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Penn State inside Directors' Cup top-20 as winter sports conclude

IMG_1698 5 (1)by:David Eckert04/07/22

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Penn State
A general view of a Penn State Nittany Lions logo on the sidelines after the game between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Ball State Cardinals at Beaver Stadium. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)

Penn State Nittany Lions Athletics concluded the winter sports season ranked 18th in the Learfield Directors’ Cup.

The Directors’ Cup, awarded annually, is given to the top college athletics program in the nation. The standings are based on points values accrued according to where an institution’s teams finish in NCAA Championships.

Penn State earned 172 points during the winter sports season.

The Nittany Lions were led by their wrestling program, which claimed its 10th national title and its ninth in the last 11 years. For that triumph, PSU earned 100 points.

Roman Bravo-Young, Nick Lee, Carter Starocci, Aaron Brooks and Max Dean each won individual titles at the NCAA Championship event in Detroit.

The Nittany Lions also earned a sixth-place finish in fencing, for which they received 72 points.

Penn State did not record a finish high enough in any other winter sport to receive points. Those sports include track and field, women’s hockey, swimming and baseball.

Men’s hockey and gymnastics points will be added to the total in an update set to be released on April 23.

With 470 total points between the fall and the winter seasons, Penn State now sits fifth among Big Ten programs.

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Michigan leads the way in first place overall. Ohio State sits in third, with Wisconsin coming in sixth and Minnesota resting in 17th position.

Penn State finished 39th overall in last year’s Directors’ Cup standings.

Penn State fall Directors’ Cup results

The Nittany Lions fell off the pace significantly from the fall season, which they concluded in fifth place.

Penn State’s highest finishes in the fall period came in field hockey and women’s soccer, where PSU placed ninth.

The Nittany Lions bowed out of the NCAA Field Hockey Tournament in the Round of 16.

PSU women’s soccer earned postseason wins over Monmouth and USC before their season ended in the Round of 16 as well.

Both men’s soccer and women’s volleyball earned credit for a 17th-place finish.

Men’s and women’s cross country each finished the season ranked 32nd nationally. Football concluded the season ranked No. 49.

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