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Iowa is No. 1, Penn State No. 2 top first NWCA Division I Coaches Poll of 2021-22 season

by Jason Bryant, NWCA

Manheim, Pennsylvania – After winning the school’s first NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship since 2010, Iowa starts the season ranked No. 1 in the first NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll, released on Monday.

The Hawkeyes went 5-0 in last year’s shortened season and returns everyone from its championships season. Rival Penn State, which also finished 5-0 last season, comes in ranked second. The Big Ten boasts 11 ranked teams in the Top 25 and half of the Top 10.

Missouri finished 10-0 last season and has made the move back to the Big 12 after winning nine straight Mid-American Conference championships. The Tigers moved to the MAC after the school left the Big 12 as an all-sports member in 2012-13 for the Southeastern Conference, which doesn’t sponsor wrestling. The Tigers left the Big 12 as its conference champions in the 2011-12 season.

Michigan, which boasts an extremely veteran lineup that includes two Tokyo Olympians, starts the year ranked fourth, followed by NC State out of the ACC, one spot ahead of rival Virginia Tech. Oklahoma State, Arizona State, Nebraska and Ohio State round out the Top 10.

Two Ivy League schools competing in the EIWA, Cornell and Princeton, return to the mats after sitting out last season due to COVID-19 concerns. Cornell has a new head coach, as alum Mike Grey took over for Rob Koll, who left to take the head coaching position at Stanford after that program and 10 other sports were saved from elimination.

The first two ranked Division I teams are in action on Monday, November 1, the opening day of competition. No. 12 North Carolina hosts Division II Queen’s University of Charlotte and 2021 NAIA champion Life University, while Buffalo is at No. 22 Wisconsin.

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
November 1, 2021

Rank

Team (First)

2021
Rec.

Points

Conf.

2021 Final
Rank

1

Iowa (14)

(5-0)

350

Big Ten

1

2

Penn State

(5-0)

336

Big Ten

2

3

Missouri

(10-0)

305

Big 12

5

4

Michigan

(5-1)

301

Big Ten

4

5

NC State

(6-1)

274

ACC

7

6

Virginia Tech

(9-0)

272

ACC

3

7

Oklahoma State

(10-0)

270

Big 12

6

8

Arizona State

(6-0)

264

Pac-12

9 (tie)

9

Nebraska

(7-1)

233

Big Ten

8

10

Ohio State

(5-4)

218

Big Ten

12

11

Minnesota

(7-2)

197

Big Ten

9 (tie)

12

North Carolina

(5-2)

166

ACC

14

13

Cornell

(0-0)

157

EIWA

DNC

14

Iowa State

(9-3)

148

Big 12

13

15

Pittsburgh

(3-4)

143

ACC

16

16

Oklahoma

(5-5)

121

Big 12

19

17

Northern Iowa

(4-4)

106

Big 12

15

18

Illinois

(5-3)

93

Big Ten

11

19

Rutgers

(0-4)

78

Big Ten

NR

20

Wyoming

(3-3)

60

Big 12

25

21

Purdue

(3-5)

53

Big Ten

18

22 (tie)

Princeton

(0-0)

47

EIWA

DNC

22 (tie)

Wisconsin

(1-6)

47

Big Ten

NR

24

Lehigh

(3-4)

45

EIWA

NR

25

Northwestern

(2-6)

42

Big Ten

NR



Others Receiving Votes:
Stanford 39, Oregon State 33, Virginia 31, Central Michigan, Michigan State 25, Campbell 24, Navy 18, South Dakota State 11, Cal Poly 9, Appalachian State 7, Hofstra, West Virginia 1.

Coaches Poll Release Dates for 2021-22:
Nov. 1, Nov. 9, Nov. 16, Nov. 23, Nov. 30, Dec. 7, Dec. 14, Dec. 21, Jan. 4, Jan. 11, Jan. 18, Jan. 25, Feb. 1, Feb. 8, Feb. 15, Feb. 22.

Mid-Major Poll Release Dates to be announced.
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