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Rutgers and Wisconsin rise in NWCA Div. I Coaches Poll

by Jason Bryant, NWCA

Manheim, Pennsylvania – Saturday’s inaugural Garden State Grapple in Newark, New Jersey was the culprit behind a couple of key moves in the most recent NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll released on Tuesday.


Rutgers improved to 8-0 with wins over Hofstra and then-No. 14 North Carolina, while Wisconsin improved to 4-0 with wins over the Pride and Tar Heels as well. Rutgers moved up one spot to No. 14, while Wisconsin jumped three spots to No. 16. North Carolina (3-4) slid five spots to No. 19. The top ten teams remained unchanged.


Top-ranked Iowa (2-0) saw its scheduled dual with Oregon State axed due to the Beavers’ travel issues getting into Iowa from the West Coast. A quick audible saw the Hawkeyes quickly schedule Army West Point for a Sunday dual at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, which resulted in a 36-7 victory. Fifth-ranked Oklahoma State improved to 3-0 after a 45-0 win over visiting Drexel.


Ohio State (3-0) was the only other Top 10 team in action last week, shutting out Division II Notre Dame College 51-0.


This week: Nearly a third of the Division I teams will be competing at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, so that leaves another slim week of dual meets with ranked teams. On Thursday, No. 6 NC State hosts Gardner-Webb. Friday sees second-ranked Penn State head across the state to take on Penn, while Rutgers looks to improve to 9-0 with a trip to American. Lehigh takes on Lock Haven on Saturday, while three ranked teams clash in Columbia as No. 3 Missouri will host a tri-meet with No. 10 Virginia Tech and No. 17 Northern Iowa. Sunday’s action features Lehigh at Penn State and Iowa at Iowa State in a pair of longtime rivalry duals.


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.


NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll

November 30, 2021

RankTeam (First)RecordPointsConferencePrevious
1Iowa (14)(2-0)350Big Ten1
2Penn State(3-0)336Big Ten2
3Missouri(3-0)315Big 123
4Michigan(3-0)310Big Ten4
5Oklahoma State(3-0)294Big 125
6NC State(1-0)274ACC6
7Arizona State(1-0)273Pac-127
8Ohio State(3-0)251Big Ten8
9Nebraska(3-0)235Big Ten9
10Virginia Tech(1-1)220ACC10
11Cornell(1-0)206EIWA11
12Minnesota(2-0)191Big Ten12
13Iowa State(1-1)179Big 1213
14Rutgers(8-0)176Big Ten15
15Purdue(6-0)139Big Ten17
16Wisconsin(4-0)126Big Ten19
17Northern Iowa(0-0)124Big 1216
18Oklahoma(2-1)107Big 1218
19North Carolina(3-4)86ACC14
20Princeton(0-1)69EIWA21
21Illinois(0-0)67Big Ten20
22Lehigh(2-1)54EIWA22
23Pittsburgh(3-1)45ACC23
24Northwestern(0-0)36Big Ten25
25Stanford(1-2)34Pac-1224

Others Receiving Votes: Campbell 13, Wyoming 11, Central Michigan 9, Cal Poly 7, Michigan State 5, Appalachian State 3, Virginia 3, Oregon State 2.
Dropped Out: None
Upcoming Coaches Poll Release Dates for 2021-22: 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.