NWCA Div 1 Coaches Poll

NWCA Release

Unbeaten Penn State finishes regular season No. 1 in USA Today/NWCA Division I Coaches Poll

Manheim, Pennsylvania — With Penn State’s 55-0 win over Buffalo on Sunday, the Nittany Lions capped off a perfect 14-0 dual meet record and finished the regular season where they began, atop the USA Today/NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll.

Penn State received all 16 first-place votes as the final poll of the season was released on Tuesday. Ohio State ended the season ranked second, finishing with a 14-1 mark, while Missouri, the nation’s only other unbeaten squad, was third after picking up a pair of weekend wins to finish 19-0. Nine of the top 10 teams saw action in the season’s final week of dual meet competition.

Ohio State stopped sixth-ranked NC State 29-6 in Raleigh, North Carolina in front of a Wolfpack-record 3,905 fans. Just two days prior, NC State captured the ACC regular season title by beating No. 8 Virginia Tech 19-15.

Fourth-ranked Michigan ended its season 11-3 with a 30-9 win over No. 20 Central Michigan, while No. 5 Oklahoma State (13-2) capped its regular season with a road trip to Fresno State. The Cowboys topped the Bulldogs 41-0 in front of Fresno State’s second-largest crowd this season as the reinstated program drew 4,328 for the dual.

No. 7 Iowa closed out a 12-3 season by beating Iowa State 35-6. No. 8 Lehigh finished 12-3 by beating Pittsburgh and Oklahoma.

The only movement in the poll came from the Big Ten, which closed the season with 11 of its 14 teams ranked in the Top 25. Rutgers (8-7) and Purdue (9-7) both beat Wisconsin, which caused the Badgers to slide four spots to No. 22.

The USA Today/NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll is voted on by two coaches from each Division I wrestling conference. Points are 25 for each first-place vote, 24 for second, 23 for third all the way to a 25th-place vote is one point.

NOTE: The coaches poll was initially scheduled to release one final poll on February 27, but since there are no scheduled Division I dual meets during what would have been the next ranking cycle, this poll will serve as the final poll of the 2017-18 regular season.

Rank Team (First) Record Points Conference Previous
1 Penn State (16) 14-0 400 Big Ten 1
2 Ohio State 14-1 382 Big Ten 2
3 Missouri 19-0 370 MAC 3
4 Michigan 11-3 348 Big Ten 4
5 Oklahoma State 13-2 335 Big 12 5
6 NC State 15-2 315 ACC 6
7 Iowa 12-3 313 Big Ten 7
8 Lehigh 12-3 280 EIWA 8
9 Arizona State 11-3 275 Pac-12 9
10 Virginia Tech 14-3 254 ACC 10
11 Cornell 13-2 243 EIWA 11
12 South Dakota State 13-2 227 Big 12 12
13 Nebraska 10-4 198 Big Ten 14
14 Wyoming 13-3 194 Big 12 15
15 Northern Iowa 6-5 178 Big 12 13
16 Illinois 7-4 151 Big Ten 15
17 Northwestern 11-4 144 Big Ten 17
18 Minnesota 10-8 131 Big Ten 19
19 Rutgers 8-7 112 Big Ten 21
20 Central Michigan 8-6 88 MAC 20
21 Purdue 9-7 76 Big Ten 22
22 Wisconsin 7-5 74 Big Ten 18
23 Lock Haven 12-4 48 EWL 23
24 North Carolina 9-11 27 ACC 24
25 Drexel 12-4 21 EIWA 25

Others Receiving Votes: Edinboro 6, Binghamton 3, Duke 3, Appalachian State 2, American 1, Rider 1.
Dropped out: None.

Questions about historical polls can be sent to Jason Bryant