Morningside is ranked 19th in the NAIA Wrestling Pre-Season Poll.

Morningside College is ranked 19th in the nation in the NAIA Wrestling Coaches Pre-Season Poll released on Oct. 22.

The Mustangs are coming off a 2013-14 season where they posted a 12-6 record in duals, including a 7-0 mark in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) to win their fourth consecutive GPAC championship.

Morningside is one of three teams from the GPAC ranked in the NAIA Top 20. Midland University is ranked seventh and Concordia University is ranked 15th.
The Mustangs have four wrestlers in the individual rankings, led by Rulin Pederson, a senior from Sioux City, who is ranked second in the 184 lb. division. Pederson had a 13-6 record last season and earned NAIA All-America honors with a sixth place finish in the 184 lb. division at the NAIA Wrestling National Championships.

Morningside’s other nationally ranked wrestlers are Garret Lambrecht, a senior from Wood River, Neb., who is ranked eighth at 149 lbs.; Jared McCoy, a sophomore from Climbing Hill, Iowa, who is ranked 15th at 197 lbs.; and Chris Bridgeford, a sophomore from Mondamin, Iowa, who is ranked 15th at heavyweight.

Morningside will open the 2014-15 season when it competes in the Dakota Wesleyan University Open on Nov. 15 in Mitchell, S.D.

Click here for the complete NAIA Wrestling Coaches’ Pre-Season Poll.