The NCAA has released the first set of coaches' rankings, as well as pre-allocations for the 2021 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship slated for March 18-20 at Enterprise Center in St. Louis. The EIWA, who will see just 10 of its 17 members compete at the conference championship at Spooky Nook Sports Complex in Manheim, Pa. on Feb. 26, was pre-allocated 35 spots in addition to the 10 automatic qualifiers / EIWA champions for a total of 45.

Traditionally, pre-allocations have been determined by a formula measuring Div. I winning percentage, ratings percentage index and coaches' ranking. However, due to the decrease in overall matches, and in particular non-conference matches, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCAA Div. I Wrestling Committee made the transition to using the five-year (2016-20) historical average to determine pre-allocations for this year's tournament.

The NCAA's announcement included a total of 266 qualifier spots – 196 pre-allocations and 70 automatic qualifiers. Upon completion of the conference tournaments, the committee will meet to select the remaining at-large qualifiers to fill out the 33-man bracket at each weight class. The at-large announcement will be made on March 9, while brackets and seeding will be announced at 6:00 pm on March 10 via ncaa.com(.)

The Big Ten led the way with 76 qualifying spots, followed by the EIWA and Big 12 both receiving 45. The MAC has 35, the ACC has 33, the Pac-12 has 19 and the Southern Conference has 13. The EIWA will qualify at least 3 spots (including the individual champion) in all 10 weight classes. The 184-pound weight class is the deepest within the EIWA, pre-allocating five spots along with the champion for a total of six. Meanwhile, the 125 and 133-pound classes will send just three total wrestlers (champion and two allocations) to the championship.

The coaches' rankings are determined by a vote of 14 coaches in each weight class with two head coaches from each of the seven conferences. For ranking purposes, coaches may only consider a wrestler that has been designated as a starter at a respective weight class. For the initial ranking, wrestlers must have participated in at least two matches against Division I opponents in the weight class to be considered with at least one within the last 30 days.

Navy placed eight of its starting 10 wrestlers on the first coaches' ranking, including senior team captain Cody Trybus who was the Mids' highest-ranked wrestler at No. 10  (141). Joining Trybus were senior Logan Treaster (No .25 at 125), senior Casey Cobb (No. 18 at 149), freshman Andrew Cerniglia (No. 26 at 157), two-time EIWA Champion Tanner Skidgel (No. 14 at 165), freshman David Key (No. 18 at 184), sophomore Jacob Koser (No. 16 at 197) and sophomore John Birchmeier (No. 24 at 285).

Wrestling in their regular-season finale, the Midshipmen (4-1, 1-0 EIWA) will battle archrival Army (2-2, 2-2 EIWA) on Friday evening in the annual Star Match. Action is set for 6:00 pm at Christl Arena in West Point, N.Y. with a live stream available on Army's website (goarmywestpoint.com).

### Go Navy ###