Penn State remained No. 2 in the USA Today/ NWCA Coaches poll this week.
Manheim, Pa. -- Even with a full slate of college wrestling action last week, there were minimal team changes in the most recent USA Today/NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll released on Tuesday.
RANKING: USA Today/ NWCA Coaches poll
Top-ranked Oklahoma State, second-ranked Penn State and fourth-ranked Ohio State are the last three Division I unbeatens. Oklahoma State improved to 8-0 with a pair of Big 12 wins, beating West Virginia 38-3 and No. 19 South Dakota State 31-9.
Penn State improved to 8-0 and moved into first place in the Big Ten regular season standings with a 26-11 win over No. 3 Iowa in front of over 14,000 fans at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The loss was the second in a row for the Hawkeyes, who fell to top-ranked Oklahoma State a week prior.
Despite back-to-back losses, Iowa (7-2) remained third, followed by Ohio State (8-0). The Buckeyes had a 30-12 "home" win over Maryland. The dual was held at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Olney, Maryland, and was deemed a home match for Ohio State as Good Counsel is where Buckeye heavyweight Kyle Snyder attended high school for three years prior to moving to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado.
A victorious homecoming for @Snyder_man45 and the #Buckeyes. More to come on https://t.co/NoBUbAde0A. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/2m6EfKmkFY
— Ohio State Wrestling (@wrestlingbucks) January 22, 2017
Iowa and Ohio State will meet on Friday in Iowa City. It will be the third straight top-five opponent for the host Hawkeyes.
Virginia Tech (13-1) is steady at No. 5. The Hokies lead Division I in dual meet wins and smashed then-No. 23 Pittsburgh 38-9 and then topped rival Virginia 29-14 in the Commonwealth Cup. The Hokies have won nine in a row.
No. 6 Nebraska (10-1) rallied past No. 13 Minnesota on Friday in Minneapolis. The Huskers lost four of the first five weights, but swept the final five to come away with a 21-11 victory. No. 7 Missouri (9-2) moved up one spot after beating then-No. 16 Central Michigan 24-8.
North Carolina State (8-1) moved up to No. 8 at the Brawl at the Hall in Chapel Hill over ACC rival North Carolina 19-11. The event was held at the Memorial Hall, a theatre on campus. It's one of a number of theatre venues used in recent years as Missouri and Virginia Tech have also used similar backdrops to host home duals.
Highlighted by #2 Jack's dominance of #3 Ward at 141 pounds (10-4) - @PackWrestle wins at Chapel Hill 19-11 to improve to 9-1 on the season! pic.twitter.com/KiJ8rScedM
— NC State Wrestling (@PackWrestle) January 24, 2017
A battle of EIWA rivals caused a shift in the bottom half of the top ten. Cornell's 21-20 victory over host Lehigh on Saturday moved the Big Red to 7-2 and up to No. 10, while the Mountain Hawks (8-2) slid three spots to No. 10.
Other notable action saw then-No. 21 Stanford upend then-No. 20 Arizona State 21-14 in Pac-12 action. The Cardinal (7-2) moved back into the top 20, while Arizona State slid two spots to No. 22.
Edinboro (6-4) enters the Top 25 for the first time this season after a weekend victory over then-No. 25 Rider in EWL action. It's the first time the Fighting Scots have been ranked this season.
