Navy moves into top 25 of NWCA Div. I Coaches Poll for first time since 2008-09

Manheim, Pennsylvania -- Exams are in full swing as the first semester comes to an end at college campuses across the nation, which means it was another short week of competition in Division I wrestling as there were only a few changes in the USA Today'NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll released on Tuesday.

The United States Naval Academy (3-0) made its first appearance in the Top 25 since the preseason poll in 2008-09. Coach Joel Sharratt's Midshipmen picked up a sound 22-13 victory over up-and-coming Drexel. Overall, its the 123rd time in program history Navy's been ranked in the Coaches Poll.

The Top 15 teams remained the same from last week and even with a short schedule nationally, eight of the nation's top ten teams saw dual meet action. Second-ranked Ohio State (4-0) opened up its Big Ten Conference schedule with a 26-9 win over Indiana, while No. 4 Missouri (8-0) continued its Mid-American Conference schedule with a 36-6 win over Ohio. Fifth-ranked Lehigh headed to Philadelphia and beat Penn 41-6 before receiving a sizable scare from unranked Drexel. The Mountain Hawks improved to 6-1 with a 21-20 criteria victory over the Dragons, who are still receiving votes in the poll.

Sixth-ranked NC State improved to 9-0 and beat Appalachian State 34-3. The nine wins by the Wolfpack leads all Division I teams this season. Iowa (7-0) headed east and captured a pair of wins. On Friday, the Hawkeyes topped No. 16 Rutgers 23-15 in front of a Rutgers Athletic Center record crowd of 6,754. The Hawkeyes then headed to College Park and topped Maryland 40-6 to start 3-0 in Big Ten competition.

No. 8 Minnesota (3-1) rolled past Fresno State 38-7 in Minneapolis, while No. 9 Michigan (2-1) shut out visiting Oregon State 48-0. Tenth-ranked Virginia Tech (4-1) beat Princeton in one of the featured duals at the 2017 Grapple at the Garden held at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

South Dakota State (4-2) won the only other matchup between ranked teams, stopping then-No. 18 Central Michigan 23-16 in Brookings. Central Michigan fell to 1-3 as the Chippewas went 0-2 on the swing through the Dakotas. Unranked North Dakota State beat Central Michigan 19-16, dropping the Chippewas five spots to No. 23. South Dakota State moved up one spot to No. 16. Wisconsin moved up a spot after beating Maryland 32-6.

Pittsburgh fell out of the Top 25 after losing to rival West Virginia 24-10.

The USA Today/NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll is comprised of two voting coaches from each Division I wrestling conference. Points are 25 for each first-place vote, 24 for second, 23 for third all the way to a 25th-place vote is one point.

Future Poll Dates (Tuesdays unless otherwise noted): December 19, January 3 (Wednesday), January 9, January 16, January 23, January 30, February 6, February 13, February 20, February, 27.

Rank	Team (First)	Record	Points	Conference	Previous
1	Penn State (13)	4-0	397	Big Ten	1
2	Ohio State (3)	4-0	387	Big Ten	2
3	Oklahoma State	3-0	368	Big 12	3
4	Missouri	8-0	351	MAC	4
5	Lehigh	6-1	328	EIWA	5
6	NC State	9-0	326	ACC	6
7	Iowa	7-0	297	Big Ten	7
8	Minnesota	3-1	286	Big Ten	8
9	Michigan	2-1	277	Big Ten	9
10	Virginia Tech	4-1	263	ACC	10
11	Arizona State	2-2	231	Pac-12	11
12	Nebraska	2-0	224	Big Ten	12
13	Cornell	1-0	213	EIWA	13
14	Illinois	1-2	192	Big Ten	14
15	Northern Iowa	1-1	177	Big 12	15
16	South Dakota State	4-2	153	Big 12	17
17	Rutgers	3-2	144	Big Ten	16
18	Wisconsin	4-0	129	Big Ten	19
19	Purdue	3-0	114	Big Ten	20
20	Oklahoma	1-2	77	Big 12	21
21	Rider	2-1	61	EWL	22
22	Lock Haven	1-0	60	EWL	24
23	Central Michigan	1-3	44	MAC	18
24	Edinboro	2-1	40	EWL	23
25	Navy	3-0	18	EIWA	NR

 
Others Receiving Votes: North Dakota State 16, Drexel 14, Northwestern 8, Utah Valley 3, North Carolina 1, Wyoming 1
Dropped Out: No. 25 Pittsburgh