Not much has changed with the rankings in the past month. Things are solidifying much like they did last year and look almost the same when it comes to team rankings at least.
On the team side, Sparta is ranked 8th in the Wisconsin Wrestling Online division two poll, which is the same they have been since early December. The Crossface polls did not look as favorably on Sparta this time around as the Spartans dropped two places to 10th in D2. The Wisconsin Wrestling Online polls has historically been a little friendlier to the Spartans.
On the individual side, Derek VonRuden is an honorable mention, Nick Winchel is 11th, Toby Mosley is 8th, Morgan Leis is an honorable mention and Tom Tourdot remains the top-ranked wrestler at 215 pounds. Crossface only does a preseason ranking and then a midseason ranking so no change came out of their polls.
Again, going into the tournament season, the top teams on Sparta’s radar continue to be River Valley and Lodi. Viroqua and Adams-Friendship are in Sparta’s regional, but the Spartans finished almost 100 points ahead of Viroqua at a tournament earlier this year and I don’t think Adams-Friendship has the firepower to matchup. Should the Spartans win the team title at regionals, that takes us to sectionals where it looks like Sparta would face River Valley right off the bat. River Valley is ranked 12th in the Wisconsin Wrestling Online poll and are an honorable mention according to Crossface. If they beat River Vallery, all signs point toward another showdown with Lodi.
Prairie du Chein is looking pretty tough over in that regional with River Valley.
With the outstanding year Derek Von Ruden is having how can he not be ranked!!