Bears Begin Season Ranked 5th In NCC

The UNC wrestling squad will begin the season ranked fifth in the preseason North Central Conference wrestling rankings. The Bears placed sixth at the conference meet last season and produced an NCC runner-up in Ronnie Stafford.

Stafford leads the Bears' returnees this year and is ranked No. 1 in the NCC in the 141-pound weight class. Stafford compiled a record of 22-11 last season and was an All-American.

Brody Olson returns for his senior season and is ranked No. 2 in the NCC at 157 pounds. Olson was also an All-American last season after compiling a mark of 29-15. Olson has a record of 72-42 in his career at UNC.

Redshirt freshman Tyler Haner is ranked No. 4 in the 125-pound weight class to begin the year in the NCC. Haner is a native of Greeley, Colo., and attended Roosevelt High School.

Junior Jason McMillan returns for his third season as a Bear grappler and is ranked No. 4 in the NCC in the 197-pound category. McMillan was an All-American in 2001 and has a career record of 29-14.

NCC Preseason Rankings

Team Rankings

1.	University of Nebraska- Omaha
2.	North Dakota State University
3.	South Dakota State University
4.	Minnesota State University- Mankato
5.	University of Northern Colorado
6.	Augustana College
7.	St. Cloud State University

Individual Rankings

125 Pounds                                      133 Pounds
1.  Matt Strawser (SR)- NDSU                    1.  Tony Fratzke (SR)- MSU
2.  Aaron Graumann (SO)- AUG                    2.  Lucas Christianson (JR)- NDSU
3.  Dan Hilario (SO)- UNO                       3.  Eli Dominguez (SO)- UNO
4.  Tyler Haner (RF)- UNC                       4.  Chris Dozark (SR)- SDSU

141 Pounds                                      149 Pounds
1.  Ronnie Stafford (JR)- UNC                   1.  Hannon Hisek (SR)- MSU
2.  Roderick Ratcliff (SR)- UNO                 2.  Collin Kelly (SO)- NDSU
3.  Jeremy Roe (SO)- SDSU                       3.  Casey Kohl (SO)- UNO
4.  Matt Bitz (RF)- NDSU                        4.  Jared Barnes (RF)- SDSU

157 Pounds                                      165 Pounds
1.  Paul Carlson (JR)- NDSU                     1.  Tyler Bryant (SR)- SDSU
2.  Brody Olson (SR)- UNC                       2.  Mike Fiedler (JR)- NDSU
3.  Cory Beckman (SR)- MSU                      3.  Matt Neumueller (SR)- SCSU
4.  Nick Blanchard (JR)- UNO                    4.  Dan Vech (JR)- UNO

174 Pounds                                      184 Pounds
1.  Bob Edmonds (JR)- UNO                       1.  Tyler Jones (SR)- SDSU
2.  Tom Meester (SO)- AUG                       2.  Zach Stalder (SR)- UNO
3.  Jon Duncombe (SO)- SCSU                     3.  Sam Kenton (SR)- AUG
4.  Thad Pike (JR)- NDSU                        4.  Joel Schrimpf (SR)- MSU

197 Pounds                                      285 Pounds
1.  Chad Wallace (SR)- UNO                      1.  Dustin Darveaux (SR)- SCSU
2.  Todd Paszek (JR)- SDSU                      2.  Lance Tolstedt (JR)- UNO
3.  Brian Kraemer (JR)- NDSU                    3.  Paul Svein (SO)- MSU
4.  Jason McMillan (JR)- UNC                    4.  Cris Bietz (SO)- AUG