Altieri First in Heart, Eighth in NAIA as Preseason Rankings Released

William Penn University Athletics

by Wade Steinlage

Oskaloosa–John Altieri (Jr., Warwick, R.I., Sociology) enters the 2017-2018 wrestling season regarded as one of the best grapplers in the nation as the NAIA’s preseason poll was released Wednesday.

Altieri, a two-time national qualifier, is eighth in the NAIA at 125 pounds to give William Penn 13 points in the national poll.

Grand View is first with 167 points, while fellow Heart of America Athletic Conference program Missouri Valley is second with 125 points. Providence (Mont.) (113), Menlo (Calif.) (110), and Campbellsville (Ky.) (100) round out the top five.

All NAIA teams now belong to a conference and those conference groupings will serve as the new national-qualifying tournaments in February.

Altieri is ranked first in the Heart at 125 pounds, while Johnny Hopper (Jr., Basehor, Kan., Psychology) is fifth at 165 pounds.

184-pounder Cody Jones (So., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Sociology) and 285-pounder Matthew Cuthbert (Jr., Yucaipa, Calif., Sociology) are both sixth at their respective weights.