Arizona State moves to No. 10, North Dakota State joins Top 25 in new NWCA Div. I Coaches Poll
by Jason Bryant, NWCA
The top seven teams remained the same, but fourth-ranked Missouri improved to 12-0 with four wins, including three over ranked teams. The Tigers beat No. 12 Cornell 27-11, No. 22 Rider 31-8 and No. 24 North Carolina 24-9. The biggest Tiger win of the weekend came at 141 pounds where Jaydin Eierman defeated Yianni Diakomihalis of Cornell with some third-period heroics. Diakomihalis was ranked anywhere from first to third in the various media rankings.
Other results from the South Beach Duals saw then-No. 24 North Carolina upend then-No. 8 Minnesota 25-16. The Tar Heels would also beat Michigan State and SIU Edwardsville. The win over the Gophers propelled Coleman Scott's team to No. 19 in the rankings. Cornell also picked up a win over Minnesota, but the Big Red also fell to unranked North Dakota State. To even further complicate things, No. 22 Rider also had a win over North Dakota State. Minnesota took the biggest tumble this week, falling six spots to No. 14, while North Carolina jumped five to No. 19. North Dakota State re-entered the poll this week at No. 25.
Top-ranked Penn State (5-0) picked up an individual tournament title at the Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Ohio State was idle during the break, while Oklahoma State sent a few entries to Chattanooga. The Cowboys did travel to Naples, Italy to prepare for its upcoming top-five showdown with NC State at the Tussle for the Troops on January 5. Lehigh, Iowa, Virginia Tech and Arizona State saw tournament action.
Of note, Arizona State (2-2) moved up one spot to No. 10, the first time the Sun Devils have been in the Top 10 since October 27, 2005.
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): 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 (11) |
5-0 |
395 |
Big Ten |
1 |
2 |
Ohio State (5) |
6-0 |
389 |
Big Ten |
2 |
3 |
Oklahoma State |
5-0 |
364 |
Big 12 |
3 |
4 |
Missouri |
12-0 |
353 |
MAC |
4 |
5 |
NC State |
10-0 |
336 |
ACC |
5 |
6 |
Lehigh |
6-1 |
315 |
EIWA |
6 |
7 |
Iowa |
7-0 |
309 |
Big Ten |
7 |
8 |
Michigan |
2-1 |
283 |
Big Ten |
9 |
9 |
Virginia Tech |
5-1 |
266 |
ACC |
10 |
10 |
Arizona State |
2-2 |
248 |
Pac-12 |
11 |
11 |
Northern Iowa |
2-1 |
210 |
Big 12 |
14 |
12 |
Illinois |
1-2 |
210 |
Big Ten |
13 |
13 |
Cornell |
4-2 |
207 |
EIWA |
12 |
14 |
Minnesota |
5-3 |
199 |
Big Ten |
8 |
15 |
South Dakota State |
4-2 |
188 |
Big 12 |
15 |
16 |
Wisconsin |
4-0 |
174 |
Big Ten |
16 |
17 |
Rutgers |
3-2 |
136 |
Big Ten |
17 |
18 |
Oklahoma |
2-2 |
99 |
Big 12 |
19 |
19 |
North Carolina |
5-4 |
95 |
ACC |
24 |
20 |
Nebraska |
2-2 |
94 |
Big Ten |
18 |
21 |
Central Michigan |
3-3 |
93 |
MAC |
21 |
22 |
Lock Haven |
4-0 |
93 |
EWL |
20 |
23 |
Rider |
5-2 |
47 |
EWL |
22 |
24 |
Purdue |
4-1 |
33 |
Big Ten |
23 |
25 |
North Dakota State |
4-5 |
22 |
Big 12 |
NR |
Others Receiving Votes: Northwestern 17, Edinboro 15, Utah Valley 4, Drexel 3, Navy 2, Campbell 1
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