Penn State opens season as unanimous No. 1 in NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll

Manheim, Pa. – Penn State received all 16 first-place votes in the NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll to start the 2018-19 season at No. 1, the NWCA announced Wednesday. In addition to the Nittany Lions, the Big Ten Conference has four of the top-five teams in No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Iowa and No. 5 Michigan.

Penn State is coming off its seventh NCAA championship in the last eight years, while also wrapping up its third straight undefeated campaign. PSU head coach Cael Sanderson’s squad returns past NCAA Division I champions Jason Nolf, Vincenzo Joseph, Mark Hall and Bo Nickal. Entering his 10th year as head coach in Happy Valley, Sanderson is aiming to extend the Nittany Lions’ school record 45-dual winning streak when they open the season against Kent State at home on November 11.

Overall, the 11 of the Big Ten’s 14 schools are in the top 25 to start the season. Among the top-five squads, Ohio State returns a host of All-Americans including past NCAA champion Myles Martin. Bolstered by returning NCAA and Big Ten 125-pound champion Spencer Lee, Iowa is expected to contend for Big Ten and NCAA team championships. The Hawkeyes also will put a formidable dual team on the mat.

Fourth-ranked Oklahoma State starts the year as the highest-ranked Big 12 Conference team and returns enough firepower to make this season interesting. No. 14 Northern Iowa, No. 20 South Dakota State and No. 22 Wyoming round out ranked teams hailing from the Big 12

Four of the six ACC schools are in the top 25, with NC State coming in at No. 8, while Virginia Tech checks in at No. 11. Tobacco Road rivals North Carolina and Duke, who makes its first-ever appearance in the NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll, are listed back-to-back at Nos. 23 and No. 24, respectively.

Sixth-ranked Lehigh and ninth-ranked Cornell are the lone schools represented from the EIWA. Four conferences have a single team included on the poll: No. 7 Missouri (MAC), No. 20 Lock Haven (EWL), No. 10 Arizona State (Pac-12), No. 25 Appalachian State (Southern Conference).

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.

Rank	Team (First)	17-18 Rec.	Points	Conference	Final Dual Rank 17-18
1	Penn State (16)	14-0	400	Big Ten	1
2	Ohio State	14-1	376	Big Ten	2
3	Iowa	12-3	365	Big Ten	7
4	Oklahoma State	13-2	353	Big 12	5
5	Michigan	11-3	331	Big Ten	4
6	Lehigh	12-3	305	EIWA	8
7	Missouri	19-0	298	MAC	3
8	NC State	15-2	295	ACC	6
9	Cornell	13-2	259	EIWA	11
10	Arizona State	11-3	254	Pac-12	9
11	Virginia Tech	14-3	245	ACC	10
12	Nebraska	10-4	230	Big Ten	13
13	Minnesota	10-8	203	Big Ten	18
14	Northern Iowa	6-5	201	Big 12	15
15	Illinois	7-4	167	Big Ten	16
16	Rutgers	8-7	148	Big Ten	19
17	Northwestern	11-4	132	Big Ten	17
18	Purdue	9-7	114	Big Ten	21
19	Wisconsin	7-5	102	Big Ten	22
20 (tie)	South Dakota State	13-2	85	Big 12	12
20 (tie)	Lock Haven	12-4	85	EWL	23
22	Wyoming	13-3	72	Big 12	14
23	North Carolina	9-11	71	ACC	24
24	Duke	7-7	17	ACC	NR
25	Appalachian State	9-4	16	SoCon	NR

 
Others Receiving Votes: Stanford 15, Maryland 11, Drexel 9, Pittsburgh 8, North Dakota State 6, Iowa State 4, Rider 4, Utah Valley 4, Virginia 4, Binghamton 3, Clarion 3, Army West Point 1, Central Michigan 1, Kent State 1, Old Dominion 1, Princeton 1.