Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Notre Dame College Athletics

The Official Website of the Notre Dame Falcons
Frank Romano
Frank Romano returns for a fifth season on the NDC bench and has his Falcons primed for a run at a second straight title.

Wrestling by Skip Snow

Defending champs tabbed as preseason No. 1

Falcons voted as top-ranked squad heading into 2010-11 season

SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio -- The defending NAIA national-champion Wrestling Falcons will have an opportunity to earn a repeat title in wire-to-wire fashion, as Notre Dame is the No. 1 team in the recently released NAIA Preseason Coaches' Poll. (Poll Results)

Notre Dame racked up 160 total team points in the poll, more-than-doubling the points earned by its nearest competitors, Missouri Valley and Campbellsville (Ky.), which share the No. 2 spot with 79.5 points. McKendree (Ill.) checks in at No. 4 with 73 points and with 71.5 points, Cumberland (Tenn.) rounds out the top-five teams.

Notre Dame's dominance at the 2010 National Championships has set the Falcons apart in the eyes of poll voters. Reigning National Wrestling Coach of the Year #Frank Romano#'s arsenal remains intact as all nine wrestlers that advanced to medal matches last March return for the 2010-11 season.

In the Preseason Poll, NDC had 11 grapplers garner a ranking in their respective weight class. Among those 11 are defending national champions #Derek Foore#, #Jeffrey Pelton# and #Thomas Straughn#, who are tabbed as the No. 1's at 197, 149 and 157 pounds, respectively. 2010 runner-up #Orlando Scales# was selected as the preseason No. 1 in the heavyweight division. 2010 All-American #Cody Butzer# earned the top selection at 174.

“This is great, to have half of the 10 weight divisions in the hands of one of our guys,” said Romano, who led NDC Wrestling to a national title in what was just the program's fourth season since being instituted in 2006. “It's a testament to the hard work our student-athletes, coaches and administrators have put in. That being said, we're not focused on preseason hype -- we want to be No. 1 when it counts, at the end of the 2011 National Championship Tournament.”

The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each four regions in NAIA Wrestling. The first regular-season poll will be announced on Nov. 23. Notre Dame's season is slated to begin on Nov. 7, when the Falcons travel to Buffalo, N.Y., to compete in the Buffalo Open.
Print Friendly Version