BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Six different Campbell wrestlers are ranked in the first NCAA Coaches' Ranking of the season, released Monday morning. Anthony Molton, Domenic Zaccone, Dom Baker, Austin Murphy, Levi Hopkins, and Taye Ghadiali are all ranked in the top-30 in their respective weight classes.
"Six out of ten starters made the coaches ranking," said Head Coach Scotti Sentes. "It is a great indicator of the talent of this team, and it shows that coaches around the country are recognizing these guys as some of the top talent in the country at their weight. That is big, but I know how hard these guys work and I know they have more to show."
Molton (125 pounds) is ranked #25. Coming off back-to-back SoCon Wrestler of the Week recognitions, he earned his 12th win of the season in the victory over Davidson. Of Molton's four losses on the year, three of them are to wrestlers ranked in the top four.
Zaccone (133 pounds) ranks at #20 in the inaugural ranking. He currently has a 16-6 record this year, which includes a fourth-place finish at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Last time on the mat, Zaccone scored a 2:14 tech fall over Davidson's John Hager.
At 165 pounds, Baker is slated at #28. He sits at 11-5 after scoring an overtime victory over Bryce Sanderlin of Davidson. He took first place at the Southeast Open earlier this season. After dropping his first three dual matches, Baker is on a streak of six-straight victories in dual matches.
Murphy is ranked #19 at 174 pounds. He took sixth place at the Cliff Keen Invitational, and he leads the Camels with 14 near falls this season. He has a 14-6 overall record this year, and 3-1 in dual matches. His lone dual defeat is to the wrestler ranked immediately ahead of him, #18 Gaven Sax (NDSU).
Hopkins (197 pounds) is the second-highest ranked Camel at #16. He ranks tied-eighth in the country in pins, with seven to this point. He has 16 wins on the year, including a fall (2:20) against Davidson's Cameo Blankenship last time out.
Ghadiali (Heavyweight) is ranked inside the top-10 at #8. He is second in the entire country in total wins (22). He is tied for eighth in the country with seven tech falls. He finished third at the Cliff Keen Invitational earlier this year.
Zaccone, Hopkins and Ghadiali are each looking to return to the NCAA Championships.
The six teammates are the most from one team from the SoCon in the rankings. App State has four wrestlers listed, while Chattanooga has three named. Gardner-Webb rounds out the conference representatives with two.
"We have had a tough schedule and have proved ourselves throughout the year," Sentes said. "But, there will be more opportunities coming up to show what we are made of, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how we respond to it."
The 15 ranked wrestlers from the SoCon are listed below.
125 Pounds
#23 – Brayden Palmer (Chattanooga)
#25 – Anthony Molton (Campbell)
133 Pounds
#20 – Domenic Zaccone (Campbell)
#23 – Ethan Oakley (App State)
#26 – Blake Boarman (Chattanooga)
149 Pounds
#20 – Cody Bond (App State)
#23 – Noah Castillo (Chattanooga)
#31 – Zach Price (Gardner-Webb)
157 Pounds
#17 – Tommy Askey (App State)
165 Pounds
#27 – Will Miller (App State)
#28 – Dom Baker (Campbell)
174 Pounds
#19 – Austin Murphy (Campbell)
184 Pounds
#27 – Jha'Quan Anderson (Gardner-Webb)
197 Pounds
#16 – Levi Hopkins (Campbell)
Heavyweight
#8 – Taye Ghadiali (Campbell)
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