The National Wrestling Coaches Association released their Division I college preseason top 25 poll and Sacred Heart will be facing three top 25 teams in the first month of the season in dual meets.
Sacred Heart will open the season on Sunday with a match at No. 17 Lehigh, will face No. 22 Rutgers at the Wrangle Mania in Bethlehem, Penn., on Nov. 12 and will see wrestlers from three top 25 schools — No. 3 Arizona State, No. 8 Nebraska, No. 9 North Carolina State – in the Journeyman Classic the next day in Bethlehem, Penn.
Sacred Heart will challenge No. 2 Iowa on Friday, Nov. 18 in Albany, N.Y. in the Arm Bar at the Armory.
No. 5 Michigan, North Carolina State, No. 6 Ohio State, No. 7 Cornell, No. 8 Nebraska and No. 11 Virginia Tech, are expected to have wrestlers at the Cliff Keen Collegiate Wrestling Invitational in Las Vegas on Dec. 2-3.
North Carolina State, featuring three wrestlers from Danbury High on the roster — Jakob Camacho, Ryan Jack and A.J. Kovacs — is ranked No. 9.
NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll
Preseason – October 28, 2022
| Rank |
Team (First) |
Record |
Points |
Conf. |
Final
Dual Rank |
NCAA
Finish |
| 1 |
Penn State (13) |
17-0 |
349 |
Big Ten |
1 |
1 |
| 2 |
Iowa (1) |
14-1 |
328 |
Big Ten |
2 |
3 |
| 3 |
Arizona State |
9-4 |
295 |
Pac-12 |
13 |
4 |
| 4 |
Missouri |
11-4 |
288 |
Big 12 |
9 |
9 |
| 5 |
Michigan |
12-1 |
268 |
Big Ten |
3 |
2 |
| 6 |
Ohio State |
9-3 |
267 |
Big Ten |
6 |
13 |
| 7 |
Cornell |
12-3 |
255 |
EIWA |
11 |
7 |
| 8 |
Nebraska |
6-5 |
250 |
Big Ten |
10 |
5 |
| 9 |
N.C. State |
13-1 |
230 |
ACC |
4 |
10 |
| 10 |
Oklahoma State |
13-4 |
220 |
Big 12 |
12 |
14 |
| 11 |
Virginia Tech |
9-5 |
216 |
ACC |
7 |
8 |
| 12 |
Wisconsin |
12-2 |
197 |
Big Ten |
8 |
14 |
| 13 |
Minnesota |
4-6 |
183 |
Big Ten |
18 |
11 |
| 14 |
Iowa State |
15-1 |
171 |
Big 12 |
5 |
17 |
| 15 |
Northwestern |
7-4 |
159 |
Big Ten |
23 |
6 |
| 16 |
North Carolina |
8-6 |
99 |
ACC |
22 |
18 |
| 17 |
Lehigh |
9-9 |
94 |
EIWA |
NR |
25 |
| 18 |
Pittsburgh |
8-6 |
88 |
ACC |
NR |
24 |
| 19 |
Oregon State |
8-3 |
85 |
Pac-12 |
NR |
12 |
| 20 |
Northern Iowa |
7-7 |
83 |
Big 12 |
17 |
20 |
| 21 |
Penn |
8-2 |
80 |
EIWA |
19 |
27 |
| 22 |
Rutgers |
16-5 |
78 |
Big Ten |
14 |
20 |
| 23 |
Princeton |
6-5 |
74 |
EIWA |
20 |
16 |
| 24 |
Cal Poly |
4-3 |
34 |
Pac-12 |
NR |
22 |
| 25 (tie) |
South Dakota State |
13-4 |
31 |
Big 12 |
25 |
44 |
| 25 (tie) |
Stanford |
5-4 |
31 |
Pac-12 |
NR |
19 |
Others Receiving Votes: Wyoming 21, Purdue 18, Central Michigan 11, Illinois 9, Appalachian State 8, North Dakota State 8, West Virginia 7, Michigan State 6, Campbell 5, Oklahoma 2, Navy 2.
