Virginia Tech jumps into Top 5; SoCon dual champs Campbell return to Top 25

Manheim, Pennsylvania – Sam Latona’s takedown and nearfall points at the end of the final bout of Friday’s Virginia Tech-NC State dual lifted the Hokies to more than just a dual meet victory. The Hokies jumped four spots to No. 4 nationally in the most recent NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll released on Tuesday.

Iowa (5-0) remained a unanimous No. 1, while the Top 10 saw some movement as NC State (5-1) dropped four spots to No. 7, and undefeated Missouri (10-0) moved up a spot to No. 5, past Oklahoma State (9-0).

Three new teams entered the Top 25 this week as Campbell came in at No. 23. The Camels (8-1, 7-0 SoCon) won the regular-season SoCon title after sweeping a tri-meet against Bellarmine and Chattanooga. Central Michigan (5-2) and Rider (3-1) were also ranked this week, giving the MAC three ranked teams for the first time this season. CMU won three duals last week, beating Cleveland State, Buffalo and Edinboro. Rider’s upset of Lehigh moved the Broncs in at No. 25.

Stanford, Rutgers and Lehigh dropped out of this week’s poll.

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
February 9, 2021

RankTeam (First)RecordPointsConf.Previous
1Iowa (14)(5-0)350Big Ten1
2Michigan(3-0)332Big Ten2
3Penn State(3-0)312Big Ten4
4Virginia Tech(8-0)295ACC8
5Missouri(10-0)291MAC6
6Oklahoma State(9-0)289Big 125
7NC State(5-1)268ACC3
8Nebraska(6-1)267Big Ten7
9Minnesota(5-2)217Big Ten13
10Illinois(5-2)212Big Ten9
11Arizona State(3-0)210Pac-1210
12Ohio State(5-2)209Big Ten11
13Iowa State(8-2)190Big 1212
14North Carolina(4-2)174ACC14
15Northern Iowa(4-2)147Big 1216
16Pittsburgh(3-3)130ACC15
17Purdue(2-5)99Big Ten18
18Oklahoma(5-4)91Big 1219
19Wisconsin(1-4)84Big Ten17
20Navy(4-1)79EIWA21
21Virginia(3-2)75ACC20
22Michigan State(2-3)35Big Ten23
23Campbell(8-1)30SoConNR
24Central Michigan(5-2)28MACNR
25Rider(3-1)21MACNR

Others Receiving Votes: Stanford 20, Rutgers 19, Binghamton 18, Wyoming 13, West Virginia 11, Lehigh 9, Northern Illinois 5, Appalachian State 4, Army West Point 4, Hofstra 3, North Dakota State 3, Northern Colorado 3, Northwestern 3.

Dropped Out: No. 22 Stanford (5-3), No. 24 Rutgers (0-4), No. 25 Lehigh (3-4).

Remaining 2020-21 Poll Dates: February 16, February 23.