Eight Husker wrestlers earned spots in the NCAA’s first 2014-15 Coaches Panel Rankings, released on Thursday.

Three more coaches panel rankings will be released during the season, with the final poll being used to determine qualifiers for the NCAA Championships. The NCAA Championships are slated for March 19-21 at Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo.

Senior All-American Robert Kokesh leads the way with the top spot at 174 pounds. Kokesh holds a perfect 22-0 record this season heading into this weekend’s dual action against Illinois and Rutgers. He finished fourth at the 2014 national tournament after taking third in 2013.

Three-time All-American James Green holds the No. 3 spot at 157 pounds in the first set of rankings. The senior from Willingboro, N.J. is 18-2 this season, and achieved top-eight finishes at the NCAA Championships during each of his first three years at Nebraska.

Sophomore Tim Lambert (No. 9 at 125) and junior Anthony Abidin (No. 9 at 141) round out the Huskers in the top 10 of their respective weight classes. TJ Dudley (19th at 184), Justin Arthur (20th at 149) and Collin Jensen (20th at heavyweight) are in the top 20, while Austin Wilson took the 26th spot at 165 pounds.

This weekend, the Huskers visit No. 12 Illinois on Friday night at 7 p.m. (CT) on BTN Plus before hosting No. 21 Rutgers at the Devaney Center on Saturday at noon on the Big Ten Network.

NCAA Division I Coaches Panel Rankings (Jan. 22, 2015)
125: #9 Tim Lambert
141: #9 Anthony Abidin
149: #20 Justin Arthur
157: #3 James Green
165: #26 Austin Wilson
174: #1 Robert Kokesh
184: #19 TJ Dudley
HWT: #20 Collin Jensen