Manheim, Pennsylvania – A pair of weekend wins in front of sold-out crowds kept Penn State (3-0) atop the Theraworx NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll for the 21st straight week. Penn State again garnered all 16 first-place votes in the poll released Tuesday.
The Nittany Lions started their weekend with a 42-3 win at Bucknell in front of the third-largest crowd in Sojka Pavilion history with over 4,200 witnessing the largest crowd ever at Bucknell for a wrestling dual. Penn State returned home to Rec Hall for another sellout, dismantling injury-riddled Lehigh 42-0. The win pushed Penn State’s dual meet win streak to 48.
Ohio State (3-0) won a third straight Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational over the weekend, crowning three champions and placing seven overall. Seventeen of the nation’s Top 25 teams were competing in Las Vegas over the weekend.
NC State improved to 4-0, but it wasn’t easy as the Wolfpack needed a bonus point from Tariq Wilson to edge host Old Dominion 16-15. ODU did pull off one notable upset as Larry Early upended returning NCAA runner-up Hayden Hidlay at 157 pounds.
Lehigh’s woes were evident heading into Sunday’s loss at Penn State as the Mountain Hawks fell to Princeton on Friday night for the first time in 50 years. It was the first time in Princeton history the Tigers have beaten Lehigh in Bethlehem. Princeton sits just outside the rankings this week.
No. 20 Lock Haven opened up the dual meet portion of its season with a 28-10 win over George Mason in EWL action.
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.
Theraworx NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll – December 4, 2018
| Rank | Team (First) | Record | Points | Conference | Previous |
| 1 | Penn State (16) | 3-0 | 400 | Big Ten | 1 |
| 2 | Ohio State | 3-0 | 382 | Big Ten | 2 |
| 3 | Oklahoma State | 3-0 | 359 | Big 12 | 4 |
| 4 | Iowa | 5-0 | 350 | Big Ten | 3 |
| 5 | Michigan | 2-0 | 334 | Big Ten | 5 |
| 6 | Missouri | 3-0 | 332 | MAC | 6 |
| 7 | NC State | 4-0 | 302 | ACC | 7 |
| 8 | Cornell | 2-0 | 278 | EIWA | 9 |
| 9 | Minnesota | 2-1 | 270 | Big Ten | 10 |
| 10 | Wisconsin | 6-0 | 246 | Big Ten | 11 |
| 11 | Nebraska | 4-1 | 232 | Big Ten | 12 |
| 12 | North Carolina | 3-0 | 211 | ACC | 14 |
| 13 | Purdue | 2-1 | 176 | Big Ten | 15 |
| 14 | Virginia Tech | 0-2 | 173 | ACC | 13 |
| 15 | Arizona State | 1-2 | 153 | Pac-12 | 16 |
| 16 | Lehigh | 0-3 | 146 | EIWA | 8 |
| 17 | Northern Iowa | 1-1 | 127 | Big 12 | 18 |
| 18 | Illinois | 0-1 | 122 | Big Ten | 17 |
| 19 | North Dakota State | 3-0 | 117 | Big 12 | 19 |
| 20 | Lock Haven | 1-0 | 87 | EWL | 20 |
| 21 | Wyoming | 2-2 | 85 | Big 12 | 21 |
| 22 | Utah Valley | 5-2 | 69 | Big 12 | 22 |
| 23 | Iowa State | 1-1 | 58 | Big 12 | NR |
| 24 | Pittsburgh | 2-0 | 56 | ACC | 24 |
| 25 | Northwestern | 1-1 | 50 | Big Ten | 23 |
Others Receiving Votes: Rutgers 44, Princeton 39, Appalachian State 1, Stanford 1.
Dropped Out: No. 25 Rutgers