Penn State wrestling remains unanimous No. 1 in coaches poll
After a quiet Thanksgiving week in college wrestling, Penn State earned all 16 first-place votes for the fourth consecutive week to maintain its top position in the National Wrestling Coaches Association/USA Today Division I Coaches Poll.
This marks the 47th week in Nittany Lions’ history that they’ve been ranked No. 1.
With only 19 Division I duals last week due to the holiday, there was minimal movement in the rankings.
The top 10 remains unchanged, with Ohio State at No. 2, followed by Oklahoma State, Missouri, Lehigh, N.C. State, Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan and Virginia Tech.
This week also saw little change in the InterMat NCAA Division I individual rankings.
The biggest change comes at the hands of Missouri’s 197-pounder Willie Miklus. A week after being upset by Iowa’s Jacob Warner in the finals of the Lindenwood Open, then-No. 3 Miklus rallied from behind — 7-2 late in the third period — to pin then-No. 2 Jared Haught of Virginia Tech. The two switched spots in the rankings.
Also of note, Penn State’s 133-pounder, Corey Keener, dropped from No. 15 to 18 after then-No. 18 Cameron Kelly, of Ohio, upset then-No. 5 Bryan Lantry, of Buffalo, on Saturday.
All other Nittany Lions maintained their positions, with Zain Retherford, Jason Nolf, Vincenzo Joseph and Bo Nickal all at No. 1 at 149, 157, 165 and 184, respectively. Mark Hall sits at No. 2 at 174, Nick Nevills at No. 3 at heavyweight, and Anthony Cassar is ranked No. 11 at 197.
No. 1 Penn State will face No. 5 Lehigh Sunday at the PPL Center in Allentown. If the lineups are as expected, the match will feature four bouts between ranked opponents. Keener will get his biggest test in a Nittany Lions singlet when he takes on No. 3 Scott Parker. In what will probably be the biggest match of the dual, Hall will take on No. 5 Jordan Kutler. Nickal will get his No. 1 ranking tested when he faces off against No. 4 Ryan Preisch, and No. 3 Nevills will take on No. 14 Jordan Wood.
Another interesting matchup, although unranked, will be between Penn State’s Jered Cortez and Lehigh’s Luke Karam at 141.
It is unknown at this time whether Joseph and Keener, who both suffered apparent injuries two weeks ago, will wrestle Sunday.
NWCA/USA Today Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll
Nov. 28
Rank | Team (First) | Record | Points | Conf. | Previous |
1 | Penn State (16) | 3-0 | 400 | Big Ten | 1 |
2 | Ohio State | 3-0 | 383 | Big Ten | 2 |
3 | Oklahoma State | 3-0 | 369 | Big 12 | 3 |
4 | Missouri | 6-0 | 350 | MAC | 4 |
5 | Lehigh | 3-0 | 335 | EIWA | 5 |
6 | NC State | 6-0 | 316 | ACC | 6 |
7 | Iowa | 4-0 | 303 | Big Ten | 7 |
8 | Minnesota | 2-1 | 281 | Big Ten | 8 |
9 | Michigan | 1-1 | 279 | Big Ten | 9 |
10 | Virginia Tech | 3-1 | 257 | ACC | 10 |
11 | Rutgers | 3-0 | 239 | Big Ten | 11 |
12 | Arizona State | 2-2 | 216 | Pac-12 | 12 |
13 | Nebraska | 2-0 | 206 | Big Ten | 13 |
14 | Cornell | 1-0 | 188 | EIWA | 15 |
15 | Illinois | 1-1 | 187 | Big Ten | 14 |
16 | Northern Iowa | 1-1 | 143 | Big 12 | 17 |
17 | South Dakota State | 0-2 | 137 | Big 12 | 16 |
18 | Wisconsin | 2-0 | 125 | Big Ten | 19 |
19 | Central Michigan | 1-1 | 123 | MAC | 18 |
20 | Purdue | 3-0 | 104 | Big Ten | 20 |
21 | Oklahoma | 1-2 | 74 | Big 12 | 21 |
22 | Rider | 1-1 | 63 | EWL | 22 |
23 | Edinboro | 2-1 | 54 | EWL | 23 |
24 | Pittsburgh | 1-2 | 17 | ACC | 24 |
25 | Stanford | 2-2 | 15 | Pac-12 | 24 |
Others Receiving Votes: Drexel 10, Maryland 6, Navy 4, Northwestern 4, Chattanooga 2, Lock Haven 2, North Carolina 1, North Dakota State 1, Virginia 1.
This story was originally published November 28, 2017 at 1:40 PM with the headline "Penn State wrestling remains unanimous No. 1 in coaches poll."