| Senior DeWitt Driscoll is ranked No. 11 at 141 in the latest USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll. Driscoll is one of nine Penn State wrestlers ranked in the poll as head coach Troy Sunderland's team maintained its No. 8 team ranking |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; February 22, 2006 - The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, fresh off its best dual meet season under head coach Troy Sunderland, maintained its No. 8 ranking in the latest USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll. Nine Penn State individuals are ranked in the top 20 at their respective weight classes as well.
Big Ten-power Minnesota kept its hold on the No. 1 spot, followed closely by Big Ten rival Michigan at No. 2. Oklahoma State checks in at No. 3 with Central Michigan (4), Nebraska (5), Iowa State (6) and Missouri (7) next in line. Penn State, at No. 8, moved ahead of No. 9 Illinois to become the third highest ranked conference school. Oklahoma (10) rounds out the top ten.
While the Big Ten has four teams ranked in the top ten, the conference has nine of its 11 teams ranked in the top 25. Iowa (11), Northwestern (13), Indiana (17), Michigan State (18) and Wisconsin (19) all earned spots in the rankings.
Two returning All-Americans lead the list of Penn State wrestlers ranked in the top 20, four of whom are in the top ten. Senior All-American Eric Bradley (Plaistow, N.H.) stayed No. 7 at 184 despite claiming a 3-1 win over No. 3 Ben Wissel of Purdue. Bradley is 9-1 on the year and his only loss is to No. 5 Kurt Backes of Iowa State. Sophomore All-American Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.) is No. 6 at 197. Davis is 17-3 overall this year.
Junior James Yonushonis (Philipsburg, Pa.) is No. 9 at 174. Yonushonis is 18-4 this year. Freshman Jake Strayer (South Fork, Pa.) is No. 9 at 133. The red-shirt freshman is 19-3 overall and rounds out Penn State's wrestlers in the top ten.
Senior DeWitt Driscoll (Connellsville, Pa.) is No. 11 at 141. Driscoll sports a 14-7 mark this season. True freshman David Erwin (Urbana, Ohio) is No. 12 at 165 and is 23-6 overall. Senior James Woodall (Dupont, Pa.) is No. 13 at 149 with a 7-5 mark while junior Nathan Galloway (State College, Pa.) is No. 13 at 157 and is 11-12 overall. Senior Joel Edwards (Upper Darby, Pa.) rounds out Penn State's ranked grapplers with his No. 19 nod at HWT. Edwards is 14-4 on the year.
Penn State is prepping for the 2006 Big Ten Wrestling Championships, which will be hosted by Indiana University on March 4-5. The two-day national qualifier will take place in Assembly Hall beginning at 11 a.m. on March 4 with another session following at 6 p.m. March 5's session begins at noon.