Fresno State Athletics
Four Ranked Fresno State Wrestlers Receive Another Honor
10/15/2004 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Oct. 15, 2004
Fresno, Calif. - Four Fresno State wrestlers were honored again today by being ranked in their third preseason poll, this time by Wrestling International Newsmagazine. The wrestlers were previously ranked by Amateur Wrestling News and the National Wrestling Coaches Association polls.
All of the polls rank the top 20 teams in the nation based on their tournament strength, and also rank the top 20 wrestlers by weight class.
Senior Jim Medeiros had the highest ranking for the Bulldogs at No. 7. Such a high ranking indicates that Medeiros is a preseason favorite to finish the season as an All-American at 157 pounds. Meideros was ranked No. 8 in the NWCA poll and No. 10 in the AWN poll.
Former 197-pound All-American Marcio Botelho and Heavyweight Clint Walbeck were also ranked highly by WIN. Marcio Botelho received the higher ranking at No. 9, matching his ranking by AWN and just a slot higher than No. 10 by NWCA. Walbeck was placed the highest by WIN, at No, 12. The senior received rankings of No. 13 by AWN and No. 15 by the NWCA.
Rounding out the ranked Bulldogs is Junior Greg Gifford who as ranked No. 19 by the WIN poll. The 184-pound Gifford was ranked No. 18 in the AWN poll and No. 19 in the NWCA poll, in what will be his 3rd year starting in that division.
The four wrestlers in the polls is more than last year, where only Botelho was ranked in each poll. Gifford was ranked in the AWN poll, while departed senior Casey Olsen was ranked in the NWCA poll.
