Iowa opens NWCA Coaches Poll in seventh

Iowa returns two All-Americans and three more wrestlers with NCAA Championships experience.

The Hawkeyes also have some young talent ready to step in the lineup, including redshirt freshmen Alex Marinelli and Kaleb Young.

Iowa is seventh in the first installment of the USA Today/National Wrestling Coaches Association NCAA Division I Coaches Poll, released Tuesday. The Hawkeyes finished third in last year's final rankings, posting a 13-2 dual record.

Iowa received 298 points, which is fifth among Big Ten programs behind top-ranked Penn State, which received all 16 first-place votes, No. 2 Ohio State, fourth-ranked Michigan and No. 6 Minnesota.

Northern Iowa opens its first season as a Big 12 program and is 13th with 208 points. The only other conference program ahead of the Panthers is perennial power and third-ranked Oklahoma State. UNI was 14th at the end of last season. The Panthers were 11-3 last season, placing second at the Mid-American Conference Championships and 18th at the NCAA tournament in March. Max Thomsen (fifth at 149) and Drew Foster (seventh at 184) were All-Americans last year.

Team 16-17 Rec Pts 16-17 Final

1. Penn State (16) 14-0 400 1

2. Ohio State 11-3 384 6

3. Oklahoma State 14-1 358 2

4. Michigan 8-7 339 15

5. Missouri 11-4 325 10

6. Minnesota 7-5 302 13

7. Iowa 13-2 298 3

8. N.C. State 13-2 267 8

9. Virginia Tech 18-1 262 4

10. Lehigh 10-4 261 11

11. Arizona State 10-4 256 20

12. Rutgers 12-5 214 12

13. Northern Iowa 11-3 208 14

14. Illinois 9-3 189 9

15. Nebraska 12-4 171 5

16. South Dakota State 14-5 157 19

17. Central Michigan 9-3 125 17

18. Wisconsin 7-5 120 16

19. Oklahoma 11-6 91 18

20. Cornell 13-2 86 7

21. Stanford 10-3 80 21

22. North Carolina 8-6 63 —

23. Rider 13-1 47 —

24. Pittsburgh 11-5 38 23

25. Edinboro 9-6 29 22

Others Receiving Votes: Wyoming 25, North Dakota State 24, Oregon State 23, Purdue 13, Princeton 7, Navy 6, Lock Haven 5, West Virginia 5, Campbell 4, Chattanooga 4, Virginia 4, Buffalo 3, CSU Bakersfield 3, Appalachian State 2, Bucknell 1, Indiana 1

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