LANCASTER, Pa. – Washington & Lee has been tabbed as the favorite in the 2019-20 Centennial Conference Wrestling Preseason Poll. In the annual vote among conference head coaches, the Generals collected four first-place votes and 33 points to land atop the voting. 

Merchant Marine finished second in the poll with 31 points and two first-place nods, while third-place Muhlenberg (26 points) also nabbed a first-place vote. Gettysburg was close behind in fourth place with 24 points. 

Johns Hopkins (12), Ursinus (11) and McDaniel (10) rounded out the rankings. 

The majority of Centennial Conference squads begin their campaigns in early November. The Centennial Conference Championship is set for Saturday, Feb. 15 at Muhlenberg. NCAA Regionals will take place Feb. 28 - March 1, with the NCAA Championships slated for March 13-14 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 

2019-20 Schedule | 2019 Championship Results | 2018-19 All-Centennial Team 

Five-time defending champion Stevens has departed the Centennial Conference, as it joined the Middle Atlantic Conference as a full-time member this year. That opens the door for a new team champion this winter, which figures to be a fierce competition at the top of the standings. 

At last year's Centennial Conference Championship it was a tight battle for second place, with Washington & Lee edging Merchant Marine by just 2.5 points in the team standings, and Muhlenberg just one point behind Merchant Marine in fourth place. 

Eleven all-conference wrestlers return to the mat this winter, headlined by returning All-American Joshua Glantzman from Merchant Marine. Glantzman placed fourth in the 184-pound weight class at nationals to claim All-America honors. Washington & Lee's Rexx Hallyburton, a 2018 All-Centennial honoree, also returns as an NCAA Championship qualifier from last winter.

Other All-Centennial returnes include Muhlenberg's Jimmy Fratantoni and Dylan Schwartz, W&L's Shane Conners and Bryce Crew, Merchant Marine's Kurtis Hahn and Kieran Duggan, Gettysburg's Sean Thompson and Colin Devlin, and Johns Hopkins' Dominick Reyes. 

2019-20 Centennial Conference Wrestling Preseason Poll