Iowa moves to No. 4 in NWCA Div. I Coaches Poll after big win over Oklahoma State

Manheim, Pennsylvania -- The weekend’s marquee wrestling dual had the biggest impact on the most recent USA Today/NWCA Division I Coaches Poll released on Tuesday. Iowa (9-0) beat then-No. 3 Oklahoma State 20-12 in front of 13,485 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

The Hawkeyes jumped three spots, while Oklahoma State (6-1) slid two spots to No. 5. Spencer Lee's win at 125 pounds over All-American Nick Piccininni and Sam Stoll's overtime win over Derek White at 285 were key wins for the unbeaten Hawkeyes. Unbeaten Missouri moved up one spot to No. 3. The Tigers beat a pair of MAC rivals, Buffalo and Eastern Michigan, to improve to 14-0, tops in Division I.

Penn State (7-0) remained atop the poll, gathering 11 of 16 possible first-place votes. The Nittany Lions triumphed over two Big Ten schools over the weekend, topping No. 8 Michigan 25-12 in Ann Arbor before trouncing Michigan State 48-3. Penn State also inserted true freshman Nick Lee into the lineup at 141 pounds. Lee was the runner-up at the Southern Scuffle two weeks ago.

Ohio State kept pace with the top-ranked Nittany Lions, beating Minnesota 31-7 in Columbus on Friday. Ohio State’s Nathan Tomasello picked up a dominant technical fall victory over returning NCAA finalist Ethan Lizak at 125 pounds to highlight the Buckeyes’ win.

No. 7 Lehigh bested EIWA foes American and Navy by a combined 70-5. The Mountain Hawks improved to 8-1. Arizona State (7-2) moved up to No. 9 after winning the Virginia Duals in Hampton, Virginia. The Sun Devils picked up ranked wins -- beating Northern Iowa in the semifinals before topping returning champion Virginia Tech in the finals. The Hokies (8-2) traded places with the Sun Devils in the poll. The No. 9 ranking is the highest for the Arizona State program since it finished the dual meet season ranked No. 7 in March of 2003.

Northern Iowa (5-2) finished third at the Virginia Duals, beating Oklahoma in the consolation final. The Panthers stayed at No. 11 this week. In the Big Ten, Minnesota (7-4) leapt over Illinois (3-3) after the Golden Gophers topped the Fighting Illini 17-14 in Minneapolis on Sunday.

Northwestern (7-1) jumped up five spots after beating Wisconsin 18-14 on Friday. The Badgers (4-1) dropped five spots from No. 16 to No. 21.

Other ranked duals saw Rutgers edge then No. 24 North Carolina 18-17 on criteria. The Scarlet Knights moved up one spot in the poll this week. Nebraska also topped Purdue 20-15 in a battle of ranked Big Ten programs.

Lock Haven (7-1) fell three spots after falling to unranked Oklahoma in pool competition at the Virginia Duals.

Rank	Team (First)	Record	Points	Conference	Previous
1	Penn State (11)	7-0	395	Big Ten	1
2	Ohio State (5)	9-0	389	Big Ten	2
3	Missouri	14-0	357	MAC	4
4	Iowa	9-0	350	Big Ten	7
5	Oklahoma State	6-1	339	Big 12	3
6	NC State	10-1	320	ACC	5
7	Lehigh	8-1	312	EIWA	6
8	Michigan	5-2	289	Big Ten	8
9	Arizona State	7-2	271	Pac-12	10
10	Virginia Tech	8-2	256	ACC	9
11	Northern Iowa	5-2	235	Big 12	11
12	Cornell	4-2	214	EIWA	13
13	Minnesota	7-4	210	Big Ten	14
14	Illinois	3-3	197	Big Ten	12
15	South Dakota State	7-2	183	Big 12	15
16	Rutgers	4-3	156	Big Ten	17
17	Central Michigan	5-3	136	MAC	18
18	Nebraska	4-3	124	Big Ten	19
19	Rider	7-2	81	EWL	21
20	Northwestern	7-1	80	Big Ten	25
21	Wisconsin	4-1	77	Big Ten	16
22	Wyoming	7-2	61	Big 12	23
23	Lock Haven	7-1	59	EWL	20
24	Purdue	5-3	51	Big Ten	22
25	North Carolina	6-8	26	ACC	24

 
Others Receiving Votes: Oklahoma 14, Navy 11, Drexel 3, American 2, West Virginia 2
Dropped Out: None.