Anthony Cassar cracks individual rankings as Penn State wrestling holds steady at No. 1 in poll
It looks as if Sunday’s Keystone Classic provided some clarity to the rankings conundrum Penn State had caused at 197.
Previously unranked sophomore Anthony Cassar rose to No. 11 in the individual rankings at 197 after a banner day at the Classic. He edged out teammate and then-No. 4 Matt McCutcheon 6-5 in the semifinals and went on to beat then-No. 12 Frank Mattiace of Penn, 7-4, for the title. McCutcheon battled back to make it to the third-place bout, where he injury defeaulted and finished fourth.
McCutcheon is no longer ranked, while Cassar made his first career appearance in the InterMat NCAA Division I rankings.
As a team, Penn State remains the unanimous No. 1 in the National Wrestling Coaches Association/USA Today Division I Team Coaches Poll.
Also of note this week is that despite winning a Keystone Classic title, Penn State junior Jered Cortez has still not cracked the InterMat rankings. A win over a ranked opponent would help Cortez get on the board. And he’ll have his first chance to do that on Dec. 17 when he’ll likely face Indiana’s Cole Weaver, ranked No. 16, at Rec Hall.
Aside from Cassar, all other Nittany Lions held steady at their previous ranks, with Zain Retherford (149), Jason Nolf (157), Vincenzo Joseph (165) and Bo Nickal (184) all at No. 1 in their respective weight classes. Mark Hall is No. 2 at 174, Nick Nevills is No. 3 at heavyweight, and Corey Keener is ranked 15th at 133.
In the team poll, Penn State (3-0) is holding steady with 400 points. The 1-0 Buckeyes’ spot also remains unchanged from last week, with 384 points at No. 2, and Oklahoma State (2-0) picked up two points, bringing the Cowboys to 368 points at No. 3.
The biggest shakeup in the polls this week comes at the hands of the Lehigh Mountain Hawks, who put a 27-8 beating on then-No. 4 Michigan on Sunday. With the win, Lehigh (3-0) catapults from 10th into fifth place, bumping 4-0 Missouri up to No. 4, and dropping Michigan to No. 9.
The Nittany Lions will have their first real test of the season Dec. 3, when they take on Lehigh at Allentown.
NWCA/USA Today Division I Team Coaches Poll
Nov. 21, 2017
Rank | Team (First) | Record | Points | Conference | Previous |
1 | Penn State | 3-0 | 400 | Big Ten | 1 |
2 | Ohio State | 1-0 | 384 | Big Ten | 2 |
3 | Oklahoma State | 2-0 | 368 | Big 12 | 3 |
4 | Missouri | 4-0 | 345 | MAC | 5 |
5 | Lehigh | 3-0 | 319 | EIWA | 10 |
6 | NC State | 6-0 | 312 | ACC | 7 |
7 | Iowa | 3-0 | 299 | Big Ten | 8 |
8 | Minnesota | 2-1 | 292 | Big Ten | 6 |
9 | Michigan | 1-1 | 286 | Big Ten | 4 |
10 | Virginia Tech | 3-0 | 267 | ACC | 9 |
11 | Rutgers | 3-0 | 235 | Big Ten | 11 |
12 | Arizona State | 1-2 | 213 | Pac-12 | 12 |
13 | Nebraska | 1-0 | 191 | Big Ten | 15 |
14 | Illinois | 1-1 | 190 | Big Ten | 14 |
15 | Cornell | 1-0 | 187 | EIWA | 19 |
16 | South Dakota State | 0-1 | 153 | Big 12 | 16 |
17 | Northern Iowa | 1-1 | 146 | Big 12 | 13 |
18 | Central Michigan | 1-1 | 130 | MAC | 17 |
19 | Wisconsin | 2-0 | 129 | Big Ten | 18 |
20 | Purdue | 3-0 | 92 | Big Ten | 22 |
21 | Oklahoma | 1-2 | 85 | Big 12 | 20 |
22 | Rider | 0-0 | 53 | EWL | 23 |
23 | Edinboro | 2-1 | 48 | EWL | 24 |
24 (tie) | Pittsburgh | 1-2 | 13 | ACC | 25 |
24 (tie) | Stanford | 2-2 | 13 | Pac-12 | 21 |
Others receiving votes: Maryland 11, Drexel 10, Navy 6, Appalachian State 5, Kent State 5, Chattanooga 4, North Dakota State 4, North Carolina 2, Northwestern 2, Lock Haven 1
Dropped out: None
This story was originally published November 21, 2017 at 2:19 PM with the headline "Anthony Cassar cracks individual rankings as Penn State wrestling holds steady at No. 1 in poll."