Penn State is No. 1 for 26th straight NWCA Div. I Coaches Poll, with lots of changes beyond Top 6
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by Jason Bryant, NWCA
Manheim, Pennsylvania – Top-ranked Penn State improved to 6-0 after beating a pair of Big Ten Conference foes over the weekend and remained No. 1 in the NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll released on Tuesday.
It’s the 26th straight poll the Nittany Lions have been ranked No. 1. After wins over then-No. 10 Wisconsin and Northwestern, Penn State’s win streak is now at 51. The Northwestern win was highlighted by two-time NCAA champion Jason Nolf’s major decision over Ryan Deakin at 157 pounds in a match between two of the top-ranked wrestlers in the nation.
No. 2 Ohio State (7-0) picked up a pair of Big Ten wins, beating Michigan State 37-3 and Indiana 43-3. Third-ranked Oklahoma State stayed unbeaten and improved to 7-0 after a trip to the Garden State where the Cowboys bested No. 24 Rutgers 26-5 and No. 25 Princeton 27-12.
In Minneapolis, No. 4 Iowa improved to 7-0 after beating then-No. 8 Minnesota 24-10 at Maturi Pavilion. Fifth-ranked Missouri won its 11th dual of the year and ran its win streak to 31 with a 30-12 win over Ohio in the Mid-American Conference.
Sixth-ranked Michigan (6-0) topped No. 19 Illinois 28-10. NC State won twice of the weekend, beating Brown 29-10 and West Virginia 32-10. The Wolfpack wrestled Brown at PNC Arena, home to the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes.
The biggest upset of the week came as injury-riddled Lehigh (3-7) bested conference rival and seventh-ranked Cornell 19-16. The loss dropped the Big Red three spots.
Even though losing to third-ranked Oklahoma State, both ranked New Jersey schools had ranked victories. Rutgers topped then-No. 12 Wisconsin 17-16 on criteria. The loss slid the Badgers down a spot, while it vaulted the Scarlet Knights (7-3) up to No. 20. Princeton beat then-No. 15 North Carolina 23-16.
Nebraska (7-2) moved back into the top 10 after a 22-12 win over No. 14 Northern Iowa (2-3). Out west, No. 12 Wyoming got past Oregon State 22-16 to improve to 10-3. No. 13 Virginia Tech (5-2) won three duals and were at full strength for the first time this season as the Hokies captured a fourth Virginia Duals title beating Chattanooga, Old Dominion and Virginia.
Arizona State (3-6) slipped five spots to No. 21 after finishing fourth at the Virginia Duals with a 2-2 finish. The Sun Devils split with Oklahoma, beat Chattanooga and also fell to unranked Virginia.
No. 17 Purdue topped Maryland in Big Ten competition, while then-No. 18 Pittsburgh stayed unbeaten with a trip through the Dakotas. The Panthers beat then-No. 23 North Dakota State 22-11 and then shutout South Dakota State 34-0. The Panthers move up to No. 14 this week, the program’s highest ranking since February 10, 2015.
Iowa State also moved up after a pair of dual wins. The Cyclones (4-1) check in at No. 16 this week, the highest of the Kevin Dresser era. Lock Haven fell to Virginia and Oklahoma before finishing seventh at the Virginia Duals with a win over Kent State. The Bald Eagles dropped to No. 24 this week. Stanford (5-0) moved into the Top 25 after wins over then-No. 22 Utah Valley and Harvard.
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.
Others Receiving Votes: Virginia 24, Lehigh 23, North Dakota State 16, Oklahoma 12, Old Dominion 1
Dropped Out: No. 23 North Dakota State
It’s the 26th straight poll the Nittany Lions have been ranked No. 1. After wins over then-No. 10 Wisconsin and Northwestern, Penn State’s win streak is now at 51. The Northwestern win was highlighted by two-time NCAA champion Jason Nolf’s major decision over Ryan Deakin at 157 pounds in a match between two of the top-ranked wrestlers in the nation.
No. 2 Ohio State (7-0) picked up a pair of Big Ten wins, beating Michigan State 37-3 and Indiana 43-3. Third-ranked Oklahoma State stayed unbeaten and improved to 7-0 after a trip to the Garden State where the Cowboys bested No. 24 Rutgers 26-5 and No. 25 Princeton 27-12.
In Minneapolis, No. 4 Iowa improved to 7-0 after beating then-No. 8 Minnesota 24-10 at Maturi Pavilion. Fifth-ranked Missouri won its 11th dual of the year and ran its win streak to 31 with a 30-12 win over Ohio in the Mid-American Conference.
Sixth-ranked Michigan (6-0) topped No. 19 Illinois 28-10. NC State won twice of the weekend, beating Brown 29-10 and West Virginia 32-10. The Wolfpack wrestled Brown at PNC Arena, home to the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes.
The biggest upset of the week came as injury-riddled Lehigh (3-7) bested conference rival and seventh-ranked Cornell 19-16. The loss dropped the Big Red three spots.
Even though losing to third-ranked Oklahoma State, both ranked New Jersey schools had ranked victories. Rutgers topped then-No. 12 Wisconsin 17-16 on criteria. The loss slid the Badgers down a spot, while it vaulted the Scarlet Knights (7-3) up to No. 20. Princeton beat then-No. 15 North Carolina 23-16.
Nebraska (7-2) moved back into the top 10 after a 22-12 win over No. 14 Northern Iowa (2-3). Out west, No. 12 Wyoming got past Oregon State 22-16 to improve to 10-3. No. 13 Virginia Tech (5-2) won three duals and were at full strength for the first time this season as the Hokies captured a fourth Virginia Duals title beating Chattanooga, Old Dominion and Virginia.
Arizona State (3-6) slipped five spots to No. 21 after finishing fourth at the Virginia Duals with a 2-2 finish. The Sun Devils split with Oklahoma, beat Chattanooga and also fell to unranked Virginia.
No. 17 Purdue topped Maryland in Big Ten competition, while then-No. 18 Pittsburgh stayed unbeaten with a trip through the Dakotas. The Panthers beat then-No. 23 North Dakota State 22-11 and then shutout South Dakota State 34-0. The Panthers move up to No. 14 this week, the program’s highest ranking since February 10, 2015.
Iowa State also moved up after a pair of dual wins. The Cyclones (4-1) check in at No. 16 this week, the highest of the Kevin Dresser era. Lock Haven fell to Virginia and Oklahoma before finishing seventh at the Virginia Duals with a win over Kent State. The Bald Eagles dropped to No. 24 this week. Stanford (5-0) moved into the Top 25 after wins over then-No. 22 Utah Valley and Harvard.
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.
NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll – January 15, 2019
|
Rank |
Team (First) |
Record |
Points |
Conference |
Previous |
|
1 |
Penn State (16) |
6-0 |
400 |
Big Ten |
1 |
|
2 |
Ohio State |
7-0 |
380 |
Big Ten |
2 |
|
3 |
Oklahoma State |
7-0 |
372 |
Big 12 |
3 |
|
4 |
Iowa |
7-0 |
349 |
Big Ten |
4 |
|
5 |
Missouri |
11-0 |
333 |
MAC |
5 |
|
6 |
Michigan |
6-0 |
326 |
Big Ten |
6 |
|
7 |
Minnesota |
8-2 |
294 |
Big Ten |
8 |
|
8 |
NC State |
11-2 |
283 |
ACC |
9 |
|
9 |
Nebraska |
7-2 |
257 |
Big Ten |
11 |
|
10 |
Cornell |
5-2 |
245 |
EIWA |
7 |
|
11 |
Wisconsin |
6-3 |
236 |
Big Ten |
10 |
|
12 |
Wyoming |
10-3 |
229 |
Big 12 |
12 |
|
13 |
Virginia Tech |
5-2 |
221 |
ACC |
13 |
|
14 |
Pittsburgh |
8-0 |
180 |
ACC |
18 |
|
15 |
Northern Iowa |
2-3 |
169 |
Big 12 |
14 |
|
16 |
Iowa State |
4-1 |
146 |
Big 12 |
21 |
|
17 |
North Carolina |
7-5 |
129 |
ACC |
15 |
|
18 |
Purdue |
4-4 |
107 |
Big Ten |
17 |
|
19 |
Illinois |
2-2 |
102 |
Big Ten |
19 |
|
20 |
Rutgers |
7-3 |
98 |
Big Ten |
24 |
|
21 |
Arizona State |
3-6 |
88 |
Pac-12 |
16 |
|
22 |
Princeton |
4-4 |
61 |
EIWA |
25 |
|
23 |
Utah Valley |
7-6 |
47 |
Big 12 |
22 |
|
24 |
Lock Haven |
3-2 |
38 |
EWL |
20 |
|
25 |
Stanford |
5-0 |
34 |
Pac-12 |
NR |
Others Receiving Votes: Virginia 24, Lehigh 23, North Dakota State 16, Oklahoma 12, Old Dominion 1
Dropped Out: No. 23 North Dakota State
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