Penn State wrestling falls to No. 4 in latest NWCA coaches poll ahead of its (potential) season debut
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 has fallen two spots in the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association’s coaches poll.
The Nittany Lions (0-0) are the No. 4 team in the country — down from a tie at No. 2 last week — as they still have yet to take the mat this season. They fell behind No. 3 North Carolina State (4-0) while Michigan (3-0) took sole possession of the No. 2 spot the Wolverines shared with Penn State last week.
Both opportunities for the Nittany Lions to take the mat so far this season were postponed. The Jan. 16 matchup with Rutgers was postponed due to positive COVID-19 tests among heir Tier 1 personnel and the Jan. 24 dual with Michigan State was postponed by both programs “out of an abundance of caution surrounding the health and safety of the student-athletes, coaches and staff,” Penn State said in a brief release.
The Big Ten has 11 ranked teams this week after having a record 12 ranked teams for the past two weeks.
The 2-0 Iowa Hawkeyes are the No. 1 team in the country, with the Wolverines coming in at the aforementioned No. 2 position and Penn State at No. 4. They’re followed by two more teams in the top ten: Nebraska (No. 7) and Illinois (No. 9).
Ohio State (No. 11), Minnesota (No. 15), Wisconsin (No. 18), Purdue (No. 19), Rutgers (No. 20) and Michigan State (No. 23) round out the 11 Big Ten teams ranked in the top 25.
The Nittany Lions are now scheduled to open their season Saturday when they take on Indiana and Northwestern — which fell out of the top 25 after being ranked No. 25 last week — on the road in Evanston, Illinois, in a tri-meet.
Even though Penn State has yet to wrestle this season, the team has nine wrestlers ranked as individuals for the third week in a row.
All nine of them maintained the same position they held last week. Five are ranked in the top five of their class, with three of them in the top three: senior 141-pounder Nick Lee (No. 2), junior 133-pounder Roman Bravo-Young (No. 3), sophomore 184-pounder Aaron Brooks (No. 3), freshman 174-pounder Carter Starocci (No. 5) and freshman heavyweight Greg Kerkvliet (No. 5).
Lee’s younger brother Joe — a freshman — currently sits just outside the top five at No. 6 in the 165-pound weight class. The team’s three other ranked wrestlers are junior Jarod Verkleeren (No. 10, 149 pounds), junior Brady Berge (No. 11, 157 pounds) and freshman Michael Beard (No. 13, 197 pounds).
Saturday’s tri-meet could feature four ranked matchups featuring Nittany Lions — all against Northwestern. At 133 pounds, No. 16 Chris Cannon is expected to take on Bravo-Young, at 149 pounds, No. 20 Yahya Thomas is set to face off with Verkleeren, at 157 pounds, No. 1 Ryan Deakin could wrestle Berge and No. 11 Lucas Davison may take on Beard.
There could also be a ranked matchup not including Penn State at 125 pounds between Indiana’s No. 16 Brock Hudkins and Northwestern’s No. 8 Michael DeAugustino.
The Nittany Lions will still be defending their title from the 2019 NCAA Wrestling Championships after last season’s postseason was cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic.
NWCA Division I Coaches Poll
(Jan. 26, 2021)
| Rank | Team (First) | Record | Points | Conf. | Previous |
| 1 | Iowa | (2-0) | 350 | Big Ten | 1 |
| 2 | Michigan | (3-0) | 333 | Big Ten | 2 (tie) |
| 3 | NC State | (4-0) | 308 | ACC | 3 |
| 4 | Penn State | (0-0) | 296 | Big Ten | 2 (tie) |
| 5 | Oklahoma State | (5-0) | 290 | Big 12 | 5 |
| 6 | Missouri | (9-0) | 288 | MAC | 6 |
| 7 | Nebraska | (3-1) | 262 | Big Ten | 7 |
| 8 | Virginia Tech | (5-0) | 259 | ACC | 8 |
| 9 | Illinois | (4-0) | 229 | Big Ten | 10 |
| 10 | Arizona State | (2-0) | 224 | Pac-12 | 9 |
| 11 | Ohio State | (2-1) | 207 | Big Ten | 11 |
| 12 | Pittsburgh | (3-1) | 187 | ACC | 12 |
| 13 | Iowa State | (4-1) | 179 | Big 12 | 13 |
| 14 | North Carolina | (2-0) | 176 | ACC | 14 |
| 15 | Minnesota | (2-2) | 153 | Big Ten | 15 |
| 16 | Northern Iowa | (3-1) | 143 | Big 12 | 19 |
| 17 | Northern Colorado | (3-0) | 90 | Big 12 | 20 |
| 18 | Wisconsin | (1-2) | 87 | Big Ten | 22 (tie) |
| 19 | Purdue | (1-2) | 86 | Big Ten | 16 |
| 20 | Rutgers | (0-2) | 84 | Big Ten | 17 |
| 21 | Stanford | (1-0) | 69 | Pac-12 | 21 |
| 22 | Oklahoma | (2-3) | 68 | Big 12 | 18 |
| 23 | Michigan State | (1-1) | 38 | Big Ten | 24 |
| 24 | Navy | (2-1) | 36 | EIWA | NR |
| 25 | Binghamton | (3-0) | 31 | EIWA | NR |
Others Receiving Votes: Northwestern 18, Rider 11, Campbell 10, Central Michigan 10, Virginia 9, Army West Point 6, Lehigh 4, Wyoming 4, Appalachian State 2, Hofstra 2, West Virginia 1
Dropped Out: No. 22 Army West Point (1-1), No. 25 Northwestern (1-2)
This story was originally published January 26, 2021 at 2:37 PM.
