Takedown Report

Northern Iowa’s win over Nebraska highlights holiday dual meet action as first Top 25 of 2025 released

Manheim, Pennsylvania – Northern Iowa jumped three spots to No. 7 after Sunday’s 24-9 win over then-No. 4 Nebraska in the most recent NWCA Division I Men’s Wrestling Coaches Poll released on Tuesday.  
The Panthers (4-0) ranking is the highest the program has seen since it was ranked fifth to end the 2013-14 season. They’ll defend the ranking, and the No. 1 Mid-Major ranking this weekend inside the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls at the NWCA/USMC Multi-Division National Dual Meet Championships presented by A Better Way Athletics, Capitol Construction, and Defense Soap.  
The only other Top 10 team in action since before Christmas was fifth-ranked Ohio State, which rolled past Oregon State 40-3 in Columbus. The Buckeyes (5-0) moved up a spot to No. 4 this week. Nebraska slid five spots to No. 9 this week, allowing NC State (6-0) and Minnesota (4-0) to each slide up one spot.  
In other ranked action, No. 12 Cornell (2-1) beat then-No. 19 Missouri 26-12, No. 18 Pittsburgh topped Division II Pitt-Johnstown 32-8 and No. 22 West Virginia beat Princeton 27-12.  
The full conference schedule from the Big Ten and ACC kicks off this weekend, while 14 Division I teams will compete at the National Duals, which returns to the UNI-Dome with a focus on Mid-Major programs (non-Power 4 schools). … more at … https://nwcaonline.com/news/2025/1/7/ncaa-division-1-men-northern-iowas-win-over-nebraska-highlights-holiday-dual-meet-action-as-first-top-25-of-2025-released.aspx
And …

NCAA DI Rankings Updated (1/7/2025)
The most notable change we’ve made in this week’s rankings is at 141 lbs. We’ve put Jesse Mendez into the #1 spot above Andrew Alirez. Mendez hasn’t missed a date for Ohio State and is now 16-0 with bonus point wins in 75% of those contests. Alirez is only 3-0. Mendez has wins over #4, #7, #11, #15 (x2), #19, #27, and #31 – along with a title at the CKLV. Alirez has wins over #9 and #17. We feel good about the move since ranking Alirez above Mendez was not a slam-dunk choice from day one. There were arguments to be made for Mendez from day one. 
With a few upsets at the top of 125 lbs, we had to restructure the #5-#11 range. The notable results from that range include Caleb Smith falling to Trever Anderson and Maximo Renteria getting even with Brendon McCrone. 
The shuffling at 125 and a Southern Scuffle title pushed Stevo Poulin into the top-six. That led Northern Colorado to be one of the biggest movers in the team tournament rankings. They were previously 17th, but now sit in a tie for 13th place with Purdue. … more at … https://intermatwrestle.com/articles.html/college/ncaa-di-rankings-updated-172025-r99896/

January 12, 2025 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | ncaa, sports