NCAA Wrestling: Team Rankings – Big Ten Remains on Top

The Big Ten continues to dominate the country as nine teams are ranked in the nations Top-25. Penn State and Iowa hold the first and second rankings in the nation. No. 1 Penn State and and No. 2 Iowa are not scheduled to meet during the regular season, but could possibly run into each other at the University Dual Championship Series on February 21st.

Cael Sanderson’s Nittany Lions have nine wrestlers among the national rankings. Four of the wrestlers are in the No. 1 spot of their respective weight classes. The four Nittany Lions who hold top spots at their weight classes are senior Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), 21-0 at 197; sophomore Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.), 22-0 at 149; red-shirt freshman Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas), 23-1 at 174; and red-shirt freshman Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.), 23-0 at 157.

Senior Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.) is ranked No. 4 at 125 with a 21-2 record. Senior All-American Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown, Pa.) is ranked No. 5 at 133 with a 19-3 record and sophomore Matt McCutcheon (Apollo, Pa.) is No. 6 at 184 with a 13-2 mark, giving Penn State seven individuals ranked in the top five at their respective weights. Junior Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.) is No. 14 at 141 with a 10-5 mark. Red-shirt freshman Shakur Rasheed (Coram, N.Y.) is No. 17 at 165 with a 14-6 record. Penn State is now 13-0 on the year, 8-0 in Big Ten action. The Nittany Lions are coming off a convincing 24-14 win over No. 10 Ohio State last Friday night in a sold out Bryce Jordan Center.

Iowa wrestles Indiana Friday night, closing out their Big Ten conference dual schedule. A win on Friday evening would have them finishing at 9-0 in the Big Ten and guarantees the Hawkeyes a share of the regular season Big Ten title.

USA Today/NWCA Coaches

RANK	SCHOOL	RECORD	POINTS	PREVIOUS
1	Penn State (12)	13-0	300	1
2	Iowa	15-0	288	2
3	N.C. State	21-0	276	3
4	Oklahoma State	10-2	264	4
5	Missouri	12-1	251	5
6	Lehigh	12-1	239	6
7	Oklahoma	9-4	217	7
8	Virginia Tech	13-2	216	10
9	Michigan	12-2	205	8
10	Ohio State	9-3	203	9
11	Nebraska	9-5	177	11
12	Illinois	12-5	164	13
13	North Carolina	10-3	149	14
14	Rutgers	13-5	144	12
15	Cornell	4-5	129	15
16	Iowa State	9-5	105	16
17	Kent State	13-3	99	17
18	Minnesota	9-7	90	21
19	Virginia	6-5	80	18
20	Central Michigan	8-4	66	23
21	Pittsburgh	9-5	58	17
22	Ohio	10-3	40	24
23	Purdue	8-5	29	NR
24	South Dakota State	12-5	25	NR
25	CSU Bakersfield	10-3	23	NR

Dropped Out: No. 20 Indiana, No. 22 Stanford, No. 25 Chattanooga

Others Receiving Votes: Indiana 16, Oregon State 14, Appalachian State 11, Arizona State 11, Stanford 10, Wisconsin 1

Kyle Carroll

Kyle Carroll is a Long Island, N.Y. native and avid MMA and amateur wrestling fan. He has been a part of the wrestling community for nearly 20 years. Carroll has six years of experience coaching high school wrestling. His father coached high school wrestling over 35 years, passing on his strong knowledge. Carroll has been reporting MMA news since January 2011. The former wrestler’s coverage includes the 2012 U.S. Olympic Wrestling Team Trials, 2013 & 2016 NCAA D1 Wrestling Championship, and numerous MMA events (Bellator MMA, King of the Cage, North American Fighting Championship, and Glory).

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