Penn State wrestling remains No. 2 in this week’s NWCA poll, setting up a top-10 dual with Nebraska
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 remains No. 2 in Tuesday’s National Wrestling Coaches Association Division I coaches poll, after a convincing 38-6 win over No. 22 Rutgers on Sunday.
The 6-1 Nittany Lions will certainly be tested in the coming weeks, with a road contest Friday against No. 7 Nebraska and another next Friday against unanimous No. 1 Iowa. The Hawkeyes just beat the Cornhuskers 26-6 Saturday night in front of 12,883 fans.
Virginia Tech remains No. 3, while Ohio State, North Carolina State, Arizona State, Oklahoma State, Wisconsin and Pittsburgh round out the top 10.
The Big Ten has 10 total teams ranked in the top 25, with Purdue, Minnesota and Northwestern coming in at 13-15, respectively. Rutgers is tied for 22nd and Michigan is tied for 25th.
Penn State’s Friday contest with Nebraska could see as many as six matchups between ranked wrestlers. However, Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said he does not expect No. 4 157-pounder Brady Berge to wrestle against the Cornhuskers.
Penn State’s two top-ranked wrestlers, Vincenzo Joseph (165 pounds) and Mark Hall (174), will both be competing against opponents who have pushed them in the past. While Joseph is 3-0 against fellow senior Isaiah white, two of those bouts were won in sudden victory. The third was a 2-0 decision last January in Rec Hall. No. 5 White is coming off a 4-3 loss to Iowa’s No. 2 Alex Marinelli, in which riding time proved to be the deciding factor.
Hall also had a close bout last season with Nebraska sophomore Mikey Labriola, winning 5-3. No. 6 Labriola also wrestled Iowa’s second-ranked Michael Kemerer tough last weekend, falling 3-1.
Penn State’s No. 2 Nick Lee is set for another matchup with his old Indiana high school rival, Chad Red. Red was one of two Cornhuskers who emerged victorious from Carver-Hawkeye, earning an upset over Max Murin in the 141-pound bout. With the win, Red moved up a spot in InterMat’s ranking to No. 8, while Murin fell three spots to No. 9.
The other victorious Cornhusker last weekend was junior Eric Schultz, who knocked off Jacob Warner at 197 pounds. The No. 8 wrestler will provide a good test for Penn State’s No. 19 Shakur Rasheed, who appears to be regaining both strength and confidence after missing the first half of the season recovering from ACL surgery. The sixth-year senior moved up a spot in the rankings from last week after beating Rutgers’ Jordan Pagano 6-0. (Pagano fell two spots to No. 20 this week.)
Penn State’s No. 3 Roman Bravo-Young will also face another test this weekend, after his 4-2 win in the second sudden victory period over Rutgers’ No. 9 Sammy Alvarez. The true sophomore will face yet another up-and-coming freshman in Nebraska’s No. 13 Ridge Lovett, who put up a strong effort in his 7-4 defeat to Iowa’s No. 2 Austin DeSanto.
The biggest individual movement for Penn State wrestlers in InterMat’s rankings this week came at 184 pounds, where freshman Aaron Brooks moved up two spots to No. 6, thanks, in part, to losses from Nebraska’s Taylor Venz, who slid three spots to No. 8 after falling to Iowa freshman Abe Assad, and Pitt’s Nino Bonaccorsi, who fell two spots to No. 9 after losing to Oklahoma State’s unranked Anthony Montalvo.
While they aren’t ranked yet, Penn State sophomore Jarod Verkleeren and freshman Seth Nevills both have opportunities to crack the top 20 if they can earn wins over their Friday opponents. Verkleeren will face No. 14 Collin Purinton at 149 pounds, and Nevills will face No. 15 Christian Lance at heavyweight.
Friday’s dual kicks off at 7 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.
NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll
(Jan. 21, 2020)
| Rank | Team (First) | Record | Points | Conf. | Previous |
| 1 | Iowa (14) | (7-0) | 350 | Big Ten | 1 |
| 2 | Penn State | (6-1) | 328 | Big Ten | 2 |
| 3 | Virginia Tech | (8-0) | 322 | ACC | 3 |
| 4 | Ohio State | (7-1) | 304 | Big Ten | 4 |
| 5 | NC State | (10-0) | 303 | ACC | 5 |
| 6 | Arizona State | (9-1) | 275 | Pac-12 | 6 |
| 7 | Nebraska | (5-2) | 261 | Big Ten | 7 |
| 8 | Oklahoma State | (7-1) | 253 | Big 12 | 9 |
| 9 | Wisconsin | (8-3) | 248 | Big Ten | 8 |
| 10 | Pittsburgh | (5-2) | 211 | ACC | 10 |
| 11 | Lehigh | (8-3) | 201 | EIWA | 12 |
| 12 | North Carolina | (8-1) | 195 | ACC | 13 |
| 13 | Purdue | (9-2) | 176 | Big Ten | 14 |
| 14 | Minnesota | (7-4) | 167 | Big Ten | 11 |
| 15 | Northwestern | (3-3) | 145 | Big Ten | 13 |
| 16 | Iowa State | (5-3) | 124 | Big 12 | 16 |
| 17 | Princeton | (2-4) | 117 | EIWA | 17 |
| 18 | Cornell | (6-5) | 98 | EIWA | 19 |
| 19 | Army West Point | (7-2) | 96 | EIWA | 20 |
| 20 | Northern Iowa | (4-3) | 95 | Big 12 | 18 |
| 21 | Campbell | (4-2) | 94 | SoCon | 21 |
| 22 (tie) | Rutgers | (7-3) | 42 | Big Ten | 22 |
| 22 (tie) | Stanford | (7-1) | 42 | Pac-12 | 24 |
| 24 | Missouri | (8-5) | 39 | MAC | 23 |
| 25 (tie) | Michigan | (4-2) | 26 | Big Ten | NR |
| 25 (tie) | Rider | (8-2) | 26 | MAC | 25 |
Others Receiving Votes: South Dakota State 6, Appalachian State 4, Central Michigan 1, Northern Illinois 1.
Dropped Out: None
