Manheim, Pennsylvania – Penn State extended its win streak to 55 duals in a row and knocked Michigan from the ranks of the unbeaten in front of 15,703 fans at the Bryce Jordan Center on Friday and remained the top-ranked team in the nation as the NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll was released on Tuesday.
The Nittany Lions improved to 10-0, while the loss left Michigan at 9-1. The Wolverines stayed at No. 4 this week despite the loss. Things won’t get easier for the Nittany Lions as they head to Columbus this weekend for a showdown with sixth-ranked Ohio State (9-1).
Along with Penn State, second-ranked Oklahoma State, third-ranked Iowa, fifth-ranked Missouri and unranked Campbell are the lone Division I schools left with unblemished dual meet records this season. Oklahoma State improved to 12-0 with home wins over then-No. 16 Northern Iowa 24-9 and No. 22 Lehigh 27-6. Iowa improved to 11-0 after heading west to defeat No. 9 Nebraska 20-13 in Lincoln.
Ohio State rebounded from its loss to Michigan two weeks ago to beat Northwestern 27-15 and then-No. 21 Illinois 23-14. Also in the Big Ten, Minnesota improved to 12-2 after taking seven of 10 bouts against then-No. 19 Purdue on Sunday.
NC State (14-2) remained No. 8 after a 23-17 win in the ACC against No. 23 Virginia. Prior to falling to Iowa, Nebraska picked up a Big Ten road victory at No. 18 Rutgers 31-9. No. 10 Cornell beat No. 24 Lock Haven 32-9.
Wyoming split a pair of weekend matches against California schools. The Cowboys (13-4) were stunned 21-12 by unranked Fresno State before recovering to top CSU Bakersfield 25-6. Wyoming slid two spots to No. 13 this week, jumped by Virginia Tech and Iowa State. Then-No. 12 Virginia Tech pounded Duke 40-3, while then-No. 14 Iowa State beat South Dakota State and Utah Valley by a combined 100-0. The Cyclones (9-2) beat the Jackrabbits 47-0 on Friday, then smashed the Wolverines 53-0 on Sunday. The No. 12 ranking for Iowa State is the program’s highest since January 18, 2011, when the Cyclones checked in at No. 12.
Wisconsin (7-5) slid up one spot to No. 14 after a weekend win over Maryland, while North Carolina (10-5) moved up two spots, beating Bucknell and surprising No. 13 Pittsburgh 19-16 thanks to heavyweight Cory Daniel’s improbable come-from-behind victory at heavyweight over Demetrius Thomas.
No. 18 Rutgers picked up one weekend win, a 19-18 thriller over No. 20 Princeton in front of over 5,000 fans. The highlight of the dual came at 149 pounds where No. 2 Anthony Ashnault of Rutgers majored top-ranked Matthew Kolodzik of Princeton 10-2. Christian Colucci’s major decision at heavyweight provided the final points needed for Rutgers to win the battle of New Jersey institutions. Princeton picked up two Ivy League wins a day prior to improve to 6-5 and No. 19, a program high, this week. No. 22 Lehigh left the state of Oklahoma with one win, beating Oklahoma 28-3. No. 23 Lock Haven bounced Edinboro 30-10 and a late throw by Gabe Townsell at 125 pounds provided the late-match heroics to give No. 25 Stanford a 21-16 win over Arizona State in the Pac-12.
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.
NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll – February 5, 2019
| Rank | Team (First) | Record | Points | Conference | Previous |
| 1 | Penn State (16) | 10-0 | 400 | Big Ten | 1 |
| 2 | Oklahoma State | 12-0 | 383 | Big 12 | 2 |
| 3 | Iowa | 11-0 | 364 | Big Ten | 3 |
| 4 | Michigan | 9-1 | 351 | Big Ten | 4 |
| 5 | Missouri | 14-0 | 340 | MAC | 5 |
| 6 | Ohio State | 9-1 | 322 | Big Ten | 6 |
| 7 | Minnesota | 12-2 | 301 | Big Ten | 7 |
| 8 | NC State | 14-2 | 285 | ACC | 8 |
| 9 | Nebraska | 10-4 | 269 | Big Ten | 9 |
| 10 | Cornell | 9-2 | 258 | EIWA | 10 |
| 11 | Virginia Tech | 8-2 | 239 | ACC | 12 |
| 12 | Iowa State | 9-2 | 219 | Big 12 | 14 |
| 13 | Wyoming | 13-4 | 189 | Big 12 | 11 |
| 14 | Wisconsin | 7-5 | 184 | Big Ten | 15 |
| 15 | North Carolina | 10-5 | 172 | ACC | 17 |
| 16 | Pittsburgh | 8-3 | 171 | ACC | 13 |
| 17 | Northern Iowa | 5-5 | 161 | Big 12 | 16 |
| 18 | Rutgers | 9-5 | 140 | Big Ten | 18 |
| 19 | Princeton | 6-5 | 104 | EIWA | 20 |
| 20 | Purdue | 5-7 | 83 | Big Ten | 19 |
| 21 | Lehigh | 7-9 | 69 | EIWA | 22 |
| 22 | Illinois | 2-6 | 56 | Big Ten | 21 |
| 23 | Virginia | 11-8 | 46 | ACC | 23 |
| 24 | Lock Haven | 6-3 | 34 | EWL | 24 |
| 25 | Stanford | 7-1 | 33 | Pac-12 | 25 |
Others Receiving Votes: Fresno State 11, Campbell 6, Arizona State 5, Army West Point 4, Navy 1
Dropped Out: None
