NWCA Div. I Coaches Poll No. 1 Penn State, No. 2 Oklahoma State storm into final week of dual season unbeaten

Manheim, Pennsylvania – In picking up their 54th straight dual meet victory, top-ranked Penn State won the Big Ten regular season title over the weekend and remained No. 1 in the most recent NWCA Division I Men’s Wrestling Coaches Poll released on Tuesday.

The Nittany Lions (11-0) rallied past No. 3 Nebraska 22-13 to finish 8-0 in the Big Ten and lock up the school’s fourth straight regular season title and 10th in the last 13 seasons.

With one dual left on the schedule – Edinboro this coming Sunday – the Nittany Lions currently hold the fifth longest dual meet win streak in major college wrestling history and 13th longest across all divisions. Despite the loss, Nebraska (11-2) remained third this week.

The major college dual win streak record is shared by Oklahoma State (twice) and Iowa at 69 in a row. The second-ranked Cowboys will head into their Sunday dual with the Hawkeyes in Gallagher-Iba Arena with a 14-0 mark this season. The Cowboys beat rival Oklahoma 34-9 in the second Bedlam match of the season.

Iowa (11-2) remained fourth this week after beating Wisconsin 34-5. No. 6 Ohio State beat Michigan State 38-7, while Missouri improved to 10-2 and remained seventh after beating North Dakota State 32-6 and coming from behind to beat No. 11 South Dakota State 21-19 in Brookings.

Missouri heavyweight Zach Elam picked up a first-minute fall to give Missouri the win in the dual’s final match.

NC State remained No. 8 after beating then-No. 9 Cornell 24-9 in Raleigh. The Wolfpack improved to 15-2 on the year and will host rival Virginia Tech on Friday with the ACC regular season title on the line.

No. 10 Michigan beat Indiana 30-6.

No. 13 Virginia Tech put itself in position to challenge NC State for the ACC title with a 26-12 win over then-No. 22 Pittsburgh. The Hokies are 9-3 on the season. The Pac-12 got shaken up over the weekend as then-No. 20 Arizona State used a late Cohlton Schultz fall to beat then-No. 16 Stanford 18-17. The next day, then-No. 21 Oregon State beat the Cardinal 29-11.

That left Little Rock, in just the program’s fifth season, the Pac-12 dual meet champions for 2023-24. The Trojans moved up to No. 17 this week. Arizona State, Stanford and Oregon State all come in ranked 19-20-21 this week.

Previously winless Northwestern earned its first Big Ten victory of the season, beating then-No. 23 Indiana 19-18, knocking the Hoosiers out of the Top 25. The new entry this week is Appalachian State, which joins No. 22 Campbell as the only two teams from the SoCon ranked in the poll. It’s the first time the conference has had two teams in the Top 25 since November 29, 2016.

Methodology: The NWCA Division I Men’s 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. The poll is based on dual meet results. Teams who are not competing this season are not included in the voting process.

NWCA Division I Men's Wrestling Coaches Poll

February 20, 2024

Rank/Team (First)/Record/Points/Conf./Previous

1 Penn State (14) (11-0) 350 Big Ten 1

2 Oklahoma State (14-0) 335 Big 12 2

3 Nebraska (11-2) 319 Big Ten 3

4 Iowa (11-2) 304 Big Ten 4

5 Iowa State (12-2) 294 Big 12 5

6 Ohio State (15-2) 277 Big Ten 6

7 Missouri (10-2) 263 Big 12 7

8 NC State (15-2) 256 ACC 8

9 Cornell (11-4) 228 EIWA 9

10 Michigan (7-4) 215 Big Ten 10

11 South Dakota State (12-4) 206 Big 12 11

12 Minnesota (11-2) 203 Big Ten 12

13 Virginia Tech (9-3) 187 ACC 13

14 Rutgers (11-5) 171 Big Ten 14

15 Lehigh (7-3) 150 EIWA 15

16 Northern Iowa (6-6) 133 Big 12 17

17 Little Rock (14-5) 114 Pac-12 18

18 West Virginia (10-5) 97 Big 12 19

19 Arizona State (6-5) 91 Pac-12 20

20 Stanford (10-4) 84 Pac-12 16

21 Oregon State (7-5) 78 Pac-12 21

22 Campbell (13-3) 49 SoCon 24

23 Pittsburgh (8-8) 31 ACC 22

24 Appalachian State (9-3) 27 SoCon NR

25 Oklahoma (5-7) 26 Big 12 25

Others receiving votes: Penn 24, Wisconsin 10, Cal Poly 10, Indiana 9, Northern Illinois 2, North Carolina 2, Michigan State 2, Army West Point 2, Binghamton 1.

Dropped out: #23 Indiana (6-5)