Penn State wrestling starts the new year at No. 3 in the NWCA coaches poll
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.
Penn State wrestling starts the new year and the Big Ten season with some ground to make up.
After a month off of dual competition, the 3-1 Nittany Lions remain No. 3 in the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association’s weekly coaches poll, released Tuesday.
Iowa remains the unanimous No. 1 at 4-0 with 350 voting points. Nebraska, 5-0, is No. 2 with 328, while Penn State has 314. Virginia Tech, Ohio State, North Carolina State, Arizona State, Wisconsin, Oklahoma State and Pittsburgh round out the top 10, in that order.
The Big Ten has 10 ranked teams with Northwestern, Minnesota, Purdue, Rutgers and Michigan also in the top 25. Rutgers (6-0) broke into the rankings for the first time this season, while Illinois received 11 votes.
The biggest mover in this week’s poll was Ohio State, which toppled Arizona State 17-16 Monday. With the win, the Buckeyes jumped up two spots to No. 5, while the Sun Devils fell from No. 4 to 7.
While the Nittany Lions haven’t had much opportunity to improve their standing in the poll since their Nov. 22 loss to Arizona State that snapped their 60 straight dual win streak, that’s all about to change. The Nittany Lions will begin Big Ten competition this weekend with home duals against Illinois and No. 13 Northwestern. They’ll round out January with duals against No. 24 Rutgers at home, and on the road at No. 2 Nebraska and top-ranked Iowa.
Knocking off teams like Iowa and Nebraska just got a little bit more difficult for the Nittany Lions, however, with Tuesday’s news that reigning heavyweight national champ Anthony Cassar will miss the remainder of the NCAA season after sustaining a shoulder injury at Senior Nationals on Dec. 22. Former All-American Kyle Conel (197 pounds) is also out for the rest of the season, also with a shoulder injury.
Penn State coach Cael Sanderson confirmed that true freshman Seth Nevills will be pulled out of redshirt to wrestle heavyweight, while former All-American Shakur Rasheed, who missed the first half of the season while recovering from ACL surgery, is medically cleared and bumping up to 197 pounds.
Despite the lineup changes and some uncertainty, Penn State wrestlers aren’t letting their confidence be shaken.
Senior two-time national champ Vincenzo Joseph didn’t hesitate when asked how he felt about the national perception that Iowa is the team to beat this season.
“I don’t think they’re better than us,” he said. “We’re gonna have to be our best to win nationals, and I feel like that’s how it goes for every team. You got to be on top of your game if you want to win the national tournament, so we’re going to be on top of our game and we’re all excited for the second half of the year.”
There was no movement for individual Penn State wrestlers in this week’s InterMat rankings, which were released prior to the Cassar news. With Cassar not included, Penn State has two top-ranked wrestlers in Joseph at 165 and Mark Hall at 174 pounds.
Nick Lee is No. 2 at 141, Roman Bravo-Young No. 3 at 133 and Aaron Brooks No. 8 at 184 pounds. Brady Berge is ranked No. 4 at 157 pounds, despite wrestling just one match so far this season, as he he’s recovering from an injury suffered in the preseason at the U23 World Championships.
True sophomore Bravo-Young will have an opportunity to make a statement this weekend with potential bouts against Illinois’ No. 7 Travis Piotrowski and Northwestern’s No. 5 Sebastian Rivera. Both wrestlers are up from 125 pounds last season, where Rivera placed third at NCAAs and won Big Tens.
The Nittany Lions have won eight of the past nine national championships.
NWCA Division I Coaches Poll
(Jan. 7, 2020)
| 1 | Iowa (14) | (4-0) | 350 | Big Ten | 1 |
| 2 | Nebraska | (5-0) | 328 | Big Ten | 2 |
| 3 | Penn State | (3-1) | 314 | Big Ten | 3 |
| 4 | Virginia Tech | (5-0) | 302 | ACC | 5 |
| 5 | Ohio State | (3-1) | 290 | Big Ten | 7 |
| 6 | NC State | (7-0) | 284 | ACC | 6 |
| 7 | Arizona State | (5-0) | 282 | Pac-12 | 4 |
| 8 | Wisconsin | (7-1) | 251 | Big Ten | 8 |
| 9 | Oklahoma State | (4-1) | 245 | Big 12 | 9 |
| 10 | Pittsburgh | (5-1) | 217 | ACC | 10 |
| 11 | Iowa State | (2-1) | 201 | Big 12 | 11 |
| 12 | Princeton | (2-2) | 196 | EIWA | 12 |
| 13 | Northwestern | (2-1) | 183 | Big Ten | 13 |
| 14 | Lehigh | (4-3) | 165 | EIWA | 14 |
| 15 | Minnesota | (5-3) | 140 | Big Ten | 15 |
| 16 | Northern Iowa | (1-2) | 133 | Big 12 | 16 |
| 17 | North Carolina | (7-1) | 130 | ACC | 17 |
| 18 | Purdue | (7-1) | 106 | Big Ten | 18 |
| 19 | Cornell | (4-3) | 105 | EIWA | 18 |
| 20 | Army West Point | (6-2) | 69 | EIWA | 21 |
| 21 | Missouri | (5-4) | 68 | MAC | 19 |
| 22 | Virginia | (3-1) | 54 | ACC | 23 |
| 23 | Stanford | (4-1) | 39 | Pac-12 | 25 (tie) |
| 24 | Rutgers | (6-0) | 29 | Big Ten | NR |
| 25 | Michigan | (1-2) | 13 | Big Ten | 22 |
Others Receiving Votes: Central Michigan 12, Illinois 11, Campbell 8, Rider 8, Oregon State 5, Lock Haven 4, Northern Illinois 4, Wyoming 4
Dropped Out: No. 24 Central Michigan, No. 25 (tie) Rider
