Here’s what happened in the 2nd week of college wrestling and how Penn State fits in
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.
After kicking off its 2019-20 season with a 45-0 shutout of Navy on Sunday, the reigning champion Nittany Lion wrestling team maintained a strong hold on the No. 1 spot in the National Wrestling Coaches Association’s weekly Division I coaches poll, released Tuesday.
The Nittany Lions received 13 of 14 No. 1 votes, with the other going to No. 2 Iowa. That’s one more top-rank vote than last week, where No. 3 Ohio State also got a vote. The Buckeyes are followed by Oklahoma State, Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Arizona State, North Carolina State and Lehigh, to round out the top 10.
Penn State will face No. 8 Arizona State and No. 10 Lehigh, both on the road, on Nov. 22 and Dec. 6, respectively. The Nittany Lions are riding a win streak of 60 straight duals, and are looking to catch Iowa’s modern-era record of 69 this season. The Hawkeyes open their season on Sunday against Tennessee at Chattanooga.
Campbell University, under the direction of former Lock Haven and Penn State wrestler Cary Kolat, entered the DI rankings for the first time in school history, tied at No. 25 with Purdue. The Camels rebounded from a loss to No. 15 Pittsburgh to beat Ohio University 24-16 on the road.
In all, nine Big Ten teams are ranked, with Rutgers also receiving votes.
Not much changed this week for individual Nittany Lion wrestlers in the InterMat rankings. Brady Berge and Shakur Rasheed, neither of whom wrestled last week as they continue to recover from past injuries, each moved up a spot. Berge is now the No. 5 wrestler at 157 pounds, and Rasheed No. 2 at 184.
At 184, the previous No. 2, Cornell’s Ben Darmstadt, lost by decision to Binghamton’s then-No. 11 Lou DePrez at the Jonathan Kaloust Bearcat Open. Darmstadt fell to No. 5 and DePrez moved up to No. 4 in InterMat’s poll. That pushed Rasheed, who has yet to wrestle this season, up to No. 2. Nebraska’s Taylor Venz pushed Arizona State’s reigning 174-pound NCAA champ Zahid Valencia at the Journeyman Classic, narrowly losing 8-7. Venz moved up a spot to No. 3, while Zalencia held onto the top spot at 184.
Penn State still has three top-ranked wrestlers in Vincenzo Joseph at 165, Mark Hall at 174 and Anthony Cassar at heavyweight. Roman Bravo-Young is ranked No. 3 at 133 pounds, Nick Lee No. 3 at 141 and Kyle Conel No. 3 at 197. The Nittany Lions are unranked at 125 and 149 pounds, two weight classes that coach Cael Sanderson said have been the most contested in the wrestling room.
Penn State is on the road this weekend at Army West Point’s Black Knight Invitational.
NWCA Division I Coaches Poll
(Nov. 12, 2019)
Rank | Team (First) | Record | Points | Conf. | Previous |
1 | Penn State (13) | (1-0) | 349 | Big Ten | 1 |
2 | Iowa (1) | (0-0) | 337 | Big Ten | 2 |
3 | Ohio State | (1-0) | 318 | Big Ten | 3 |
4 | Oklahoma State | (0-0) | 309 | Big 12 | 4 |
5 | Nebraska | (2-0) | 289 | Big Ten | 5 |
6 | Minnesota | (1-0) | 270 | Big Ten | 7 |
7 | Wisconsin | (5-0) | 265 | Big Ten | 6 |
8 | Arizona State | (2-0) | 252 | Pac-12 | 8 |
9 | NC State | (0-0) | 241 | ACC | 9 |
10 | Lehigh | (0-0) | 225 | EIWA | 10 |
11 | Virginia Tech | (2-0) | 203 | ACC | 11 |
12 | Iowa State | (0-0) | 200 | Big 12 | 12 |
13 | Missouri | (0-1) | 173 | MAC | 13 |
14 | Northern Iowa | (0-0) | 166 | Big 12 | 14 |
15 | Pittsburgh | (1-0) | 159 | ACC | 15 |
16 | Princeton | (0-0) | 134 | EIWA | 16 |
17 | North Carolina | (1-0) | 127 | ACC | 17 |
18 | Cornell | (0-0) | 116 | EIWA | 18 |
19 | Michigan | (0-1) | 81 | Big Ten | 19 |
20 | Oklahoma | (0-0) | 78 | Big 12 | 20 |
21 | Northwestern | (0-1) | 73 | Big Ten | 21 |
22 | Lock Haven | (0-0) | 48 | MAC | 22 |
23 | Virginia | (3-1) | 42 | ACC | 23 |
24 | Army West Point | (3-1) | 22 | EIWA | NR |
25 (tie) | Campbell | (1-1) | 16 | SoCon | NR |
25 (tie) | Purdue | (2-1) | 16 | Big Ten | NR |
Others Receiving Votes: Old Dominion 14, Wyoming 13, Rutgers 11, Stanford 2, Utah Valley 1.
Dropped Out: No. 24 Wyoming, No. 25 Old Dominion.
This story was originally published November 12, 2019 at 8:31 PM.
