Here’s how Penn State wrestlers fall in the rankings after another wild week of competition

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.

With a win over No. 9 Nebraska, Penn State extended its streak as the unanimous No. 1 to 27 straight National Wrestling Coaches Association Division I team polls on Tuesday.

The Nittany Lions also maintain nine ranked wrestlers — including four No. 1s — in InterMat’s individual rankings. Although Penn State’s starters all won last weekend, a couple did see slight downward movement due to upsets elsewhere.

Penn State sophomore Nick Lee dropped down one spot to No. 7 at 141 pounds after Northern Iowa’s Josh Alber jumped from No. 8 to 6 with a win over Missouri’s No. 3 Jaydin Eierman. Lee, who started off the season at No. 4, will have plenty of opportunities to make up for lost ground before March. He’ll have four top-10 matchups in Penn State’s last seven duals with No. 2 Joey McKenna (Ohio State), No. 4 Mike Carr (Illinois), No. 5 Kanen Storr (Michigan) and No. 9 Brian Lantry (Buffalo).

Redshirt freshman Brady Berge (149 pounds) also slid down one spot, to No. 11, this week, despite a solid win over the weekend. Missouri’s Brock Mauller jumped from No. 13 to 7 with weekend wins over Northern Iowa’s No. 10 Max Thomsen and Central Michigan’s Dresden Simon. Earlier this season Mauller, a freshman, split a couple matches with Iowa State’s No. 12 Jarrett Degen, whom Berge topped at the Southern Scuffle, and beat Wisconsin’s No. 19 Cole Martin, whom Berge lost to 8-7.

The biggest shakeups nationally this week were at 133 pounds. Rutgers’ Nick Suriano dropped his second consecutive match, falling 6-4 to Iowa sophomore Austin DeSanto at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, while Oklahoma State’s Daton Fix, who handed Suriano his first lost the week prior, lost to Pittsburgh’s Micky Phillippi in a 3-1 decision.

Further complicating things, No. 9 Austin Gomez (Iowa State) got pinned by unranked Anthony Cefelo (Rider), and reigning national champ Seth Gross announced Thursday that he’d be undergoing season-ending back surgery and working to apply for a sixth year of eligibility.

The new top 5, in order, are as follows: Stevan Micic (Michigan), Phillippi, Fix, DeSanto and Suriano. They are followed by Ohio State’s Luke Pletcher, North Carolina State’s Tariq Wilson, Minnesota’s Ethan Lizak, Gomez and Missouri’s John Erneste to round out the top 10.

Penn State true freshman Roman Bravo-Young holds steady at No. 13 after improving to 15-1 on the season. Seeding will be crucial for Bravo-Young when it comes to his podium chances at NCAAs, and he’ll have several chances before the regular season is over to improve his rank and RPI. He’s set to hit Purdue’s No. 18 Ben Thornton on the road Friday, then Micic at the Bryce Jordan Center dual on Feb. 1, Pletcher on the road a week later and Illinois’ No. 17 Dylan Duncan at home Feb. 17.

Jason Nolf, Vincenzo Joseph, Mark Hall and Bo Nickal all remain unbeaten No. 1s for Penn State, at 157, 165, 174 and 197 pounds, respectively. Shakur Rasheed remains No. 3 at 184 pounds after not wrestling Sunday against Nebraska’s No. 5 Taylor Venz, and Anthony Cassar is still No. 4 at heavyweight.

Missing that opportunity to get a win over Venz at home might come back to bite Rasheed, who has Ohio State No. 1 Myles Martin and Illinois No. 2 Emery Parker as two of his three remaining ranked matchups this regular season.

The top-10 teams remain unchanged in this week’s coaches poll: Penn State, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Iowa, Missouri, Michigan, Minnesota, N.C. State, Nebraska and Cornell.

Lehigh made its way back into the rankings at No. 24 after weekend wins over American and Navy, and the previous week’s upset over Cornell. The Mountain Hawks, which have dealt with injuries all year, have now won five straight matches after dropping their first six, including a shutout to the Nittany Lions.

Also in Pennsylvania wrestling, Pittsburgh dropped its first match of the season, 36-9 to Oklahoma State, to move to 8-1 on the season, but bumped up one spot to No. 13 as Wisconsin fell three spots to No. 14 after losing 25-18 to Northwestern on Friday. Meanwhile, Lock Haven (3-2) fell out of the rankings. The Bald Eagles’ weekend match against Cleveland State was postponed due to the weather.

The Nittany Lions are back in action this weekend with two road duals, against No. 19 Purdue and Indiana.

Theraworx NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll

Jan. 22

Others receiving votes: Lock Haven 19, Utah Valley 15, Oklahoma 11, Northwestern 4, Campbell 3, Old Dominion 3, Army West Point2.

Dropped out: No. 23 Utah Valley, No. 24 Lock Haven.