NWCA rankings set up No. 1 vs. 2 showdown with Iowa and Penn State wrestling Friday

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.

While football fans are gearing up for Super Bowl LIV this week, wrestling fans are looking forward to arguably the most anticipated dual meet of the season — Penn State vs. Iowa on Friday.

Tuesday’s National Wrestling Coaches Association Division I coaches poll officially set up a No. 1-vs.-2 battle when the Nittany Lions (7-1) travel to Carver-Hawkeye to test their luck against the top-ranked Hawkeyes (8-0) in a dual that’ll also feature two individual 1-vs.-2 matchups.

While Penn State and Iowa have two of the most storied wrestling programs, Friday night’s dual will be just the second time the two teams have met as Nos. 1 and 2, according to Iowa’s sports information department.

Although the dual would’ve been even bigger had the Nittany Lions not lost to Arizona State and still been riding their dual win streak — a win over Iowa could’ve brought Penn State just a Maryland victory away from tying Iowa’s modern-era record of 69 — there’s still plenty at stake.

With the Nittany Lions hampered by several key injuries, and the Hawkeyes seemingly firing on all cylinders, it’s Iowa that’s looking like the favorite — not only for the dual, but also for Big Tens and NCAAs. But anybody who knows anything about Penn State wrestling knows the Nittany Lions won’t go down without a fight, especially top-ranked seniors Vincenzo Joseph and Mark Hall.

The pair of three-time NCAA finalists made statements last week against Nebraska, when they both soundly defeated opponents who had historically kept things close. This week, they have the opportunity to make their statements even louder, when they both get the chance to wrestle the second-ranked opponents in their respective weight classes.

Joseph has never beaten Iowa junior Alex Marinelli — falling 9-6 in 2018 and 9-3 in last year’s Big Ten finals — but he’s outplaced the Hawkeye both years at NCAAs. While Hall and Pennsylvania product Michael Kemerer have yet to compete against each other, the two are seemingly on a crash course for the NCAA finals.

Including those two marquee matchups, this week’s InterMat rankings set up seven bouts between ranked wrestlers. All 10 of Iowa’s starters are ranked, while the Nittany Lions have seven ranked wrestlers.

After only having wrestled one match so far this season, sophomore Brady Berge finally fell out of the rankings at 157 pounds. However, he was replaced by freshman heavyweight Seth Nevills, who cracked the rankings at No. 15 after his 4-0 decision Friday over Nebraska’s Christian Lance, who slid one spot to No. 16. Nevills will face Iowa’s No. 3 Tony Cassioppi this week.

Nick Lee (141 pounds) and Roman Bravo-Young (133) are still ranked Nos. 2 and 3, respectively, after their ranked wins last weekend. Lee could potentially face Iowa’s No. 9 Max Murin on Friday, but the Ebensburg native did not wrestle in the Hawkeyes’ Sunday dual against Ohio State. Bravo-Young is set to face No. 2 Austin DeSanto, who owns a 2-0 advantage over the Nittany Lion.

Penn State freshman Aaron Brooks took a slight tumble — falling three spots to No. 9 — after his 9-5 loss to Nebraska’s No. 8 Taylor Venz. He’ll face fellow freshman Abe Assad, who’s at No. 6 after wins over Venz and Ohio State’s Rocky Jordan in the past two weeks.

Despite losing 3-1 to No. 6 Eric Schultz last weekend, Penn State’s Shakur Rasheed actually moved up one spot to No. 18 at 197, thanks mostly to N.C. State’s Nick Reenan’s injury default loss to Virginia’s Jay Aiello. Rasheed will have the chance to take on Iowa’s No. 7 Jacob Warner, who also lost 3-1 to Schultz and did not wrestle last weekend against Ohio State.

Penn State does not have wrestlers ranked at 125, 149 or 157 pounds. Iowa has a top-5 wrestler at each of those weights.

One of the biggest shifts overall in the individual ranking this week came at 149 pounds, where there’s a new No. 1 in Oklahoma State junior Boo Lewallen. Previous No. 1 Pat Lugo, of Iowa, fell to No. 3 after suffering an overtime loss at home to Ohio State freshman Sammy Sasso. With that win, and a Sunday win over Minnesota’s No. 6 Brayton Lee, Sasso moved up four spots to claim the No. 2 rank.

The biggest shake-up in the NWCA team rankings came courtesy of North Carolina, which traveled to Blacksburg to upset the then-No. 3 Hokies 23-10. Virginia Tech fell to No. 7, while the Tar Heels vaulted up four spots to No. 8. That’s UNC’s first top-10 appearance since 1995. Ohio State (8-2) took over at No. 3.

N.C. State (4), Arizona State (5), Nebraska (6), Wisconsin (9) and Pittsburgh (10) round out the top 10. The Big Ten has 10 total teams in the top 25, with Purdue (13), Minnesota (14), Northwestern (21), Rutgers (23) and Michigan (25) also ranked. Illinois received nine votes.

After it returns from Iowa City, Penn State will face Maryland at 2 p.m. Sunday. The Terrapins, which are in a rebuilding year, have no wrestlers ranked by InterMat.

The NCAA also released its first of four coaches’ panel rankings Friday afternoon, which are one of the criteria used as part of the selection process to determine qualifiers and seeding for the NCAA Wrestling Championships.

The coaches’ individual rankings closely resemble InterMat’s, but were released prior to last weekend’s duals. Joseph and Hall are both ranked No. 1 at 165 and 174 pounds, respectively. Lee is No. 2 at 141, Bravo-Young No. 4 at 133, Brooks No. 8 at 184, Nevills No. 20 at heavyweight and Jarod Verkleeren No. 29 at 149 pounds.

NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll

(Jan. 28, 2020)

Others Receiving Votes: Rider 19, Illinois 9, Appalachian State 4

Dropped Out: No. 25 (tie) Rider

This story was originally published January 28, 2020 at 5:38 PM.

Lauren Muthler

Centre Daily Times

814-231-4646

Lauren Muthler is managing editor at the Centre Daily Times who also covers Penn State wrestling and any other interesting stories that come up.