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U grapplers earn top 20 rankings in preseason poll

April 18, 2002

The wrestling season is over, but the team is still receiving accolades.

The MSU wrestling team is ranked No. 10 in the preseason InterMat Wrestling poll for the 2002-03 season. Seven wrestlers are ranked in the top 20 individual rankings.

Two-time All-American Gray Maynard, leads the host of Spartans with a No. 4 ranking in the 157-pound weight class. In the 2001-02 season the senior had a record of 20-14 and placed seventh at the NCAA Championships in Albany, N.Y.

Two other Spartans were ranked in the top 10. Junior Nik Fekete is ranked No. 5 at 197 pounds and senior Rashad Evans is ranked No. 9 at 174 pounds.

Fekete was a 2001 All-American, but sat out last season with a shoulder injury. Evans had a regular season record of 22-15 and qualified for the NCAA Championships.

Redshirt freshman Nick Simmons cracked into the rankings at No. 11. Simmons posted a 25-3 record and won four open tournaments last season in the 125-pound weight class.

Senior Karl Nadolsky is ranked No. 11 in the 149-pound weight class, senior John Wechter is No. 12 at 184 pounds and junior Ryan L’Amoreaux is ranked No. 14 in the 133-pound weight class.

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