top-ranked wrestler at 141 pounds. Fittery, a junior, went 25-5 last year and secured the school's first PSAC Championship since 1978 before falling to Central Oklahoma's Kyle Evans 3-2 in the NCAA title match at 141 pounds for the second consecutive year. He holds a career mark of 71-12 and recorded a school-record 36 wins as a freshman.

Also returning for Shippensburg is red-shirt sophomore Chris Barrick, who will again compete at 174 pounds this season after compiling a 28-7 record that included nine falls. Barrick won first-place honors at the East Stroudsburg Open and placed second at the Wheeling Jesuit Open. He is ranked No. 3 in the East Region heading into the season. 

Red-shirt junior Jon Hade was third on the team in wins with a 21-13 mark last season and returns at 184 pounds. National qualifier Jake Wilson returns as the lone senior on this year's team after a fourth-place finish at the 2008 Northeast Regionals and enters the season ranked No. 3 in the East Region.  

Shippensburg will begin its season on Saturday at the Washington and Jefferson Open and open its dual meet schedule at York College on Wednesday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m.