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Jason Bryant | NWCA | January 16, 2018

Iowa vaults to No. 4 after home win over rival Oklahoma State

  Iowa jumped three spots to No. 4 after a big win over Oklahoma State.

Manheim, Pennsylvania -- The weekend’s marquee wrestling dual had the biggest impact on the most recent USA Today/NWCA Division I Coaches Poll released on Tuesday. Iowa (9-0) beat then-No. 3 Oklahoma State 20-12 in front of 13,485 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Complete NWCA/USA Today Coaches Poll:

RANK TEAM RECORD POINTS PREVIOUS
1 Penn State (11) 7-0 395 1
2 Ohio State (5) 9-0 389 2
3 Missouri 14-0 357 4
4 Iowa 9-0 350 7
5 Oklahoma State 6-1 339 3
6 NC State 10-1 320 5
7 Lehigh 8-1 312 6
8 Michigan 5-2 289 8
9 Arizona State 7-2 271 10
10 Virginia Tech 8-2 256 9
11 Northern Iowa 5-2 235 11
12 Cornell 4-2 214 13
13 Minnesota 7-4 210 14
14 Illinois 3-3 197 12
15 South Dakota State 7-2 183 15
16 Rutgers 4-3 156 17
17 Central Michigan 5-3 136 18
18 Nebraska 4-3 124 19
19 Rider 7-2 81 21
20 Northwestern 7-1 80 25
21 Wisconsin 4-1 77 16
22 Wyoming 7-2 61 23
23 Lock Haven 7-1 59 20
24 Purdue 5-3 51 22
25 North Carolina 6-8 26 24

The Hawkeyes jumped three spots, while Oklahoma State (6-1) slid two spots to No. 5. Spencer Lee's win at 125 pounds over All-American Nick Piccininni and Sam Stoll's overtime win over Derek White at 285 were key wins for the unbeaten Hawkeyes. Unbeaten Missouri moved up one spot to No. 3. The Tigers beat a pair of MAC rivals, Buffalo and Eastern Michigan, to improve to 14-0, tops in Division I.

Penn State (7-0) remained atop the poll, gathering 11 of 16 possible first-place votes. The Nittany Lions triumphed over two Big Ten schools over the weekend, topping No. 8 Michigan 25-12 in Ann Arbor before trouncing Michigan State 48-3. Penn State also inserted true freshman Nick Lee into the lineup at 141 pounds. Lee was the runner-up at the Southern Scuffle two weeks ago.

Ohio State kept pace with the top-ranked Nittany Lions, beating Minnesota 31-7 in Columbus on Friday. Ohio State’s Nathan Tomasello picked up a dominant technical fall victory over returning NCAA finalist Ethan Lizak at 125 pounds to highlight the Buckeyes’ win.

No. 7 Lehigh bested EIWA foes American and Navy by a combined 70-5. The Mountain Hawks improved to 8-1. Arizona State (7-2) moved up to No. 9 after winning the Virginia Duals in Hampton, Virginia. The Sun Devils picked up ranked wins -- beating Northern Iowa in the semifinals before topping returning champion Virginia Tech in the finals. The Hokies (8-2) traded places with the Sun Devils in the poll. The No. 9 ranking is the highest for the Arizona State program since it finished the dual meet season ranked No. 7 in March of 2003.

Northern Iowa (5-2) finished third at the Virginia Duals, beating Oklahoma in the consolation final. The Panthers stayed at No. 11 this week. In the Big Ten, Minnesota (7-4) leapt over Illinois (3-3) after the Golden Gophers topped the Fighting Illini 17-14 in Minneapolis on Sunday.

Northwestern (7-1) jumped up five spots after beating Wisconsin 18-14 on Friday. The Badgers (4-1) dropped five spots from No. 16 to No. 21.

Other ranked duals saw Rutgers edge then No. 24 North Carolina 18-17 on criteria. The Scarlet Knights moved up one spot in the poll this week. Nebraska also topped Purdue 20-15 in a battle of ranked Big Ten programs.

Lock Haven (7-1) fell three spots after falling to unranked Oklahoma in pool competition at the Virginia Duals.
 

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