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INDIANAPOLIS - The NCAA released Monday the first of three coaches’ panel rankings for the 2008-09 wrestling season. The final rankings will be one of the tools used as part of the selection process to determine the qualifiers for the 2009 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.

Wrestlers in each weight class will be measured by winning percentage, rating percentage index (RPI) and coaches’ rankings (first poll released Monday) to earn spots for the 2009 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. The coaches’ rankings are compiled by a vote of coaches across the nation. Each qualifying tournament has five coaches rank two weight classes each from one to 33. A wrestler receives 33 points for a first-place vote, 32 points for a second-place vote, etc. The high and low vote total for each wrestler is dropped to give a final point total.

For Virginia Tech, nine of its 10 starters are ranked in the top 33 at their respective weight classes. They are: Jarrod Garnett (15th at 125 pounds), Will Livingston (30th at 133 pounds), Chris Diaz (19th at 141 pounds), Pete Yates (22nd at 149 pounds), Jesse Dong (24th at 157 pounds), Matt Epperly (26th at 165 pounds), Tommy Spellman (22nd at 184 pounds), D.J. Bruce (26th at 197 pounds) and David Marone (24th at heavyweight).

A full video description of the entire selection process is available here or you can review appendix C of the 2009 Division I Wrestling Championships Handbook which is available here.

The top ranked wrestlers at each weight class for the inaugural rankings include: Paul Donahoe, Edinboro University (125 pounds); Franklin Gomez, Michigan State University (133 pounds); Alex Tsirtsis, University of Iowa (141 pounds); Brent Metcalf, Iowa (149 pounds); Gregor Gillespie, Edinboro (157 pounds); Mack Lewnes, Cornell University (165 pounds); Steve Luke, University of Michigan (174 pounds); Jake Herbert, Northwestern University (184 pounds); Jake Varner, Iowa State University (197 pounds) and Jared Rosholt, Oklahoma State University (Heavyweight).

The full rankings of each weight class are available at www.ncaa.com. On Feb. 25, the NCAA will release the number of automatic bids for each conference at each weight class.

For updates on Virginia Tech wrestling, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_Wrestling).