Virginia Tech jumps into Top 5 of NWCA Div. I poll; Campbell returns to Top 25

Manheim, Pennsylvania – Sam Latona’s takedown and nearfall points at the end of the final bout of Friday’s Virginia Tech-NC State dual lifted the Hokies to more than just a dual meet victory. The Hokies jumped four spots to No. 4 nationally in the most recent NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll released on Tuesday.

Iowa (5-0) remained a unanimous No. 1, while the Top 10 saw some movement as NC State (5-1) dropped four spots to No. 7, and undefeated Missouri (10-0) moved up a spot to No. 5, past Oklahoma State (9-0).

Three new teams entered the Top 25 this week as Campbell came in at No. 23. The Camels (8-1, 7-0 SoCon) won the regular season SoCon title after sweeping a tri-meet against Bellarmine and Chattanooga. Central Michigan (5-2) and Rider (3-1) were also ranked this week, giving the MAC three ranked teams for the first time this season. CMU won three duals last week, beating Cleveland State, Buffalo and Edinboro. Rider’s upset of Lehigh moved the Broncs in at No. 25.

Stanford, Rutgers and Lehigh dropped out of this week’s poll.

Methodology: 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. 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 Wrestling Coaches Poll
February 9, 2021

Rank	Team (First)	Record	Points	Conf.	Previous
1	Iowa (14)	(5-0)	350	Big Ten	1
2	Michigan	(3-0)	332	Big Ten	2
3	Penn State	(3-0)	312	Big Ten	4
4	Virginia Tech	(8-0)	295	ACC	8
5	Missouri	(10-0)	291	MAC	6
6	Oklahoma State	(9-0)	289	Big 12	5
7	NC State	(5-1)	268	ACC	3
8	Nebraska	(6-1)	267	Big Ten	7
9	Minnesota	(5-2)	217	Big Ten	13
10	Illinois	(5-2)	212	Big Ten	9
11	Arizona State	(3-0)	210	Pac-12	10
12	Ohio State	(5-2)	209	Big Ten	11
13	Iowa State	(8-2)	190	Big 12	12
14	North Carolina	(4-2)	174	ACC	14
15	Northern Iowa	(4-2)	147	Big 12	16
16	Pittsburgh	(3-3)	130	ACC	15
17	Purdue	(2-5)	99	Big Ten	18
18	Oklahoma	(5-4)	91	Big 12	19
19	Wisconsin	(1-4)	84	Big Ten	17
20	Navy	(4-1)	79	EIWA	21
21	Virginia	(3-2)	75	ACC	20
22	Michigan State	(2-3)	35	Big Ten	23
23	Campbell	(8-1)	30	SoCon	NR
24	Central Michigan	(5-2)	28	MAC	NR
25	Rider	(3-1)	21	MAC	NR

Others Receiving Votes: Stanford 20, Rutgers 19, Binghamton 18, Wyoming 13, West Virginia 11, Lehigh 9, Northern Illinois 5, Appalachian State 4, Army West Point 4, Hofstra 3, North Dakota State 3, Northern Colorado 3, Northwestern 3.

Dropped Out: No. 22 Stanford (5-3), No. 24 Rutgers (0-4), No. 25 Lehigh (3-4).

Remaining 2020-21 Poll Dates: February 16, February 23.