Penn State wins 72nd in a row; Ohio State climbs to No. 2 after National Duals Invitational title

Manheim, Pennsylvania - The third NWCA Division I Men’s Wrestling Coaches Poll of the regular season, released Tuesday, reflected substantial activity among ranked teams following the National Duals Invitational sponsored by Paycom and additional dual competition across the country.

Penn State remained No. 1 after blanking Oklahoma 45-0 at the Bryce Jordan Center. The win pushed the Nittany Lions’ win streak to 72 in a row, four behind the major college record of 76 set by Oklahoma State from 1937-1951 and five behind the NCAA record set by Division II St. Cloud State from 2017-2022.

Ohio State climbed to No. 2 after winning the team championship at the National Duals Invitational in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Buckeyes posted ranked wins over Wyoming, Minnesota, Nebraska and Iowa. Iowa held the No. 3 position after wins over Missouri, Illinois and Oklahoma State, while Oklahoma State moved to No. 4 with victories over Cornell, NC State and Nebraska. Nebraska rounded out the top five after posting wins over Lehigh and Michigan.

Minnesota moved to No. 7 following a pair of wins over Virginia Tech as well as victories over Northern Iowa and Missouri. Virginia Tech rose to No. 8 after a 3-2 week that included wins over Wyoming, NC State and Illinois. Illinois climbed to No. 9 after wins over Little Rock, Lehigh and Missouri. NC State dropped to No. 10 following a win over Northern Iowa and setbacks against Oklahoma State and Virginia Tech.

Missouri entered the week 3-0 and added wins over Little Rock and Michigan before falling to Iowa, Minnesota and Illinois. Lehigh went 1-2 with a win over Arizona State and losses to Nebraska and Illinois. Michigan recorded a win over Arizona State before losses to Nebraska and Missouri.

Northern Iowa finished 1-2 with a win over Cornell and losses to NC State and Minnesota. Cornell went 0-2 with losses to Oklahoma State and Northern Iowa.

Among ranked teams not in action in Tulsa, South Dakota State opened with a shutout win over Division II Augustana (S.D.). West Virginia improved to 4-0 with wins over Princeton, Appalachian State and Division II Glenville State. Pittsburgh moved to 3-0 after a come-from-behind 20-19 win over Princeton. North Carolina stayed unbeaten with a 20-18 win over Navy.

Stanford added a win over California Baptist, while Wisconsin and Oregon State entered the poll at No. 24 and 25 following wins over Ohio and Utah Valley, respectively.

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 points 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.