Manheim, Pennsylvania – While one of the nation's premier in-season individual tournaments took place in Las Vegas, there was still plenty of dual meet action around the Division I mats as competition resumed after the Thanksgiving Holiday.
Maryland (4-0) entered the NWCA Division I Men's Wrestling Coaches Poll for the first time this season as the new poll was released on Tuesday. Coach Alex Clemsen's team was ranked for two weeks last season and climbed as high as No. 22 during the 2022-23 season.
Penn State (2-0) remained the unanimous No. 1 after blasting then-No. 22 Lehigh 36-3 at the PPL Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The dual drew 9,769, the largest home crowd in the storied history of Lehigh wrestling. Iowa improved to 6-0 after taking out Army West Point and Princeton at Journeymen Wrestling's Uncivil War in St. Charles, Missouri. The Hawkeyes pulled out a 23-16 win over the Black Knights and a 39-3 win over the Tigers.
The rest of the Top 10 was in Las Vegas, where third-ranked Oklahoma State won the team title at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.
Illinois moved up two more spots to No. 11, after defeating Indiana 34-3 prior to the Big Ten's conference championship football game in Indianapolis. Currently, seven of the nation's top 11 teams reside in the Big Ten.
Rutgers picked up a pair of wins to improve to 5-2. The Scarlet Knights beat Lock Haven 34-6 and in-state rival Princeton 32-7. No. 20 Little Rock and No. 21 Oklahoma both beat Central Michigan over the weekend. Little Rock (4-0) won 27-15, while Oklahoma (3-0) won 28-6.
Methodology: 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 points for a third-place vote, and so on, through to one point for a 25th-place vote. The poll is based on dual meet results.
NWCA Division I Men's Wrestling Coaches Poll
December 10, 2024
| Rank |
Team (First) |
Record |
Points |
Conf. |
Previous |
| 1 |
Penn State (16) |
(2-0) |
400 |
Big Ten |
1 |
| 2 |
Iowa |
(6-0) |
380 |
Big Ten |
2 |
| 3 |
Oklahoma State |
(4-0) |
368 |
Big 12 |
3 |
| 4 |
Nebraska |
(3-0) |
352 |
Big Ten |
4 |
| 5 |
Ohio State |
(3-0) |
329 |
Big Ten |
5 |
| 6 |
NC State |
(5-0) |
315 |
ACC |
6 |
| 7 |
Virginia Tech |
(3-0) |
303 |
ACC |
7 |
| 8 |
Minnesota |
(4-0) |
302 |
Big Ten |
8 |
| 9 |
Michigan |
(3-0) |
265 |
Big Ten |
9 |
| 10 |
Northern Iowa |
(2-0) |
247 |
Big 12 |
10 |
| 11 |
Illinois |
(6-0) |
222 |
Big Ten |
13 |
| 12 |
Cornell |
(1-0) |
221 |
Ivy League |
11 |
| 13 |
Iowa State |
(1-2) |
219 |
Big 12 |
12 |
| 14 |
South Dakota State |
(1-2) |
181 |
Big 12 |
14 |
| 15 |
Stanford |
(4-1) |
180 |
ACC |
15 |
| 16 |
Missouri |
(1-3) |
152 |
Big 12 |
16 |
| 17 |
Rutgers |
(5-2) |
151 |
Big Ten |
17 |
| 18 |
West Virginia |
(3-0) |
134 |
Big 12 |
18 |
| 19 |
Pittsburgh |
(2-0) |
109 |
ACC |
19 |
| 20 |
Little Rock |
(4-0) |
99 |
Pac-12 |
20 |
| 21 |
Oklahoma |
(3-0) |
88 |
Big 12 |
21 |
| 22 |
Lehigh |
(1-2) |
68 |
EIWA |
22 |
| 23 |
Oregon State |
(1-2) |
31 |
Pac-12 |
23 |
| 24 |
North Carolina |
(3-2) |
24 |
ACC |
24 |
| 25 |
Maryland |
(4-0) |
18 |
Big Ten |
NR |
Others Receiving Votes: Arizona State 14, Army West Point 11, Northern Colorado 8, Indiana 6, Cal Poly 1, George Mason 1, Virginia 1.
Dropped Out: No. 25 Arizona State (3-2).
NWCA Division I Men's Wrestling Coaches Poll Publication Dates
Dec. 17, Dec. 23 (MONDAY RELEASE)
Jan. 7, Jan. 14, Jan. 21, Jan. 28
Feb. 4, Feb. 11, Feb. 18, Feb. 25
Mid-Major Publication Dates
Jan. 8, Jan. 22, Feb. 12, Feb. 26
Questions related to historical polls can be sent to Jason Bryant at jason@bryantwrestling.com
