Penn State wrestling’s Josh Barr makes leap in rankings while team remains unanimous No. 1
Penn State wrestling remains the unanimous No. 1 team in the nation, according to the National Wrestling Coaches Association Top 25 poll, which came out Tuesday afternoon.
The Nittany Lions received all 16 first-place votes in the poll. There were no changes in the top 10 this week, with fellow Big Ten programs Iowa (No. 2), Nebraska (No. 4), Ohio State (No. 5), Minnesota (No. 8) and Michigan (No. 9) joining PSU. Three other teams from the conference are also ranked in Illinois at No. 11, Rutgers at No. 17 and Maryland at No. 25.
The Illini moved up two spots from No. 13, while the Terps went from unranked to their spot at the edge of the poll.
Penn State will next be in action Sunday when it takes on Wyoming at the Bryce Jordan Center. The dual was moved to the arena because the university’s women’s volleyball team will host the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament on the same day in Rec Hall — where the wrestling dual was originally slated to take place.
Barr flies up rankings; Lilledahl continues rise
Penn State 197-pounder Josh Barr made the biggest jump in this week’s Intermat rankings after defeating previous No. 6 (and former Penn State wrestler) Michael Beard of Lehigh. Barr moved up 16 spots from No. 23 to No. 7 after the 11-3 major decision win.
He wasn’t alone in his move up the rankings. Fellow Nittany Lion Luke Lilledahl continued his upward rise by climbing four more spots to No. 12, after moving up 17 spots in the previous ranking.
He defeated No. 15 Sheldon Seymour by 4-1 decision in the team’s dual against Lehigh on Sunday.
The only other Nittany Lion to move off his spot was 133-pounder Braeden Davis, who dropped from No. 10 to No. 11 after losing to No. 1 Ryan Crookham of Lehigh by a narrow 4-1 decision.
Those who stayed where they were ranked from last week included Beau Bartlett (No. 3, 141 pounds), Shayne Van Ness (No. 2, 149 pounds), Tyler Kasak (No. 4, 157 pounds), Mitchell Mesenbrink (No. 1, 165 pounds), Levi Haines (No. 2, 174 pounds), Carter Starocci (No. 1, 184 pounds) and Greg Kerkvliet (No. 2, 285 pounds).
NWCA top 25 poll
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Previous rank |
| 1 | Penn State | (2-0) | 400 | 1 |
| 2 | Iowa | (6-0) | 380 | 2 |
| 3 | Oklahoma State | (4-0) | 368 | 3 |
| 4 | Nebraska | (3-0) | 352 | 4 |
| 5 | Ohio State | (3-0) | 329 | 5 |
| 6 | NC State | (5-0) | 315 | 6 |
| 7 | Virginia Tech | (3-0) | 303 | 7 |
| 8 | Minnesota | (4-0) | 302 | 8 |
| 9 | Michigan | (3-0) | 265 | 9 |
| 10 | Northern Iowa | (2-0) | 247 | 10 |
| 11 | Illinois | (6-0) | 222 | 13 |
| 12 | Cornell | (1-0) | 221 | 11 |
| 13 | Iowa State | (1-2) | 219 | 12 |
| 14 | South Dakota State | (1-2) | 181 | 14 |
| 15 | Stanford | (4-1) | 180 | 15 |
| 16 | Missouri | (1-3) | 152 | 16 |
| 17 | Rutgers | (5-2) | 151 | 17 |
| 18 | West Virginia | (3-0) | 134 | 18 |
| 19 | Pittsburgh | (2-0) | 109 | 19 |
| 20 | Little Rock | (4-0) | 99 | 20 |
| 21 | Oklahoma | (3-0) | 88 | 21 |
| 22 | Lehigh | (1-2) | 68 | 22 |
| 23 | Oregon State | (1-2) | 31 | 23 |
| 24 | North Carolina | (3-2) | 24 | 24 |
| 25 | Maryland | (4-0) | 18 | NR |
Others Receiving Votes: Arizona State 14, Army West Point 11, Northern Colorado 8, Indiana 6, Cal Poly 1, George Mason 1, Virginia 1.
Dropped Out: No. 25 Arizona State (3-2).
This story was originally published December 10, 2024 at 2:50 PM.
