Journeymen Collegiate Duals cause chaos in NWCA Top 25 Poll. See the full rankings
Penn State hasn’t been on the wrestling mat since its Dec. 10 dual with Hofstra.
The Nittany Lions had 11 current members compete in the US Senior Nationals last weekend, with only two — Beau Bartlett and Alex Facundo — making the Olympic Team Trials in April.
With the limited action Penn State has had, it hasn’t affected its hold on the No. 1 spot in the National Wrestling Coaches Association Top 25 Poll. However, there has been plenty of chaos that has occurred below the Nittany Lions.
The Journeymen Collegiate Duals took place Monday and Tuesday in Nashville, Tenn., and plenty of upsets occurred, shaking up the top five.
There is a new No. 2 team in Missouri, which topped Air Force in a dual. Iowa State climbed back into the top 5 thanks to going 3-0 in the Journeymen Collegiate Duals.
The Cyclones topped No. 13 Pittsburgh, then-No. 5 Cornell and Arkansas-Little Rock. The Cornell match was full of controversy as the Big Red didn’t wrestle most of its top guys.
Ohio State also went 3-0 in the Journeymen Collegiate Duals with wins over then-No. 2 North Carolina State, then-No. 25 Northern Iowa and Lock Haven. The Buckeyes built up an 18-0 lead on the Wolfpack, but hung on for a 21-20 victory.
Ohio State moved up to No. 8.
North Carolina State dropped just two spots to No. 4, Iowa moved up to No. 3 and Iowa State at No. 5 forms the top 5.
The Big Ten added a team to the Top 25 this week to give them nine total. The conference makes up half of the Top 10 with Michigan (No. 6) and Nebraska (No. 7) joining the Nittany Lions, Hawkeyes and Buckeyes.
Minnesota (No. 12), Rutgers (No. 14), Indiana (No. 22) and Maryland (No. 25) are the other Big Ten schools ranked.
There was a new team in the top 25 in Appalachian State, which topped then-No. 21 North Carolina. The Mountaineers are No. 24.
When it came to individual rankings, Penn State had no changes in their ranked wrestlers.
Levi Haines (157 pounds), Carter Starocci (174), Aaron Brooks (197) and Greg Kerkvliet (285) are still at the top of their repsective weights. Bartlett (141) is No. 2 behind Iowa’s Real Woods.
Aaron Nagao (133) sits at No. 4 behind Lehigh’s Ryan Crookham (No. 1), Cornell’s Vito Arujau (No. 2) and Oklahoma State’s Daton Fix (No. 3). Mitchell Mesenbrink (165) remained No. 14 chasing reigning NCAA champion in Missouri’s Keegan O’Toole.
NWCA Coaches Poll
Released Thursday, Dec. 22
| Rank | Team (Record) | Points |
| 1 | Penn State (2-0) | 350 |
| 2 | Missouri (4-0) | 332 |
| 3 | Iowa (5-0) | 317 |
| 4 | NC State (9-1) | 282 |
| 5 | Iowa State (6-1) | 281 |
| 6 | Michigan (2-0) | 275 |
| 7 | Nebraska (3-0) | 271 |
| 8 | Ohio State (7-1) | 264 |
| 9 | Oklahoma State (4-0) | 239 |
| 10 | Cornell (3-1) | 238 |
| 11 | Virginia Tech (3-1) | 202 |
| 12 | Minnesota (5-0) | 197 |
| 13 | Pittsburgh (7-3) | 168 |
| 14 | Rutgers (5-1) | 163 |
| 15 | S. Dakota State (3-2) | 151 |
| 16 | Navy (5-0) | 144 |
| 17 | Oregon State (4-1) | 133 |
| 18 | Stanford (5-1) | 100 |
| 19 | Oklahoma (4-2) | 99 |
| 20 | West Virginia (7-1) | 80 |
| 21 | Arizona State (1-2) | 48 |
| 22 | Indiana (3-0) | 38 |
| 23 | Lehigh (0-3) | 37 |
| 24 | Appalachian State (1-1) | 29 |
| 25 | Maryland (2-1) | 28 |
Others receiving votes: North Carolina 17, Northern Iowa 17, Cal Poly 13, Penn 12, Illinois 7, Northern Colorado 5, Campbell 4, Wisconsin 4, Little Rock 2, Virginia 2, Utah Valley 1
