Dec. 12, 2007
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, under the direction of veteran head coach Troy Sunderland, has vaulted to No. 3 in the latest edition of the USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll. Six individuals also garnered rankings, led by three-time All-American Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.), who is No. 2 at 197.
Penn State, coming off a 33-0 win at Lehigh and a 21-18 win at then No. 3 Oklahoma State, moved up two spots to its new lofty position. Big Ten foe Iowa is the new No. 1 after its upset win over now No. 2 Iowa State. Penn State follows at No. 3 with defending national and Big Ten champion Minnesota at No. 4 and Oklahoma State at No. 5.
Central Michigan sits at No. 6 with Michigan close behind at No. 7. Missouri (8), Big Ten entry Northwestern (9) and UT-Chattanooga (10) round out the top ten. In all, nine Big Ten teams are ranked in the top 25 with Ohio State sitting at No. 12, Wisconsin at No. 13, Indiana at No. 16 and Illinois at No. 18.
Davis falls one spot from No. 1 despite two impressive wins over the weekend, but defending national champion Josh Glenn of American is back in action and reclaimed his No. 1 ranking now that he is wrestling. Fellow All-American Jake Strayer (South Fork, Pa.) holds his No. 3 ranking at 141 while sophomore Bubba Jenkins (Virginia Beach, Va.) maintains his No. 4 rank at 149.
Senior Mark McKnight (McDonald, Pa.) sits at No. 6 at 125 while sophomore Dan Vallimont (Lake Hopatcong, N.J.) checks in at No. 11 at 157. Junior Phil Bomberger (Port Royal, Pa.) continues his steady climb up the rankings at 184 with a No. 15 nod at that weight.
Penn State, which is 4-0 overall, will return to action on Jan. 4, 2008, when it hosts No. 17 Cornell in Rec Hall. The dual will start at 7 p.m. All Penn State duals can be heard locally on WBLF AM (970) and WKVA (920 AM). Tickets for all regular season duals are on sale now at the athletic department ticket office in the Bryce Jordan Center. Single-dual tickets are $5 for adults and seniors and $3 for students 18 and under. Penn State students with a proper student ID are admitted free! Fans can call 814-863-1000 or 800-833-5533 to order single-dual tickets.