Manheim, Pennsylvania – A resounding 41-3 win at home on over No. 15 Arizona State gave top-ranked Penn State (4-0) its 49th straight dual meet victory and kept the Nittany Lions atop the Theraworx NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll released Tuesday. The poll will be the last for the 2018 calendar year.
Highlighting the dual was Penn State 174-pounder Mark Hall knocking off returning national champion Zahid Valencia 4-0. Valencia topped Hall in last year’s NCAA Division I finals and the two evened their college series at 2-2, which includes Valencia’s unofficial win at last year’s NWCA All-Star Classic.
The only change in this week’s order came as North Dakota State and Lehigh switched positions at No. 20 and No. 21.
No. 3 Oklahoma State improved to 5-0 after blanking Northern Colorado 47-0 in Greeley, Colorado. Missouri extended its win streak to 25 in a row and its Mid-American Conference dual meet win streak to 11 with a 30-8 win against visiting Buffalo. The Tigers have won 35 of their last 39 duals dating back to the 2016-17 season.
No. 7 NC State (6-0) needed a technical fall at 133 pounds from All-American Tariq Wilson to end up topping No. 11 Nebraska 18-17 on criteria. Wilson’s big win gave the Wolfpack the dual based on the third criteria, most match points scored. Nebraska topped No. 12 North Carolina 22-15 a day earlier in Chapel Hill.
No. 8 Cornell (3-0) saw the return of national champion Yianni Diakomihalis to the Big Red lineup and the first appearance in the lineup for Vitali Arujau at 125 pounds in a 21-14 win over No. 16 Northern Iowa (1-2).
No. 19 Lock Haven improved to 2-0 overall and 2-0 in the EWL with a 36-6 win over rival Bloomsburg. No. 23 Iowa State (2-1) topped Ohio 36-6 in Ames, while No. 24 Pittsburgh (4-0) won weekend duals over West Virginia 37-3 and Bucknell 34-4. No. 25 Rutgers won an intrastate dual with Rider 28-6.
The NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll is voted on by two coaches from each Division I wrestling conference. Each first-place vote is worth 25 points, 24 points for a second-place vote, 23 for a third-place vote and so on through to one point for a 25th-place vote.
Theraworx NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll – December 18, 2018
RankTeam (First)RecordPointsConferencePrevious1Penn State (16)4-0400Big Ten12Ohio State4-0382Big Ten23Oklahoma State5-0369Big 1234Iowa6-0351Big Ten45Michigan3-0333Big Ten56Missouri5-0320MAC67NC State6-0307ACC78Cornell3-0288EIWA89Minnesota3-1274Big Ten910Wisconsin6-1255Big Ten1011Nebraska5-2238Big Ten1112North Carolina3-1216ACC1213Purdue2-1207Big Ten1314Virginia Tech1-2189ACC1415Arizona State1-3152Pac-121516Northern Iowa1-2136Big 121617Illinois1-1128Big Ten1718Wyoming3-2124Big 121819Lock Haven2-0106EWL1920North Dakota State4-183Big 122121Lehigh0-474EIWA2022Utah Valley5-270Big 122223Iowa State2-168Big 122324Pittsburgh4-063ACC2425Rutgers6-138Big Ten25
Others Receiving Votes: Old Dominion 13, Princeton 11, Stanford 3, Appalachian State 1, Northwestern 1
Dropped Out: None
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