Top 15 unchanged as Big Ten, Big 12 still dominate NWCA Div. I Wrestling Coaches Poll
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by Jason Bryant, NWCA
Manheim, Pennsylvania - As the semester ends for many schools around the country, the competition also slows. With that, we see minimal movement in the most recent Theraworx NWCA Division I Coaches Poll, released on Tuesday.
As usual, it was the Big Ten and Big 12 conferences that dominated the poll, as the two combined for 16 of the nation’s top 25 teams. Big Ten programs has Penn State, Ohio State, Iowa and Michigan occupying four of the top five spots in the country. Oklahoma State sits third. The ACC has four teams in this week’s poll, while the EIWA has two.
Penn State (3-0) was idle but remained No. 1, earning all 16 first-place votes. It’s the 22nd straight week the Nittany Lions have been ranked atop the Coaches Poll.
Ohio State improved to 4-0 after beating No. 10 Wisconsin at home 23-13. The loss was the first for Wisconsin (6-1) in the Chris Bono era. The Buckeyes saw the home debuts of U23 World Team members Myles Martin and Kollin Moore.
Oklahoma State coach John Smith won his 50th career Bedlam dual as a coach as the No. 3 Cowboys (4-0) mauled rival Oklahoma 41-2 in front of over 5,000 fans at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater. No. 4 Iowa (6-0) had the week’s biggest crowd, with over 7,400 coming to Carver-Hawkeye to see the host Hawkeyes defeat injury-riddled Lehigh 28-14. Lehigh, which started the year with high hopes and a Top 10 rankings, has slid to No. 20 and has started the season 0-4.
No. 5 Michigan (3-0) opened up Big Ten competition with a 32-7 home victory over Indiana, while No. 6 Missouri (4-0) extended its win streak to 24 in a row with a 48-0 win over SIU Edwardsville. It was the first dual between the two teams as members of the Mid-American Conference. SIUE joined the conference as an affiliate member over the summer.
No. 7 NC State improved to 5-0 beating always scrappy Appalachian State 29-9, while No. 9 Minnesota (3-1) ventured out west to top host Fresno State 31-6.
Virginia Tech picked up its first win of the year, topping Princeton 24-14 at Cassell Coliseum. The Hokies saw the return of U23 World Team member David McFadden to the starting lineup at his new weight class, 174 pounds. The Hokies (1-2) were also aided by the debut of transfer Billy Miller at 285 pounds.
No. 18 Illinois (1-1) earned its first dual win of the year, dispatching with Northern Illinois 24-9, while then-No. 21 Wyoming (3-2) topped then-No. 19 North Dakota State 29-6 in Laramie. The win vaulted Wyoming to No. 18 in this week’s poll, while NDSU slid to No. 21. The Bison (4-1) did earn a weekend win over Air Force 23-14 in Colorado Springs.
Northwestern fell out of the Top 25 this week after losing at home 30-10 to Old Dominion. Rutgers, which dropped out of the rankings last week, slid back in at No. 25, keeping the Big Ten at 10 ranked teams in the poll.
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.
As usual, it was the Big Ten and Big 12 conferences that dominated the poll, as the two combined for 16 of the nation’s top 25 teams. Big Ten programs has Penn State, Ohio State, Iowa and Michigan occupying four of the top five spots in the country. Oklahoma State sits third. The ACC has four teams in this week’s poll, while the EIWA has two.
Penn State (3-0) was idle but remained No. 1, earning all 16 first-place votes. It’s the 22nd straight week the Nittany Lions have been ranked atop the Coaches Poll.
Ohio State improved to 4-0 after beating No. 10 Wisconsin at home 23-13. The loss was the first for Wisconsin (6-1) in the Chris Bono era. The Buckeyes saw the home debuts of U23 World Team members Myles Martin and Kollin Moore.
Oklahoma State coach John Smith won his 50th career Bedlam dual as a coach as the No. 3 Cowboys (4-0) mauled rival Oklahoma 41-2 in front of over 5,000 fans at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater. No. 4 Iowa (6-0) had the week’s biggest crowd, with over 7,400 coming to Carver-Hawkeye to see the host Hawkeyes defeat injury-riddled Lehigh 28-14. Lehigh, which started the year with high hopes and a Top 10 rankings, has slid to No. 20 and has started the season 0-4.
No. 5 Michigan (3-0) opened up Big Ten competition with a 32-7 home victory over Indiana, while No. 6 Missouri (4-0) extended its win streak to 24 in a row with a 48-0 win over SIU Edwardsville. It was the first dual between the two teams as members of the Mid-American Conference. SIUE joined the conference as an affiliate member over the summer.
No. 7 NC State improved to 5-0 beating always scrappy Appalachian State 29-9, while No. 9 Minnesota (3-1) ventured out west to top host Fresno State 31-6.
Virginia Tech picked up its first win of the year, topping Princeton 24-14 at Cassell Coliseum. The Hokies saw the return of U23 World Team member David McFadden to the starting lineup at his new weight class, 174 pounds. The Hokies (1-2) were also aided by the debut of transfer Billy Miller at 285 pounds.
No. 18 Illinois (1-1) earned its first dual win of the year, dispatching with Northern Illinois 24-9, while then-No. 21 Wyoming (3-2) topped then-No. 19 North Dakota State 29-6 in Laramie. The win vaulted Wyoming to No. 18 in this week’s poll, while NDSU slid to No. 21. The Bison (4-1) did earn a weekend win over Air Force 23-14 in Colorado Springs.
Northwestern fell out of the Top 25 this week after losing at home 30-10 to Old Dominion. Rutgers, which dropped out of the rankings last week, slid back in at No. 25, keeping the Big Ten at 10 ranked teams in the poll.
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 11, 2018
|
Rank |
Team (First) |
Record |
Points |
Conference |
Previous |
|
1 |
Penn State (16) |
3-0 |
400 |
Big Ten |
1 |
|
2 |
Ohio State |
4-0 |
382 |
Big Ten |
2 |
|
3 |
Oklahoma State |
4-0 |
368 |
Big 12 |
3 |
|
4 |
Iowa |
6-0 |
352 |
Big Ten |
4 |
|
5 |
Michigan |
3-0 |
334 |
Big Ten |
5 |
|
6 |
Missouri |
4-0 |
321 |
MAC |
6 |
|
7 |
NC State |
5-0 |
303 |
ACC |
7 |
|
8 |
Cornell |
2-0 |
285 |
EIWA |
8 |
|
9 |
Minnesota |
3-1 |
277 |
Big Ten |
9 |
|
10 |
Wisconsin |
6-1 |
253 |
Big Ten |
10 |
|
11 |
Nebraska |
4-1 |
233 |
Big Ten |
11 |
|
12 |
North Carolina |
3-0 |
225 |
ACC |
12 |
|
13 |
Purdue |
2-1 |
203 |
Big Ten |
13 |
|
14 |
Virginia Tech |
1-2 |
181 |
ACC |
14 |
|
15 |
Arizona State |
1-2 |
173 |
Pac-12 |
15 |
|
16 |
Northern Iowa |
1-1 |
147 |
Big 12 |
17 |
|
17 |
Illinois |
1-1 |
123 |
Big Ten |
18 |
|
18 |
Wyoming |
3-2 |
117 |
Big 12 |
21 |
|
19 |
Lock Haven |
1-0 |
96 |
EWL |
20 |
|
20 |
Lehigh |
0-4 |
85 |
EIWA |
16 |
|
21 |
North Dakota State |
4-1 |
78 |
Big 12 |
19 |
|
22 |
Utah Valley |
5-2 |
75 |
Big 12 |
22 |
|
23 |
Iowa State |
1-1 |
62 |
Big 12 |
23 |
|
24 |
Pittsburgh |
2-0 |
54 |
ACC |
24 |
|
25 |
Rutgers |
5-1 |
29 |
Big Ten |
NR |
Others Receiving Votes: Princeton 22, Old Dominion 13, Northwestern 4, Appalachian State 4.
Dropped Out: No. 25 Northwestern
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