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The Cowboys wrestling team will begin the season with a target on their backs after receiving a No. 1 ranking in the preseason in the USA Today / NWCA D1 Coaches Poll.
Oklahoma State starts the season on TOP in the USA Today/NWCA DI Coaches Poll! Top 25: https://t.co/c8y6gJjoee #NCAAWrestling pic.twitter.com/N93Rj4Dipk
— NCAA Wrestling (@ncaawrestling) November 3, 2016
OSU received 10 of the possible 16 first place votes to land at number one.
Oklahoma State finished the 2015-16 season with a 13-3 record and were the national runner-ups to Penn State. The Nittany Lions were ranked No. 2 in the preseason.
Iowa, Ohio State, Missouri, Virginia Tech, Nebraska, Cornell, NC State, and Michigan round out the top 10. In the Big 12, Iowa State (#14) and Oklahoma (#18) were the only other ranked teams.
This season OSU continues their history of facing ranked opponents, with seven on the schedule, including; #3 Iowa, #5 Missouri, #8 Cornell, #15 Minnesota, and #23 Pittsburgh. Iowa, Pitt, and Cornell will all come to Stillwater.
The high expectations for OSU this season make sense. Coach John Smith’s team returns five All-Americans including 141-pound NCAA champion Dean Heil, Anthony Collica, Joe Smith, Kyle Crutchmer and Nolan Boyd.
You can find the full rankings here, and check out OSU’s schedule here.