Penn State finishes regular season undefeated and No. 1 in final NWCA Coaches Poll

Manheim, Pa. – Penn State finished the dual meet portion of the regular season as the only unbeaten left in Division I wrestling. The Nittany Lions were voted as the unanimous No. 1 team in the nation after finishing 16-0 and beating No. 3 Oklahoma State in the NWCA Dual Championship Series on Sunday.

The NWCA Dual Series also provided some final movement as N.C. State (23-1) jumped to No. 2 in the final standings after the Wolfpack stopped then-No. 2 Iowa 21-17 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Monday night.

The Wolfpack finish the season with its highest dual ranking in school history. Prior to this season, which saw the Pack as high as third, the highest ranking the school held was a No. 7 ranking in November of 1992.

Virginia Tech (16-2) ended the season at No. 3 after besting then-No. 8 Michigan 24-11 in Ann Arbor on Sunday. Virginia Tech’s No. 3 ranking is the highest in school history. The Hokies were ranked fourth in the nation for a spell during the 2011 season.

Iowa finished the year 16-1 and ends the season ranked fourth, while Oklahoma State (13-3) dropped two spots to finish the year after they lost to top-ranked Penn State 29-18 to end the regular season.

Missouri (14-2), Ohio State (11-3), Michigan (13-3), Lehigh (13-3) and Rutgers (16-5) round out the top 10.

Three teams jumped into the Top 25 to end the season, including two from the Southern Conference. Appalachian State topped Indiana in an NWCA Dual Series bout 21-13 and returned to the poll for the second time this season at No. 23, while Chattanooga, one of three teams to share the SoCon championship, returned at No. 25.

It’s the first time two SoCon teams have simultaneously been ranked in the Top 25.

Arizona State (12-7) entered the poll for the first time this season and for the first time since January 4, 2011.

Rank	Team (First)	Record	Points	Conference	Previous
1	Penn State (12)	16-0	300	Big Ten	1
2	N.C. State	23-1	282	ACC	4
3	Virginia Tech	16-2	271	ACC	5
4	Iowa	16-1	270	Big Ten	2
5	Oklahoma State	13-3	257	Big 12	3
6	Missouri	14-2	240	MAC	6
7	Ohio State	11-3	215	Big Ten	9
8	Michigan	13-3	214	Big Ten	8
9	Lehigh	13-3	198	EIWA	7
10	Rutgers	16-5	196	Big Ten	13
11	Oklahoma	10-5	186	Big 12	10
12	Nebraska	10-6	174	Big Ten	11
13	Illinois	13-5	156	Big Ten	12
14	North Carolina	13-5	130	ACC	14
15	Kent State	15-3	123	MAC	17
16	Minnesota	10-8	121	Big Ten	18
17	Iowa State	10-6	106	Big 12	15
18	Cornell	6-5	98	EIWA	16
19	Central Michigan	11-5	85	MAC	19
20	Ohio	13-3	78	MAC	21
21	South Dakota State	14-6	50	Big 12	22
22	Oregon State	11-6	41	Pac-12	24
23	Appalachian State	11-4	25	SoCon	NR
24	Arizona State	12-7	22	Pac-12	NR
25	Chattanooga	12-4	16	SoCon	NR

 
Dropped Out: No 20 Virginia, No. 23 Purdue, No. 24 Pittsburgh
Others Receiving Votes: Pittsburgh 15, Virginia 13, Purdue 12, CSU Bakersfield 3, Duke 2, Stanford 1