Penn State goes wire-to-wire at No. 1 in NWCA Coaches Poll; Final week of competition sees shift in Top 10

Manheim, Pennsylvania – Penn State finished the regular season ranked the same place where it started, atop the NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll. The final poll of the 2022-23 regular season was announced on Wednesday.


The Nittany Lions were the nation’s lone unbeaten team this season, finishing 16-0 after they closed out their schedule with a 40-6 win over visiting Clarion. Iowa stood firm at No. 2. The Hawkeyes finished 15-1 this season and closed out with a solid 28-7 win over then-No. 6 Oklahoma State at Carver-Hawkeye Arena over the weekened.


Missouri’s upset of No. 3 Iowa State shifted the rankings between 3-10. NC State, part of an ACC regular-season championship triangle, finished 14-1 and No. 3. The Wolfpack was followed by No. 4 Nebraska, No. 5 Iowa State, No. 6 Ohio State, No. 7 Oklahoma State, No. 8 Cornell, No. 9 Missouri and No. 10 Virginia Tech. Ohio State upended Cornell in Tampa, Florida over the weekend.

Cal Poly, which was ranked for seven weeks earlier this season, moved back into the poll at No. 25, completing a 5-0 mark in the Pac-12 to win the regular season championship.

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 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 Wrestling Coaches Poll

February 22, 2023


Rank/Team (First)/Record/Points/Conf./Previous

1 Penn State (14) (16-0) 350 Big Ten 1

2 Iowa (15-1) 336 Big Ten 2

3 NC State (14-1) 307 ACC 5

4 Nebraska (12-3) 287 Big Ten 7

5 Iowa State (16-3) 285 Big 12 3

6 Ohio State (13-3) 275 Big Ten 8

7 Oklahoma State (14-3) 271 Big 12 6

8 Cornell (12-3) 267 EIWA 4

9 Missouri (8-3) 257 Big 12 10

10 Virginia Tech (10-3) 232 ACC 9

11 Michigan (11-4) 211 Big Ten 11

12 Minnesota (12-3) 198 Big Ten 12

13 Northwestern (7-3) 172 Big Ten 14

14 South Dakota State (12-4) 143 Big 12 17

15 Pittsburgh (10-4) 140 ACC 16

16 Northern Iowa (7-5) 137 Big 12 13

17 Wisconsin (8-8) 124 Big Ten 19

18 North Dakota State (11-3) 119 Big 12 15

19 Arizona State (7-5) 97 Pac-12 18

20 Appalachian State (12-2) 75 SoCon 20

21 Illinois (6-7) 57 Big Ten 21

22 Rutgers (10-7) 54 Big Ten 22

23 Michigan State (10-6) 40 Big Ten 23

24 Penn (9-5) 29 EIWA 24

25 Cal Poly (8-6) 26 Pac-12 NR
Dropped Out: No. 25 Indiana (8-5).
Others Receiving Votes: Indiana 21, West Virginia 20, Northern Colorado 13, Lehigh 4, Oregon State 2, Stanford 1.