Penn State wrestling remains No. 1 in NWCA poll as Braeden Davis falls individually
Another week has come and gone, and one thing remained the same — Penn State wrestling is still the No. 1 team in the country.
The Nittany Lions survived a scare from Nebraska, 22-13, on Sunday to claim their fourth straight Big Ten regular season title. It is also the 10th Big Ten crown in the last 13 years.
Even in the loss, the Cornhuskers remained No. 3, with Oklahoma State between Penn State and Nebraska.
The Cowboys, who are undefeated, take on No. 4 Iowa on Sunday.
In one of the two most exciting duals this past week, Missouri’s Zach Elam used a first-period pin in the last bout to rally the Tigers, who are No. 7, past South Dakota State, 21-19. The Jackrabbits have had a great season that has them ranked 11th.
The second dual was Arizona State and Stanford on Friday. The Sun Devils needed a Cohlton Schultz fall in the final bout to top the Cardinals, 18-17.
And in just its fifth season of existence, Arkansas-Little Rock, who is No. 17 in the country, claimed the first conference title of the program. The Trojans, who are 14-5, were crowned the Pac-12 champions when Stanford fell to Oregon State on Saturday, 29-11.
Davis falls in poll
When it came to individual rankings for Penn State’s wrestlers, things stayed the same except for Braeden Davis.
The true freshman suffered his second loss in three matches after being undefeated for most of the year.
Davis fell to No. 8 at 125 pounds, and hurt his seeding for the upcoming Big Ten tournament. He has five other conference foes ranked ahead of him. With no more Big Ten action left, Davis is more than likely going to be the No. 6 seed for the conference tournament in March.
Beau Bartlett (141 pounds), Levi Haines (157), Carter Starocci (174), Aaron Brooks (197) and Greg Kerkvliet (285) all remained at the top of their respective weight classes.
Mitchell Mesenbrink (No. 6, 165), Bernie Truax (No. 6, 184) and Tyler Kasak (No. 9, 149) stayed in the top 10. Aaron Nagao missed another dual due to being sick, which kept him No. 11 at 133 pounds.
NWCA Coaches Poll
Released Tuesday, Feb. 20
| Rank | Team (Record) | Points |
| 1 | Penn State (11-0) | 350 |
| 2 | Oklahoma State (14-0) | 335 |
| 3 | Nebraska (11-2) | 319 |
| 4 | Iowa (11-2) | 304 |
| 5 | Iowa State (12-2) | 294 |
| 6 | Ohio State (15-2) | 277 |
| 7 | Missouri (10-2) | 263 |
| 8 | NC State (15-2) | 256 |
| 9 | Cornell (11-4) | 228 |
| 10 | Michigan (7-4) | 215 |
| 11 | South Dakota State (12-4) | 206 |
| 12 | Minnesota (11-2) | 203 |
| 13 | Virginia Tech (9-3) | 187 |
| 14 | Rutgers (11-5) | 171 |
| 15 | Lehigh (7-3) | 150 |
| 16 | Northern Iowa (6-6) | 133 |
| 17 | Arkansas-Little Rock (14-5) | 114 |
| 18 | West Virginia (10-5) | 97 |
| 19 | Arizona State (6-5) | 91 |
| 20 | Stanford (10-4) | 84 |
| 21 | Oregon State (7-5) | 78 |
| 22 | Campbell (13-3) | 49 |
| 23 | Pittsburgh (8-8) | 31 |
| 24 | Appalachian State (9-3) | 27 |
| 25 | Oklahoma (5-7) | 26 |
Others Receiving Votes: Penn 24, Wisconsin 10, Cal Poly 10, Indiana 9, Northern Illinois 2, North Carolina 2, Michigan State 2, Army West Point 2, Binghamton 1
Dropped out: No. 23 Indiana (6-5)
