Central Michigan tops two ranked conference opponents, moves into NWCA Top 25
Manheim, Pennsylvania – A weekend trip out east to face new conference foes was beneficial for coach Tom Borrelli’s Central Michigan squad as the Chippewas downed ranked opponents Rider 28-10 and Lock Haven 24-12 to enter this week’s NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll at No. 24.
The Chippewas (2-1) faced off with both schools for the first time as conference mates as the Mid-American Conference absorbed the Eastern Wrestling League, creating a 15-team conference alignment. Central Michigan reappears in the Top 25 for the first time since February of 2018.
A large portion of Division I competition centered around tournaments, with the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational highlighting the action and shaking up the individual rankings. The team rankings were largely unaffected.
Top-ranked Iowa improved to 4-0 after beating host Princeton 30-9 on Sunday. It capped off a monster travel and competition weekend for the No. 12 Tigers, who went on the road to Stillwater, Oklahoma and split 10 matches with ninth-ranked Oklahoma State, but fell 18-15.
No. 3 Penn State (3-1) picked up a pair of wins over in-state opponents from the EIWA. First, before a Stabler Arena record crowd of 6,047, the visiting Nittany Lions topped then-No. 13 Lehigh 23-10. Penn State followed with a 33-7 win at home against Penn.
The only other ranked team in dual action was No. 10 Pittsburgh, which improved to 4-1 after topping West Virginia 29-6 and shutting out Drexel 33-0.
Ranked duals this week: With the academic calendar closing most places around the country, dual meet competition is slow this coming week. No ranked teams will face off with one another and there’s only eight duals with Division I teams competing. Ranked teams with competition are No. 6 NC State at Appalachian State on Friday, No. 11 Iowa State hosting Chattanooga on Saturday, and No. 19 Missouri faces Buffalo and No. 9 Oklahoma State is at Oklahoma on Sunday.
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 Coaches Poll
December 10, 2019
| Rank | Team (First) | Record | Points | Conf. | Previous |
| 1 | Iowa (14) | (4-0) | 350 | Big Ten | 1 |
| 2 | Nebraska | (4-0) | 325 | Big Ten | 2 |
| 3 | Penn State | (3-1) | 321 | Big Ten | 3 |
| 4 | Arizona State | (5-0) | 310 | Pac-12 | 4 |
| 5 | Virginia Tech | (3-0) | 283 | ACC | 5 |
| 6 | NC State | (6-0) | 280 | ACC | 6 |
| 7 | Ohio State | (3-1) | 274 | Big Ten | 7 |
| 8 | Wisconsin | (6-1) | 254 | Big Ten | 8 |
| 9 | Oklahoma State | (3-1) | 247 | Big 12 | 9 |
| 10 | Pittsburgh | (4-1) | 208 | ACC | 10 |
| 11 | Iowa State | (1-1) | 204 | Big 12 | 11 |
| 12 | Princeton | (1-2) | 194 | EIWA | 12 |
| 13 | Northwestern | (2-1) | 168 | Big Ten | 14 |
| 14 | Lehigh | (1-3) | 160 | EIWA | 13 |
| 15 | Northern Iowa | (0-2) | 146 | Big 12 | 16 |
| 16 | Minnesota | (1-2) | 141 | Big Ten | 15 |
| 17 | North Carolina | (3-1) | 114 | ACC | 18 |
| 18 | Cornell | (0-2) | 109 | EIWA | 17 |
| 19 | Missouri | (2-2) | 89 | MAC | 19 |
| 20 | Purdue | (6-1) | 84 | Big Ten | 23 |
| 21 | Army West Point | (4-1) | 67 | EIWA | 21 |
| 22 | Michigan | (1-1) | 45 | Big Ten | 22 |
| 23 | Virginia | (3-1) | 33 | ACC | 24 |
| 24 | Central Michigan | (2-1) | 28 | MAC | NR |
| 25 | Rider | (3-1) | 27 | MAC | 20 |
Others Receiving Votes: Campbell 23, Rutgers 23, Stanford 20, Wyoming 11, Illinois 6, Old Dominion 4, Lock Haven 2
Dropped Out: No. 25 Lock Haven
2019-20 Coaches Poll Release Dates
Poll #6 12/10/19 Poll #11 1/28/20
Poll #7 12/17/19 Poll #12 2/4/20
Poll #8 1/7/20 Poll #13 2/11/20
Poll #9 1/14/20 Poll #14 2/18/20
Poll #10 1/21/20 Poll #15 2/25/20
Mid-Major Poll Release Dates
MM Poll #1 1/22/20 MM Poll #2 2/12/20 MM Poll #3 2/26/20
