| Sophomore Phil Davis is Penn State's highest ranked individual, with a No. 6 tag at 197 in the latest USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll. The Nittany Lions maintain their No. 8 ranking as a team. |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; February 15, 2006 - The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, under the guidance of veteran head coach Troy Sunderland, has maintained its No. 8 ranking in the latest USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll. Nine Penn State individuals are ranked among the top 20 at their respective weights, including four who are ranked in the top ten.
Five Big Ten schools pepper the top ten with a total of nine earning a spot in the top 25. Minnesota owns the No. 1 ranking, followed closely by Oklahoma State. Michigan (3), Central Michigan (4), Nebraska (5), Illinois (6), Iowa State (7), Penn State (8), Missouri (9) and Iowa (10) round out the top ten. The other four conference schools listed in the rankings are Northwestern (13), Indiana (17), Michigan State (18) and Wisconsin (23).
Leading a crew of four top ten wrestlers is sophomore All-American Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.). Davis sports a No. 6 ranking at 197 and is 15-3 on the year. Senior All-American Eric Bradley (Plaistow, N.H.) is No. 7 at 184 and is 7-1. Junior James Yonushonis (Philipsburg, Pa.) is No. 9 at 174 and is 16-4 to date and freshman Jake Strayer (South Fork, Pa.) is No. 9 at 133 with an 18-2 mark.
Five other Penn Staters are ranked as well. Senior DeWitt Driscoll (Connellsville, Pa.) is No. 11 at 141 and is 12-7 on the year. Junior Nathan Galloway (State College, Pa.) is No. 12 at 157 with a 10-11 record. True freshman David Erwin (Urbana, Ohio) is No. 12 at 165 with a 21-6 mark. Senior James Woodall (Dupont, Pa.) is No. 13 at 149 with a 7-5 ledger and senior Joel Edwards (Upper Darby, Pa.) is No. 19 at heavyweight with a 12-4 record.
Penn State is 11-4 overall and 3-3 in Big Ten action. The Nittany Lions close out the dual meet season with two more road meetings this weekend. Penn State visits Ohio State on Friday at 7 p.m. and then faces Purdue on Sunday at 12 p.m. in Indianapolis' Conseco Fieldhouse. Both duals can be hear on WBLF 970 AM and will be streamed live at GoPSUsports.com.