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Penn State sets indoor attendance record and stays No 1; Drexel joins Top 25 in NWCA Div. I Coaches Poll

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by Jason Bryant, NWCA

Photo of Bryce Jordan Center during the Penn State vs. Iowa dual meet by Steve Manuel from Penn State Wrestling's Twitter site @PennStateWREST

Manheim, Pennsylvania -- Penn State remained unbeaten and set a new Division I dual meet record for indoor attendance over the weekend, keeping the Nittany Lions No. 1 in the most recent USA Today/NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll released on Tuesday.

The Nittany Lions drew 15,998 at the Bryce Jordan Center in their 28-13 win over seventh-ranked Iowa on Saturday. Penn State held the previous record at 15,996 in a dual against Pittsburgh at the Bryce Jordan Center on December 8, 2013. The two largest crowds for dual meets were both held at football stadiums, with Iowa’s 42,287 setting the mark on November 14, 2015 against Oklahoma State. Iowa’s Alex Marinelli did notch a notable upset win, picking off returning national champion Vincenzo Joseph at 165 pounds.

Ohio State (13-1) survived a scare from fourth-ranked Michigan on Saturday, but the Buckeyes did take some damage as two of its unbeaten wrestlers lost in the dual. Luke Pletcher fell at 133 pounds to Stevan Micic and two-time NCAA champion and Olympic champion Kyle Snyder was upended by second-ranked Adam Coon of Michigan at 285 pounds. It was Snyder’s first loss in college since the 2015 NCAA Division I finals.

Michigan set its new attendance record as 8,303 fans saw the Sunday evening dual in Ann Arbor at the Crisler Center. Michigan did pick up one win on the weekend, beating rival Michigan State 39-9. No. 3 Missouri (17-0) was idle and is the only other unbeaten team in Division I.

No. 5 Oklahoma State improved to 12-2 after a 34-6 win over visiting Edinboro and a 31-6 Bedlam win over Oklahoma. No. 6 NC State topped No. 24 North Carolina 25-7 in another dual that set a school attendance record. The Wolfpack (14-1) and No. 8 Virginia Tech (14-2) are both unbeaten in the ACC and will face off on February 16 for the conference’s regular season title. The Hokies slipped past rival Virginia 22-18.

No. 10 Cornell won three more duals in the EIWA to improve to 12-3. The Big Red topped Penn, Princeton and Drexel over the weekend.

No. 11 Lehigh was bolstered by the return of two of its starters and that helped spark the Mountain Hawks to a 22-13 win at then-No. 8 Arizona State. The Mountain Hawks moved up to No. 9, leapfrogging the Sun Devils, who dropped to No. 11.

In other ranked head-to-heads last week, then-No. 15 Nebraska topped then-No. 20 Wisconsin 24-10, but the Badgers would pick up one upset win, knocking off then-No. 14 Illinois 19-16. Wyoming improved to 12-3 and earned wins over then-No. 25 Utah Valley and Northern Colorado by matching 38-4 outcomes. Northwestern topped Purdue 24-16, while Minnesota topped Rutgers 20-12.

Kent State upset then-No. 16 Central Michigan 21-13 and Air Force knocked Utah Valley out of the rankings with a 26-10 win in the Big 12.

Drexel entered the Top 25 for the first time this season. The Dragons (11-4) were ranked for four weeks last season.

The USA Today/NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll is voted on by two 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: February 20, February, 27.

Rank

Team (First)

Record

Points

Conf.

Previous

1

Penn State (16)

13-0

400

Big Ten

1

2

Ohio State

13-1

382

Big Ten

2

3

Missouri

17-0

368

MAC

3

4

Michigan

10-3

349

Big Ten

4

5

Oklahoma State

12-2

333

Big 12

5

6

NC State

14-1

318

ACC

6

7

Iowa

11-3

314

Big Ten

7

8

Virginia Tech

14-2

278

ACC

9

9

Lehigh

10-3

261

EIWA

11

10

Arizona State

11-3

259

Pac-12

8

11

Cornell

12-3

254

EIWA

10

12

South Dakota State

13-2

224

Big 12

12

13

Northern Iowa

6-4

198

Big 12

13

14

Nebraska

9-4

189

Big Ten

15

15

Wyoming

12-3

157

Big 12

17

16

Illinois

7-4

157

Big Ten

14

17

Northwestern

10-4

151

Big Ten

19

18

Wisconsin

7-3

117

Big Ten

20

19

Minnesota

9-8

114

Big Ten

21

20

Central Michigan

8-5

104

MAC

16

21

Rutgers

6-7

97

Big Ten

18

22

Purdue

8-7

60

Big Ten

22

23

Lock Haven

12-3

57

EWL

23

24

North Carolina

8-10

23

ACC

24

25

Drexel

11-4

14

EIWA

NR

Others Receiving Votes: Binghamton, 4, Duke 4, Navy 3, Old Dominion 3, Rider 3, Appalachian State 2, Utah Valley 2, Air Force 1.
Dropped out: No. 25 Utah Valley.
 

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