Pitt wrestling up to No. 18 in rankings

The Pitt wrestling team keeps winning and they keep moving up in the rankings.

This week the Panthers are up to No. 18. After being ranked No. 24 several weeks ago, they jumped up to No. 20 last week. Pitt moved up two more spots this week to No. 18 on the heels of their 20-17 win over Oklahoma this past weekend.

Pitt already has one ranked win knocking off No. 14 Northern Iowa earlier in the year. Northern Iowa, despite that loss, is still ranked No. 14 as they sit 1-2 on the season, also losing to No. 7 Cornell.

As I said at the time, Northern Iowa was missing two wrestlers in their dual against Pitt. But the Panthers also dominated West Virginia, 37-3, while Northern Iowa had a much harder time, winning 27-19. So seeing Northern Iowa still ranked several spots higher is kind of a head-scratcher.

College rankings aren’t nearly as cut and dry in the Olympic sports and this is another example of that. You’d think Pitt with their 6-0 record, the head-to-head win, and easier win against common opponents would be ranked higher. They finished a few spots higher (4th) than Pitt (7th) at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite, though, so that’s probably part of it. Still, it’s nice to see the Panthers at least moving up in the rankings.

They’ll get another shot at a ranked opponent this weekend facing No. 23 North Dakota State on the road.

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