Wrestling

Penn State is now ranked at No. 3 this week in the latest USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll. They move up one spot from last week after their convincing 36-6 win over Michigan State.

They continue to hold their No. 1 ranking on Intermat’s Tournament Power Index (TPI).

Oklahoma State is now atop the standings after it traveled to Iowa City Saturday night and knocked off then No. 1 Iowa 17-16. Iowa fell one spot to No.2.

Penn State and Minnesota also changed places in the latest poll. The Gophers came into Rec Hall earlier this season and beat then No. 2 Penn State, but Penn State was able to avenge the loss by winning the Southern Scuffle over Gophers, who finished second.

Minnesota is currently ranked fourth in the poll, and six of the top ten teams are from the Big Ten.

Cornell, Illinois, Nebraska, Ohio State, Missouri and Pittsburgh round out the top ten.

Penn State has a date with Iowa on January 22.

But before the showdown at Rec Hall with Iowa, both Penn State and Iowa have some work to do. Penn State travels to No. 17 Northwestern on Friday and then onto Wisconsin on Sunday.

Iowa has road matches with No. 7 Nebraska and No. 8 Ohio State and a home match with No.17 Northwestern before traveling to Happy Valley.

In addition to the team ranking, Penn State has eight wrestlers ranked individually in the top 12 of the Intermat national individual rankings.

David Taylor and Frank Molinaro are ranked No. 1 in their respective weight classes. Taylor, an All-American, is 15-0 and Molinaro, a three-time All-American, is 17-0 on the year.

All-Americans Ed Ruth and Quentin Wright are ranked at No. 2. Ruth has posted a 17-0 mark and Wright is 14-2 on the year.

Heavyweight Cameron Wade is ranked No. 6 with a 14-4 record. Redshirt freshman Dylan Alton is ranked ninth with 13-3 record at 157.

Two true freshmen are also in the top 12. Nico Megaludis is ranked No. 10 with a 14-4 record and Morgan McIntosh is at No. 12 with a 10-5 mark.