Penn State has six top-ranked wrestlers ahead of Nebraska dual
Penn State held its place atop the college wrestling world Tuesday afternoon in the latest NWCA Division I Coaches Poll. The Nittany Lions remained No. 1 after winning duals over Indiana and Maryland to stretch their dual winning streak to 82, extending their NCAA record.
Even more impressively, they still have six wrestlers ranked at No. 1 in their respective weight classes. Luke Lilledahl (125 pounds), Shayne Van Ness (149), Mitchell Mesenbrink (165), Levi Haines (174), Rocco Welsh (184) and Josh Barr (197) are all at the top of their classes after Intermat’s rankings were updated Tuesday — maintaining their places from last week’s rankings.
Two more Nittany Lions are in the top five at their classes with 133-pounder Marcus Blaze at No. 4 and 157-pounder PJ Duke at No. 3. Braeden Davis (141 pounds) and Cole Mirasola (285) are both ranked at No. 12 in their respective weight classes.
Penn State will take on No. 6 Nebraska in its lone dual this week on Friday in the Bryce Jordan Center. There are several highly-anticipated matchups, with Duke set to face No. 5 Antrell Taylor, Haines potentially facing off with No. 4 Christopher Minto and Welsh taking on No. 6 Silas Allred.
Davis will have a chance to move up the rankings if he can knock off No. 4 Brock Hardy, while Mirasola could do the same if he defeats the mercurial AJ Ferrari, who is at No. 4.
The Nittany Lions and Cornhuskers are two of the 10 Big Ten teams ranked in the latest poll. They’re joined by Ohio State (No. 2), Iowa (No. 4), Minnesota (No. 9), Michigan (No. 10), Illinois (No. 12), Rutgers (No. 16), Wisconsin (No. 17) and Indiana (No. 24).
NWCA Top 25
1. Penn State (11-0)
2. Ohio State (14-0)
3. Iowa State (8-1)
4. Iowa (9-3)
5. Oklahoma State (10-1)
6. Nebraska (9-5)
7. Virginia Tech (7-2)
8. North Carolina State (12-3)
9. Minnesota (8-4)
10. Michigan (7-2)
11. North Carolina (8-2)
12. Illinois (9-4)
13. Northern Iowa (9-4)
14. Pittsburgh (9-2)
15. South Dakota State (10-3)
16. Rutgers (8-5)
17. Wisconsin (10-2)
18. West Virginia (9-3)
19. Missouri (9-7)
20. Lehigh (7-6)
21. Oklahoma (7-3)
22. Cornell (5-4)
23. Wyoming (4-4)
24. Indiana (7-3)
25. Stanford (4-6)
