MANHEIM, Pa. – After a program-best eighth-place showing at the NCAA DII Wrestling Championships a season ago, the Kutztown University wrestling team will open the season ranked seventh in National Wrestling Coaches Association Division II polls, its highest ranking in program history, the organization announced Thursday afternoon.
The Golden Bears, who return three All-American grapplers from a season ago, eclipse the No. 11 preseason ranking it held entering the 2021-22 and 2024-25 seasons. The 2021-22 campaign concluded with a 10-2 mark, while last season wrapped up with an 11-1 record. The NWCA sees the returning class of Golden Bears as one of the most experienced groups in the country, and they will look to achieve greater heights in 2025-26.
Reigning Super Region I Coach of the Year
Robert Fisher returns five KU grapplers who claimed spots in the 15-man individual rankings. 285-pound senior
Freddie Retter (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown) and 165-pound redshirt senior
Bailey Gimbor (Bernville, Pa./Hamburg) each come in third in their respective weight classes after dominant, All-American performances a season ago. Redshirt senior
Dalton Gimbor (Bernville, Pa./Hamburg) comes in sixth in the 174-pound weight class, while redshirt junior
Wayne McIntyre (East Stroudsburg, Pa./East Stroudsburg North) holds the eighth position in the 197-pound class.
Newcomer
Cole Casilio (Wilcox, Pa./Johnsonburg), a 184-pound graduate transfer from Gannon, enters the season at No. 13 after ending his most recent season with a 23-11 overall record, an 8-2 dual record and seven falls in 2023-24. The Wilcox, Pa., native joins the Golden Bears after a 35-21 career mark as a member of the Golden Knights, and is the second Gannon transfer to come to Kutztown and earn a preseason ranking after 10th-ranked
Jimmy Ryan (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) at 149 pounds a season ago.
The Golden Bears finished the 2024-25 season with an 11-1 dual record, a 5-1 conference dual mark that was second best in the conference and a season-opening tournament victory at the East Stroudsburg Open. The postseason was a huge success for KU, as the squad came out of the Super Region I Championships with a program record six grapplers earning trips to the NCAA DII National Championships, four of whom claimed All-American honors on the way to a program-best eighth place finish at nationals.
The Golden Bears earned the seventh-place national ranking with 42.5 points in the national polls, a half point ahead of Glenville State and St. Cloud State. No. 3 Pitt-Johnstown is the top-rated team from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, while No. 10 Gannon is the only other PSAC team mentioned in the top-25. Seton Hill, Millersville, Shippensburg and East Stroudsburg are each receiving votes. The polls are topped by reigning national champion Nebraska-Kearney at No. 1, with No. 2 Lander and No. 3 UPJ making up the top three in the polls.
The Golden Bears will open the season at the 58th ESU Open on Sunday, Nov. 2, which begins at 10 a.m. The team hosts its first dual meet on Friday, Dec. 6, at 7 p.m. against PSAC foe Seton Hill at Keystone Arena.
