It’s three in a row as the Newberry College Wrestling team took the top spot in the Takedown Report’s rankings of college and university teams in North and South Carolina.

This is the third year the local team has taking the top ranking with competing will all the college and big universities in the region.

The rankings include wrestling programs from all divisions and affiliations.

Newberry took the top ranking ahead of Division I programs like the University of North Carolina (No. 2), UNC Greensboro (No. 3), The Citadel (No. 4) and Duke University (No. 8).

Head Coach Jason Valek says the top ranking legitimizes he fact that a small school can compete with the big sports names like UNC, Duke and the Citadel. He adds that being able to compete at this level is special, especially with wins over teams like North Carolina State and North Carolina.

The top billing also helps the local school get a “couple more kids,” said Valek, adding he gets 90 percent of the wrestlers he brings to see the local college.

The top ranking is also amazing for Valek who started the sport at the college just five years ago in the 2005-06 season.

“We’ve got a good thing going,” said the former Newberry High coach and Clemson grad.

And having coached local high school students has instilled a desire in Valek to work with the youth of the county through ongoing camps and with the Newberry High and Middle school coaches.

Valek says the local fan base has also started to grow with fans packing the college arena for games.

His hope for the next season is to bring a national championship to Newberry. The Scarlet and Gray have finished second in the national championships for the past two years.

The Scarlet and Gray earned the No. 1 spot for the third consecutive season after finishing the year with an 18-4 record, an individual national champion at 184-pounds in Bryant Blanton (Summerville) and three All-Americans with Blanton, Keeno Griffin (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Sheridan Moran (Lafayette, La.).

In addition to the top team ranking, every member of Newberry’s final starting lineup earned individual rankings in the top eight of his respective weight class, regardless of division or affiliation.

Blanton took the No. 1 spot at 184-pounds beating out second-ranked Austin Troutman of Appalachian State and third-ranked Andrew Saunders of UNC Greensboro for the honor.

Four Newberry grapplers were ranked at No. 2: Matt Oliver (Toms River, N.J.) at 125-pounds, Moran at 133-pounds, Latra Collick (Berlin, Md.) at 149-pounds and Keeno Griffin at 197-pounds.

Two wrestlers earned No. 4 spots in the rankings: Deral Brown (Elgin) at 141-pounds and Sean Byrnes (Jackson, N.J.) at 157–pounds.

Three members of the squad rounded out Newberry's representation in the rankings. Curtis Chenoweth (Clearwater, Kan.) took No. 5 at 174-pounds and Josh Whitelock (Rhodesdale, Md.) and Jake Elkins (Trussville, Ala.) were ranked No. 7 at 165-pounds and 285-pounds, respectively.

The team and each wrestler received wooden plaques for their achievements.

The Takedown Report covers all wrestling programs in North and South Carolina and ranks the individual teams as well as the individuals for each season.