Manheim, Pennsylvania – Penn State and Iowa both passed conferences tests this past week that kept them atop the most recent NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll released Tuesday.
Penn State’s Bryce Jordan Center hosted the 8th largest dual crowd in NCAA wrestling history and the Nittany Lion faithful came away pleased as top-ranked Penn State (10-0) won eight out of 10 bouts to blast third-ranked Michigan 30-8.
Nearly 800 miles due west, second-ranked Iowa improved to 12-0 after thumping No. 11 Nebraska 33-6 in front of a sellout crowd of 14,905 at Iowa’s Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The two best-drawing schools will tangle this Friday at 8:30 Eastern at the Bryce Jordan Center.
It will be the third straight meeting between the two teams during the regular season where the teams are ranked No. 1-2 in the nation but it will be the first meeting between the two teams at the Bryce Jordan Center with the teams holding the top two spots in the rankings. Penn State holds the NCAA indoor dual meet attendance record at 15,998 on February 10, 2018 in a 28-13 win over No. 7 Iowa.
Penn State followed the Michigan win by beating No. 20 Michigan State 34-6 at Rec Hall while Iowa needed criteria to get past No. 16 Wisconsin 19-18 in front of a record crowd of 5,256 in Madison.
Despite the loss to Penn State, Michigan stayed at No. 3 as the Wolverines (8-1) got back on track with a 24-9 win at the-No. 24 Rutgers on Sunday. Iowa State remained fourth. The Cyclones (10-2) were idle.
The ACC had a top-10 showdown with then-No. 8 Virginia Tech edging fifth-ranked NC State 16-14 before a record crowd of almost 6,000 fans in Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Virginia. The Hokies slid up to seventh while the Wolfpack slid one slot behind the Hokies at No. 8. Cornell (7-2) swept a pair of Ivy League duals to move up to No. 6. The Big Red beat Brown 35-6 and Harvard 27-12.
Ohio State improved to 9-1 after beating Maryland 38-6. Injury-plagued Arizona State (3-4) split this weekend’s action, falling at home to Cal Poly 18-15 before getting back on track with a 25-14 win at Stanford. The Sun Devils slid seven spots to No. 17 this week.
Oklahoma State (8-1) moved back into the top 10 after winning a pair of Big 12 duals. The Cowboys topped then-No. 23 West Virginia 28-7 and Northern Colorado 24-10.
Minnesota moved up to No. 12 as the Gophers beat then-No. 22 Indiana 28-6 and Purdue 20-12. No. 14 Northwestern needed criteria to get past rival Illinois 18-17 in Evanston. Pittsburgh (7-2) re-entered the Top 25 this week. The Panthers beat Virginia 25-6.
Ranked Teams in Duals This Week:
Tuesday: Duke at No. 19 Appalachian State.
Friday: No. 2 Iowa at No. 1 Penn State, No. 6 Ohio State at No. 3 Michigan, No. 13 Wisconsin at No. 14 Northwestern, No. 18 South Dakota State at Northern Colorado, No. 21 Lehigh at Columbia, Oklahoma at No. 4 Iowa State, Duke at No. 5 NC State, No. 24 Pittsburgh at No. 7 Virginia Tech and Maryland at No. 22 Michigan State.
Saturday: No. 5 Cornell at Army West Point, No. 17 Arizona State at Lehigh, No. 10 Oklahoma State at No. 15 Northern Iowa, No. 20 Illinois at Minnesota.
Sunday: No. 5 Cornell at Columbia, No. 10 Oklahoma State at Northern Iowa, No. 14 Northwestern at No. 23 Rutgers, No. 13 Wisconsin at No. 11 Nebraska, No. 18 South Dakota State at Air Force, No. 22 Michigan State at No. 6 Ohio State, No. 25 Indiana at Purdue, Maryland at No. 3 Michigan, Oklahoma at Northern Iowa.
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
January 24, 2023
| 1 | Penn State (13) | (10-0) | 349 | Big Ten | 1 |
| 2 | Iowa (1) | (12-0) | 337 | Big Ten | 2 |
| 3 | Michigan | (8-1) | 320 | Big Ten | 3 |
| 4 | Iowa State | (10-2) | 302 | Big 12 | 4 |
| 5 | Cornell | (7-2) | 281 | EIWA | 6 |
| 6 | Ohio State | (9-1) | 276 | Big Ten | 7 |
| 7 | Virginia Tech | (7-2) | 270 | ACC | 8 |
| 8 | NC State | (10-1) | 266 | ACC | 5 |
| 9 | Missouri | (6-2) | 242 | Big 12 | 9 |
| 10 | Oklahoma State | (8-1) | 211 | Big 12 | 12 |
| 11 | Nebraska | (6-3) | 209 | Big Ten | 11 |
| 12 | Minnesota | (10-2) | 185 | Big Ten | 13 |
| 13 | Wisconsin | (7-5) | 165 | Big Ten | 16 |
| 14 | Northwestern | (3-2) | 161 | Big Ten | 14 |
| 15 | Northern Iowa | (4-2) | 160 | Big 12 | 15 |
| 16 | North Dakota State | (8-2) | 143 | Big 12 | 17 |
| 17 | Arizona State | (3-4) | 125 | Pac-12 | 10 |
| 18 | South Dakota State | (9-2) | 123 | Big 12 | 18 |
| 19 | Appalachian State | (6-2) | 68 | SoCon | 21 |
| 20 | Illinois | (5-4) | 62 | Big Ten | 25 |
| 21 | Lehigh | (6-7) | 44 | EIWA | 19 |
| 22 | Michigan State | (7-4) | 42 | Big Ten | 20 |
| 23 | Rutgers | (9-4) | 41 | Big Ten | 24 |
| 24 | Pittsburgh | (7-2) | 40 | ACC | NR |
| 25 | Indiana | (6-2) | 29 | Big Ten | 22 |
Dropped Out: No. 23 West Virginia (7-3).
Others Receiving Votes: West Virginia 28, Penn 23, Northern Colorado 12, Stanford 10, Maryland 8, Cal Poly 7, North Carolina 6, Oklahoma 3, Oregon State 2.