Penn State remains unanimous No. 1 in Theraworx NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll

MANHEIM, Pennsylvania – A pair of weekend wins in front of sold out crowds kept Penn State (3-0) atop the Theraworx NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll for the 21st straight week. Penn State again garnered all 16 first-place votes in the poll released Tuesday.

The Nittany Lions started their weekend with a 42-3 win at Bucknell in front of the third-largest crowd in Sojka Pavilion history with over 4,200 witnessing the largest crowd ever at Bucknell for a wrestling dual. Penn State returned home to Rec Hall for another sellout, dismantling injury-riddled Lehigh 42-0. The win pushed Penn State’s dual meet win streak to 48.

Ohio State (3-0) won a third straight Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational over the weekend, crowning three champions and placing seven overall. Seventeen of the nation’s Top 25 teams were competing in Las Vegas over the weekend.

Iowa (5-0) was pushed to the brink by rival Iowa State on Saturday. The Hawkeyes prevailed 19-18, but slid one spot to No. 4 in this week’s poll. Iowa State (1-1) moved into the Top 25 for the first time since the Preseason poll at the start of the 2016-17 season. The Cyclones check in this week at No. 23. The Hawkeyes saw the return of All-American heavyweight Sam Stoll, while highly touted freshman Jacob Warner made his debut at 197, beating All-American Willie Miklus at 197 pounds.

NC State improved to 4-0, but it wasn’t easy as the Wolfpack needed a bonus point from Tariq Wilson to edge host Old Dominion 16-15. ODU did pull off one notable upset as Larry Early upended returning NCAA runner-up Hayden Hidlay at 157 pounds.

Lehigh’s woes were evident heading into Sunday’s loss at Penn State as the Mountain Hawks fell to Princeton on Friday night for the first time in 50 years. It was the first time in Princeton history the Tigers have beaten Lehigh in Bethlehem. Princeton sits just outside the rankings this week.

No. 20 Lock Haven opened up the dual meet portion of its season with a 28-10 win over George Mason in EWL action.

The NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll is voted on by two coaches from each Division I wrestling conference. Each first-place vote is worth 25 points, 24 points for a second-place vote, 23 for a third-place vote and so on through to one point for a 25th-place vote.

Theraworx NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll – December 4, 2018

Others Receiving Votes: Rutgers 44, Princeton 39, Appalachian State 1, Stanford 1.
Dropped Out: No. 25 Rutgers