NWCA Division I Coaches Poll

Penn State goes wire-to-wire at No. 1; Final week of competition sees shift in Top 10

Manheim, Pennsylvania – Penn State finished the regular season ranked in the same place where it started, atop the NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll. The final poll of the 2022-23 regular season was announced on Wednesday.

The Nittany Lions were the nation’s lone unbeaten team this season, finishing 16-0 after they closed out their schedule with a 40-6 win over visiting Clarion. Iowa stood firm at No. 2. The Hawkeyes finished 15-1 this season and closed out with a solid 28-7 win over then-No. 6 Oklahoma State at Carver-Hawkeye Arena over the weekend.

Missouri’s upset of No. 3 Iowa State shifted the rankings between 3-10. NC State, part of an ACC regular-season championship triangle, finished 14-1 and No. 3. The Wolfpack was followed by No. 4 Nebraska, No. 5 Iowa State, No. 6 Ohio State, No. 7 Oklahoma State, No. 8 Cornell, No. 9 Missouri and No. 10 Virginia Tech. Ohio State upended Cornell in Tampa, Florida, over the weekend.

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Dual season builds to a close; Penn State wins another Big Ten dual title

Manheim, Pennsylvania – The last full weekend of the regular season in Division I wrestling has arrived. Penn State wrapped up another Big Ten dual meet title over the weekend and the top-ranked Nittany Lions remain the nation’s lone unbeaten Division I team and remain No. 1 in the most recent NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll released on Tuesday.

Iowa and Iowa State remained at second and third, while Cornell moved up a spot to No. 4 after picking up a weekend win over Binghamton. Coupled with Nebraska’s win over Ohio State, NC State moved back into the top five as the Wolfpack dispensed with then-No. 17 Pittsburgh.

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Oklahoma State moves up after a pair of Top 10 wins

Manheim, Pennsylvania – Oklahoma State picked off a pair of top-10 opponents last week, moving the Cowboys back into the nation’s Top 10 as the most recent NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll was released on Tuesday.

Oklahoma State (11-2) beat then-No. 6 Michigan 24-15 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas at the second Bout at the Ballpark and then beat then-No. 8 Missouri on criteria in front of over 5,000 fans at historic Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater.

The top five teams remained steady as Penn State remained unbeaten after wins over No. 4 Ohio State and then-No. 22 Indiana. No. 2 Iowa beat No. 12 Minnesota 18-13, while Iowa State got past West Virginia 20-13 and pesky Pittsburgh 16-15. Cornell locked up another Ivy League title with a pair of wins on the weekend. The Big Red beat Penn and Princeton.

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Penn State unanimous No. 1 after beating Iowa in battle of Big Ten unbeatens

Manheim, Pennsylvania – Penn State stands alone as the last Division I unbeaten after the host Nittany Lions topped rival Iowa in a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup in front of a sold-out crowd of 15,998 at the Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State comes in as the unanimous No. 1 in the latest NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll on Tuesday.

Penn State (11-0) won six out of 10 bouts in the dual that tied the record for the largest indoor dual meet crowd, a record set at Penn State against Iowa in 2018. Iowa remained No. 2.

Iowa State (12-2) moved up to No. 3 after sweeping Oklahoma and Oklahoma State at home. The Cyclones topped then-No. 10 Cowboys 18-11 and the Sooners 25-12. Ohio State made the big leap in the top 10 this week. The Buckeyes (11-1) moved up to No. 4 after beating then-No. 3 Michigan 23-15 and then-No. 22 Michigan State 36-3. Michigan slid three spots to No. 6, while Cornell remained at No. 5 after EIWA wins over Army West Point and Columbia.

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No. 1 Penn State, No. 2 Iowa remain unbeaten heading into Friday’s Big Ten clash

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.

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Big Ten powers remain undefeated and atop nation’s Top 25

Manheim, Pennsylvania – The top three teams in the nation are a combined 25-0 this season in dual meets and all three are from the Big Ten. Penn State (8-0), Iowa (10-0) and Michigan (7-0) came in 1-2-3 in the most recent NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll released on Tuesday.

With Penn State idle, Iowa topped then-No. 11 Northwestern 27-9 at sold-out Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Michigan beat a pair of ranked teams, winning 25-10 in front of a nearly 5,000 fans at then-No. 21 Michigan State’s Jenison Fieldhouse on Friday and then topping then-No. 14 Wisconsin 27-6.

It also sets the stage for a gigantic No. 1 Penn State vs. No. 3 Michigan matchup this coming Friday in University Park at the Bryce Jordan Center.

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Cornell sits atop first NWCA Mid-Major Top 20

Manheim, Pennsylvania – Cornell, fresh off a pair of top-ten wins last week, sits atop of the first Mid-Major Top 20 ranking released by the National Wrestling Coaches Association on Friday.

Cornell is one of three Ivy League teams in the Top 20. The conference alignment is based around school’s all-sports structure, and not any affiliate relationships with conferences that bear the names of the five “power conferences” (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, and Pac-12).

North Dakota State, Northern Iowa, and South Dakota State, affiliate members of the Big 12, come in ranked behind Cornell. North Dakota State and South Dakota State are all-sports members of the Summit League. Northern Iowa is a member of the Missouri Valley Conference. Lehigh, from the Patriot League, rounds out the top five. Patriot League schools, like the Ivy, compete within the 17-team Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association, the country’s oldest wrestling conference.

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