Penn State wrestling remains No. 1 as more action gets underway

Editor’s note: The Centre Daily Times will publish weekly updates based on NWCA coaches team and InterMat individual rankings to give readers a glimpse into how Penn State wrestling fits into the bigger picture.

The Nittany Lions’ dominating 52-3 win over Kent State on Sunday helped further cement their place on top of the wrestling world as Penn State remained the unanimous No. 1 in the National Wrestling Coaches Association’s team coaches poll, updated Tuesday.

The rest of the top 10 also remained unchanged, as fellow Big Ten powerhouses No. 3 Iowa and No. 5 Michigan also picked up their first dual wins of the season.

Iowa put a 45-0 beating on Kent State, with four pins, a technical fall and a major decision. The Hawkeyes then went on to beat Cal State Bakersfield 36-3, with junior then-No. 10 Pat Lugo dropping a 10-9 decision to Russell Rohlfing.

Michigan’s first win came over Central Michigan. The Wolverines won 32-12, with pins from Stevan Micic, Logan Massa and Myles Amine.

The only other top 10 team to wrestle a dual this week was Missouri, which beat Old Dominion 40-3.

The biggest mover in the team poll was Utah Valley, which after wins over Niagara County Community College and Rutgers, and a close 19-15 loss to Nebraska, cracked the rankings for the second time in program history at No. 21. Meanwhile, Rutgers fell from No. 15-23.

Although Nebraska made it out 3-0 on the weekend, All-American Chad Red dropped two matches at 141 pounds — against Utah Valley’s Matt Findlay and Virginia’s Sam Krivus — while All-American Isaiah White fell to Drexel’s Ebed Jarell. Red dropped five spots and White two, both to No. 11, in InterMat’s individual poll.

Arizona State, which the Nittany Lions face on Dec. 14, won its first dual against South Dakota State, with its only losses coming to reigning 133-pound national champion Seth Gross and to Zach Carlson at 197.

Rankings for individual Nittany Lions remained unchanged in InterMat’s poll, with Jason Nolf, Vincenzo Joseph and Bo Nickal each ranked No. 1 at 157, 165 and 197, respectively. Mark Hall and Nick Nevills remain No. 2 at 174 and heavyweight, and Nick Lee and Shakur Rasheed maintain their No. 4 rankings at 141 and 184. Brady Berge is also ranked No. 15 at 149.

Penn State is next in action on Sunday at the Keystone Classic tournament inside the Palestra in Philadelphia, which, according to the tournament’s website, will field teams from Appalachian State, Drexel, Duke, Franklin and Marshall, Harvard, Rider, Sacred Heart and Virginia Military Institute.

NWCA Division I Team Coaches Poll

Nov. 13

Others Receiving Votes: Appalachian State 10, Duke 10, Stanford 6, Virginia 3, Clarion 2, Iowa State 2, Pittsburgh 2, Army West Point 1, Drexel 1.

This story was originally published November 13, 2018 at 10:02 PM.