Penn State 125-pounder Braeden Davis climbs 10 spots, all Nittany Lion starters remain ranked
Penn State’s 10 wrestlers remained ranked for the second consecutive week, showing just how dominant this year’s iteration of the Nittany Lions could end up being.
The program has four players ranked at the top of their weight class in Levi Haines (157 pounds), Carter Starocci (174 pounds), Aaron Brooks (197 pounds) and Greg Kerkvliet (285 pounds).
They’re joined in the top five by Braeden Davis (4th, 125 pounds), Aaron Nagao (5th, 133 pounds), Beau Bartlett (2nd, 141 pounds), Bernie Truax (5th, 184 pounds) while Tyler Kasak (149 pounds) and Mitchell Mesenbrink are ranked 12th and 7th, respectively.
The biggest jump this week came from Davis, who jumped 10 spots after being ranked for the first time last week. He remains undefeated at 12-0 after defeating Michigan’s Michael DeAugustino, who fell from No. 5 to No. 14, and Michigan State’s Tristan Lujan.
The team continued its reign atop the NWCA top 25 poll as it stayed unbeaten at 6-0. The Nittany Lions took down both Big Ten schools from Michigan this week, dominating both the Wolverines and the Michigan State Spartans to go 2-0 since last week’s rankings.
The Big Ten as a whole has continued its dominance, with five schools ranked in the top 10 and eight overall in the top 25. Iowa leads the way behind Penn State at No. 3, with Nebraska (No. 6), Ohio State (No. 7), Minnesota (No. 9), Michigan (No. 11), Rutgers (No. 13) and Wisconsin (No. 21) also ranked.
NWCA Coaches Poll
Released Tuesday, Jan. 23
| Rank | Team (Record) | Points |
| 1 | Penn State (6-0) | 350 |
| 2 | Missouri (7-0) | 335 |
| 3 | Iowa (8-0) | 323 |
| 4 | Iowa State (9-1) | 303 |
| 5 | Oklahoma State (8-0) | 295 |
| 6 | Nebraska (7-1) | 277 |
| 7 | Ohio State (11-1) | 267 |
| 8 | NC State (10-2) | 251 |
| 9 | Minnesota (5-2) | 232 |
| 10 | S. Dakota State (8-2) | 220 |
| 11 | Michigan (5-2) | 210 |
| 12 | Virginia Tech (4-3) | 189 |
| 13 | Rutgers (10-2) | 179 |
| 14 | Cornell (4-3) | 176 |
| 15 | Lehigh (4-3) | 153 |
| 16 | Oregon State (5-3) | 134 |
| 17 | Stanford (7-2) | 108 |
| 18 | Oklahoma (5-3) | 93 |
| 19 | Pittsburgh (7-5) | 91 |
| 20 | West Virginia (8-2) | 88 |
| 21 | Wisconsin (6-2) | 64 |
| 22 | Northern Iowa (3-4) | 49 |
| 23 | Navy (6-4) | 33 |
| 24 | Cal Poly (5-2) | 31 |
| 25 | Little Rock (10-4) | 27 |
Dropped out: No. 24 Arizona State (3-4).
Others Receiving Votes: Arizona State 24, Appalachian State 17, Indiana 17, Campbell 6, Michigan State 3, Penn 3, Illinois 2.
