Nickell, Rohlfing Ranked in Top Twenty to Start Season

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – Wrestling Insider Newsmagazine has ranked redshirt senior Sean Nickell No. 12 in the nation at the 133-pound weight class and redshirt junior Russell Rohlfing No. 19 in the 141-pound class to start the 2018-19 season. As a team, CSU Bakersfield was tied for 39^th out of 58 teams rated in the Tournament Power Index.

Nickell qualified for the NCAA Championships last season and earned a 13-8 upset decision over No. 9 Dennis Gustafson of Virginia Tech on the national stage. He finished third at the Pac-12 championships and totaled a 24-12 record on the season. Nickell won the Pac-12 title as a redshirt sophomore and is a two-time NCAA qualifier. The redshirt senior has won the Roadrunner Open in two consecutive seasons. Nickell is the only Pac-12 wrestler to be ranked in the 133-pound class.

Rohlfing is also a two-time NCAA qualifier. The redshirt junior finished last season with a 22-12 record and took second at the Pac-12 tournament. Rohlfing earned 40 points in the dual season and was 3-1 in Pac-12 action. He also finished third at the Roadrunner Open. Arizona State transfer Mason Smith is ranked 10^th in the 141-pound class.

As a team, CSUB finished last season at 6-10 in the dual season and a 1-3 mark in Pac-12 action. The `Runners were ranked 39^th in the country in the Tournament Power Index (TPI) as a team to start the year. TPI awards team points for individuals ranked in the respective weight classes based on how many potential All-Americans each school could produce at the 2019 NCAA Championships.

Conference rival Arizona State was rated ninth and Oregon State was slotted in 25^th. Stanford was ranked just higher than CSUB, checking in tied for 33^rd.

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Players Mentioned

Sean Nickell: 133; 5' 7"; Redshirt Junior

Russell Rohlfing: 141; 5' 10"; Redshirt Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Sean Nickell
: 5' 7"; Redshirt Junior
: 133

Russell Rohlfing
: 5' 10"; Redshirt Sophomore
: 141