Jan. 2, 2008
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, idle since its Dec. 9 win at Oklahoma State, moved down one spot to No. 4 in the latest edition of the USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll. Minnesota, off a strong showing at the Southern Scuffle, jumped ahead of Penn State despite the Nittany Lions' perfect 4-0 mark. Six individuals also garnered rankings, led by three-time All-American Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.), who is No. 2 at 197, and All-American Jake Strayer (South Fork, Pa.), who is No. 2 at 141.
Big Ten rival Iowa sits at No. 1 in the rankings followed closely by Iowa State at No. 2. Minnesota is No. 3, just three points ahead of No. 4 Penn State. Central Michigan rounds out the top five.
Oklahoma State is 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. 14, Indiana at No. 15 and Illinois at No. 18.
Davis maintained his No. 2 spot at 197 as did Strayer at 141. Sophomore Bubba Jenkins (Virginia Beach, Va.) has moved into the top three with a No. 3 nod at 149. Senior Mark McKnight (McDonald, Pa.) sits at No. 7 at 125. Sophomore Dan Vallimont (Lake Hopatcong, N.J.) checks in at No. 11 at 157 and junior Phil Bomberger (Port Royal, Pa.) sits at No. 15 at 184 to give Penn State six ranked individuals.
Penn State, which is 4-0 overall, will return to action this Friday, Jan. 4, 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