Manheim, Pennsylvania — A number of ranked teams collided over the holiday break at the South Beach Duals in Deerfield Beach, Florida, and the results caused a bit of a shakeup in the USA Today/NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll released on Wednesday.
The top seven teams remained the same, but fourth-ranked Missouri improved to 12-0 with four wins, including three over ranked teams. The Tigers beat No. 12 Cornell 27-11, No. 22 Rider 31-8 and No. 24 North Carolina 24-9. The biggest Tiger win of the weekend came at 141 pounds where Jaydin Eierman defeated Yianni Diakomihalis of Cornell with some third-period heroics. Diakomihalis was ranked anywhere from first to third in the various media rankings.
Top-ranked Penn State (5-0) picked up an individual tournament title at the Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Ohio State was idle during the break, while Oklahoma State sent a few entries to Chattanooga. The Cowboys did travel to Naples, Italy to prepare for its upcoming top-five showdown with NC State at the Tussle for the Troops on January 5. Lehigh, Iowa, Virginia Tech and Arizona State saw tournament action.
Of note, Arizona State (2-2) moved up one spot to No. 10, the first time the Sun Devils have been in the Top 10 since October 27, 2005.
The USA Today/NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll is comprised of two voting coaches from each Division I wrestling conference. Points are 25 for each first-place vote, 24 for second, 23 for third all the way to a 25th-place vote is one point.
Future Poll Dates (Tuesdays unless otherwise noted): January 9, January 16, January 23, January 30, February 6, February 13, February 20, February, 27.
| Rank | Team (First) | Record | Points | Conference | Previous |
| 1 | Penn State (11) | 5-0 | 395 | Big Ten | 1 |
| 2 | Ohio State (5) | 6-0 | 389 | Big Ten | 2 |
| 3 | Oklahoma State | 5-0 | 364 | Big 12 | 3 |
| 4 | Missouri | 12-0 | 353 | MAC | 4 |
| 5 | NC State | 10-0 | 336 | ACC | 5 |
| 6 | Lehigh | 6-1 | 315 | EIWA | 6 |
| 7 | Iowa | 7-0 | 309 | Big Ten | 7 |
| 8 | Michigan | 2-1 | 283 | Big Ten | 9 |
| 9 | Virginia Tech | 5-1 | 266 | ACC | 10 |
| 10 | Arizona State | 2-2 | 248 | Pac-12 | 11 |
| 11 | Northern Iowa | 2-1 | 210 | Big 12 | 14 |
| 12 | Illinois | 1-2 | 210 | Big Ten | 13 |
| 13 | Cornell | 4-2 | 207 | EIWA | 12 |
| 14 | Minnesota | 5-3 | 199 | Big Ten | 8 |
| 15 | South Dakota State | 4-2 | 188 | Big 12 | 15 |
| 16 | Wisconsin | 4-0 | 174 | Big Ten | 16 |
| 17 | Rutgers | 3-2 | 136 | Big Ten | 17 |
| 18 | Oklahoma | 2-2 | 99 | Big 12 | 19 |
| 19 | North Carolina | 5-4 | 95 | ACC | 24 |
| 20 | Nebraska | 2-2 | 94 | Big Ten | 18 |
| 21 | Central Michigan | 3-3 | 93 | MAC | 21 |
| 22 | Lock Haven | 4-0 | 93 | EWL | 20 |
| 23 | Rider | 5-2 | 47 | EWL | 22 |
| 24 | Purdue | 4-1 | 33 | Big Ten | 23 |
| 25 | North Dakota State | 4-5 | 22 | Big 12 | NR |
Others Receiving Votes: Northwestern 17, Edinboro 15, Utah Valley 4, Drexel 3, Navy 2, Campbell 1
Dropped out: No. 25 Edinboro.