INDIANAPOLIS – The UIndy wrestling catapulted 15 spots in this week's Open Mat rankings, as the team sent six players to this year's national championships after their strong performances at Super Regionals this past weekend.
All six of those who will take part in the 2025 national championships all appear in this week's top-20 individual rankings. Brayden Lowery (141), Derek Blubaugh (197) and Cale Gray (285) all made their routine appearances this week, with Gray and Lowery both moving up. Nathan Smith (125), Jackson Hoover (149) and Nathan Conley (157) are all making first time appearances in the rankings this season after becoming national qualifiers this past weekend.
Smith in 125 is making his first appearance in the rankings this season, coming in at No. 16 after he earned three wins over GLVC opponents; McKendree's Jason Strope, Drury's Bryson Humphries and Quincy's Sam Shafer, on his way to a third place at Super Regional IV.
At 141, Lowery jumped into the top five, coming in at No. 5 after two ranked wins at Super Regionals over No. 6-ranked Ronan Schuelke from McKendree and No. 14-ranked Sabian Russell from Quincy.
Hoover finds himself back in the rankings again at No. 6 after being unranked last week. He had an unbeaten weekend at Super Regionals that saw him win the 149 weight class, after wins over No. 7-ranked Joey Semerad and No. 11-ranked Dylan Brown.
Another Greyhound making his first arrival of the season, Nathan Conley came in ranked at No. 18 in the 157 weight class. Conley was another who became a National Qualifier with a third place finish. He took down Ouachita Baptist's Jaylon Otero in the third place match to secure his spot at this year's national championships.
Reigning 2024 national champion Derek Blubaugh remained at No. 3 at 197, after making his fourth straight national qualifier appearance, as he looks to go back-to-back as a national champion in the 197 weight class. Blubaugh outscored his opponents 37-9 on the weekend, including two tech fall wins in his first two matches.
The final Greyhound jumping up in the top-20 rankings, Gray jumped into the top 10 rankings at No. 9 in 285. Gray finished third at this past weekend's Super Regional with two major decision wins over Newman's Caleb Wunsch and Ouachita Baptist's Brayden Seago.
UIndy will have a weekend off to prepare for the 2025 NCAA DII Championships in Indianapolis, IN, with the tournament starting on Friday March 14.
