Mercyhurst is ranked first and Gannon is seventh in the NCAA Division II Super Region One preseason wrestling rankings released this week.
Five former District 10 wrestlers (two from Mercyhurst, three from Gannon) were picked among the top four ranked wrestlers in their respective weight classes.
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Andrew Welton
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Dylan D’Urso
The Lakers, who have five wrestlers at No. 1, begin the season as Region One’s top team in the preseason poll for the second straight season. Mercyhurst went 18-1 (7-0 in PSAC matches) last season.
Mercyhurst redshirt junior Dylan D’Urso, a Reynolds graduate, has a career record of 62-10 and is ranked first at 133 pounds. Also for the Lakers, junior Andy Welton, who wrestled at Central Tech, has a career mark of 24-9 and is rated first at 285 pounds.
Other ranked wrestlers for Mercyhurst include Jeremy Landowski (149, first), Angelo Bortoluzzi (165, first), August Mizia (174, first), Francis Mizia (157, second), Dakota DesLauriers (184, second), Kody Yound (133, third), Brian Beattie (197, sixth) and Willie Bohince (125, third).
Gannon, which had four wrestlers make the Region One preseason top six, had a 7-5 record in dual competitions last season.
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Aaron Smith
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Garret Smith
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Christopher Matthews
Knights redshirt senior Aaron Smith (fourth, 133 pounds) is a graduate of Conneaut Lake. Smith has a career mark of 19-21 after going 15-13 last season. Seneca graduate Garret Smith (fourth, 157) is a redshirt junior who had a 22-15 record last season and is 46-30 in his career at Gannon. Chris Matthews (fifth, 174) is a redshirt sophomore and graduate of Franklin who went 10-10 last season and has 16 career wins for the Knights.
Also ranked for Gannon is redshirt sophomore Nigel Toussaint (fourth, 197).
The Lakers and Golden Knights open the season Nov. 14 at the Mount Union Invitational. The Lakers host the Knights in a PSAC dual meet Feb. 3 at 7 p.m.
