Penn State up to three top-ranked wrestlers after win over previously unbeaten Iowa
Penn State wrestling has a new No. 1-ranked wrestler after the Nittany Lions dominated Iowa on Friday night in the Bryce Jordan Center.
Tyler Kasak is now No. 1 at 157 pounds after defeating previous No. 1 Jacori Teemer, from Iowa, to remain undefeated at 13-0. Kasak moved up from last week’s No. 3 ranking, while Teemer dropped to No. 3.
Kasak has been excellent for the Nittany Lions this season and now gives them three wrestlers ranked at the top of their class, joining 165-pounder Mitchell Mesenbrink and 184-pounder Carter Starocci.
Shayne Van Ness, at 149 pounds, was the only other Penn Stater to move in the rankings, bumping up one spot from No. 4 to No. 3 after defeating previous No. 2 Kyle Parco of Iowa. Josh Barr stayed steady at No. 4 in the 197-pound rankings despite losing to Iowa’s Stephen Buchanan, who is the top-ranked wrestler in the class.
Luke Lilledahl (125 pounds) and Braeden Davis (133 pounds) both remained at No. 7 at their weights, while Beau Bartlett (141 pounds) stayed at No. 3, and Levi Haines (174 pounds) and Greg Kerkvliet (285 pounds) stayed at No. 2.
The Nittany Lions will take on Michigan on Friday in the Bryce Jordan Center, and should come out relatively unscathed. Barr is the only Nittany Lion facing a wrestler ranked in the top five and the only one facing someone ranked higher than him. He’s set to face Michigan’s Jacob Cardenas, who is No. 2 at 197 pounds.
Penn State maintains top spot
PSU dispatched of previous-No. 2 Iowa, 30-8, and it should be no surprise that the program stayed at No. 1 in the NWCA Division I men’s wrestling coaches poll. The Nittany Lions once again received all 16 first-place votes in the poll.
The win moved them to 10-0 on the season, with Michigan looming Friday. The Wolverines are the No. 19 team in the poll.
They’re joined by seven other Big Ten teams in the rankings — Iowa (No. 3), Ohio State (No. 4), Nebraska (No. 7), Minnesota (No. 8), Rutgers (No. 12), Illinois (No. 13) and Indiana (No. 22).
Maryland fell out of the rankings, but received 15 voting points, the most of any unranked team.
Penn State remains one of the only undefeated teams in the country, joined by only No. 2 Oklahoma State as teams without a loss on the season.
NWCA Top 25 Poll
| Rank | Team (First) | Record | Points | Previous |
| 1 | Penn State (16) | (10-0) | 400 | 1 |
| 2 | Oklahoma State | (12-0) | 376 | 3 |
| 3 | Iowa | (10-1) | 375 | 2 |
| 4 | Ohio State | (12-1) | 346 | 4 |
| 5 | Northern Iowa | (11-1) | 335 | 5 |
| 6 | NC State | (10-1) | 311 | 6 |
| 7 | Nebraska | (9-2) | 309 | 7 |
| 8 | Minnesota | (8-1) | 295 | 8 |
| 9 | Cornell | (7-1) | 264 | 9 |
| 10 | Virginia Tech | (6-2) | 239 | 10 |
| 11 | South Dakota State | (12-3) | 228 | 11 |
| 12 | Rutgers | (11-5) | 227 | 12 |
| 13 | Illinois | (9-3) | 210 | 14 |
| 14 | Iowa State | (8-4) | 200 | 13 |
| 15 | Pittsburgh | (9-3) | 172 | 16 |
| 16 | Little Rock | (14-2) | 158 | 17 |
| 17 | Stanford | (8-2) | 157 | 15 |
| 18 | North Carolina | (6-5) | 126 | 18 |
| 19 | Michigan | (5-4) | 125 | 19 |
| 20 | West Virginia | (8-6) | 89 | 21 |
| 21 | Oklahoma | (7-4) | 77 | 22 |
| 22 | Indiana | (7-3) | 42 | 23 |
| 23 | Lehigh | (4-4) | 29 | NR |
| 24 | Missouri | (5-9) | 28 | 20 |
| 25 | Army West Point | (6-3) | 27 | 24 |
Others Receiving Votes: Maryland 15, Northern Colorado 11, Penn 11, Navy 9, Wyoming 4, Arizona State 2, Campbell 2, Utah Valley 1.
