Wrestling Top 25 now includes UTC

January 13, 2016 at 1:00 a.m. | Updated January 13, 2016 at 12:04 a.m.

by Ward Gossett

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga 285-pound-class wrestler Jared Johnson, left, controls Ross Larson of Oklahoma on the way to a 12-11 win in the final match of the day as the UTC team comes from behind to defeat Oklahoma by a team score of 19-16 on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn.
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga 285-pound-class wrestler Jared Johnson, left, controls Ross Larson of Oklahoma on the way to a 12-11 win in the final match of the day as the UTC team comes from behind to defeat Oklahoma by a team score of 19-16 on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn.

InterMat rankings

1. Penn State (8-0)2. Iowa (10-0)3. North Carolina State (16-0)4. Missouri (7-0)5. Oklahoma State (4-2)6. Michigan (5-1)7. Ohio State (5-2)8. Rutgers (11-2)9. Nebraska (9-1)10. Lehigh (9-1)11. Iowa State (7-2)12. Virginia Tech (7-2)13. Oklahoma (6-2)14. Illinois (8-2)15. North Carolina (9-1)16. Cornell (1-3)17. Oregon State (4-4)18. Central Michigan (4-1)19. Ohio (5-2)20. Indiana (4-1)21. Minnesota (5-6)22. Virginia (5-2)23. West Virginia (5-2)24. Pittsburgh (9-1)25. UTC (8-3)

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga has joined the nation's wrestling elite, earning a No. 25 ranking in the latest InterMat.com poll.

The Mocs are coming off an impressive performance at the Virginia Duals where they won three of four matches, including against Rider and Arizona State. Their lone loss in that weekend event was to then 15th-ranked Iowa State.

"It's good for the program, the school and the community, and it's good for our current athletes and alumni," UTC coach Heath Eslinger said Tuesday afternoon.

The Mocs are 8-3 overall, 3-0 in the Southern Conference, and all the losses have come to ranked opponents (Stanford, Ohio, Iowa State).

"Wrestling is so much a game of inches, but (the ranking) is a number beside the name and a lot of programs don't have that. It's something to be proud of," Eslinger said.

This is the third year in a row that UTC has been ranked among the nation's top 25. They were No. 20 at one point last season and were also in the top 25 for four weeks during the 2013-14 season.

UTC is one spot from being in the NWCA/USA Today coaches' Top 25, one notch behind fellow SoCon member Appalachian State (8-2). Appalachian, which has lost to North Carolina State and North Carolina, is on a four-meet win streak. The Mountaineers will wrestle UTC at Maclellan Gym on Feb. 5.

In the latest Amateur Wrestling News rankings, the Mocs' Jared Johnson has cracked the top 10 at 285 pounds, coming in at No. 9. Kamaal Shakur is No. 20 at 157 pounds and Scottie Boykin is 19th at 197.

Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.

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