Nebraska and Little Rock make big jumps in WIN’s Dec. 20 Rankings
by Mike Finn, WIN Magazine
NEWTON, Iowa – Nebraska and Little Rock made the most noticeable of jumps among the NCAA Division I schools in WIN Magazine’s Dec. 20 national rankings, presented by Cliff Keen Athletic.
The Huskers moved up seven spots to No. 2 in WIN’s Tournament Power Index with seven ranked wrestlers, including a No. 1-ranked wrestler in Ridge Lovett and a pair of wrestlers at No. 2: Caleb Smith (125) and Peyton Robb (157). Nebraska earned 74 points in this week’s TPI.
Meanwhile, Little Rock, which did not have a college wrestling program until 2019-20, features three ranked wrestlers, including two ranked in the Top 8 of their weight class: 133-pound freshman Nasir Bailey and 197-pound Stephen Little. The Arkansas school is now ranked No. 26 in WIN’s TPI with 12 points.
WIN’s TPI predicts how high a team would finish in this year’s NCAA Division I Championships based on a point total associated with individual placement and advancement points that could be scored in the 2024 NCAAs.
The following is a breakdown of those points: 20 for 1st place, 16 for 2nd, 13.5 for 3rd, 12.5 for 4th, 10 for 5th, 9 for 6th, 6.5 for 7th and 5.5 for 8th. Wrestlers ranked 9-12 earn two points each, followed by one and a half points for wrestlers ranked 13-16 and one point for those ranked 17-20.
Also, it should be noted that WIN’s individual rankings are not necessarily simply an update of recent wins and losses, but more of a prediction at this point in the season of where wrestlers would be seeded at the 2024 NCAAs, which will be held in Kansas City, Mo., next March, if that event was held now.
Penn State, the defending champs with eight guys in the top eight, remains No. 1 in both WIN’s TPI and dual rankings with a 131 TPI points and a 2-0 record.
The Nittany Lions are followed by Missouri (4-0), Iowa (5-0), NC State (9-1) and Cornell (3-1) in the dual rankings, while Missouri, NC State and Cornell follow Penn State and Nebraska in the TPI.
Most NCAA Division I programs will now take a holiday break. WIN’s next rankings will be announced on Jan. 3, following tournaments like the Midlands in Evanston, Ill., and Soldier Salute in Coralville, Iowa (which both take place Dec. 29-30) and the Jan. 1-2 Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga, Tenn.
WIN Magazine’s Dec. 20 Dual Rankings
Rk./School (Record)/Prev./Upcoming Action
1. Penn State (2-0) 1st off until Jan. 5 at Oregon State
2. Missouri (4-0) 3rd vs. Illinois, Dec. 21, in St. Louis
3. Iowa (5-0) 4th off until Dec. 29 at Soldier Salute
4. NC State (9-1) 2nd off until Jan. 5 vs. Oklahoma State
5. Cornell (3-1) 5th off until Jan. 5 at Ohio State
6. Michigan (2-0) 6th off until Jan. 4 vs. South Dakota State
7. Iowa State (6-1) 7th off until Jan. 5 vs. Arizona State
8. Oklahoma State (4-0) 8th off until Jan. 5 at NC State
9. Nebraska (3-0) 9th off until Jan. 5 vs. Wyoming
10. Ohio State (7-1) 10th off until Jan. 5 vs. Cornell
11. Virginia Tech (3-1) 11th off until Jan. 2 at Missouri
12. Minnesota (5-0) 12th off until Dec 29 at Soldier Salute
13. Rutgers (5-1) 13th off until Jan. 6 at Penn
14. South Dakota State (3-2) 14th off until Dec. 29 at Soldier Salute
15. Oregon State (4-1) 15th off until Jan. 5 at Penn State
16. Stanford (5-1) 16th off until Jan. 1 at Southern Scuffle
17. Pitt (7-3) 17th off until Jan. 5 at Franklin & Marshall Open
18. Navy (5-0) 18th at American U. Dec. 21
19. Northern Iowa (1-3) 19th off until Dec. 29 at Soldier Salute
20. Oklahoma (4-2) 20th off until Jan. 1 at Southern Scuffle
21. Lehigh (0-3) 21st off until Dec. 22
22. West Virginia (7-1) 22nd off until Dec. 29 at Midlands
23. Arizona State (1-2) 23rd off until Dec. 29 at Midlands
24. North Carolina (6-3) 24th off until Dec. 29 at Soldier Salute
25. Maryland (2-1) 25th off until Jan. 5 at Franklin & Marshall Open
WIN Magazine’s Dec. 20 Tournament Power Index
Rk./School/Total Rank/Top 8/TPI Pts
1. Penn State 8 8 131
2. Nebraska 7 5 74
3. Missouri 8 5 66
4. NC State 8 5 65
5. Cornell 7 5 63.5
6. Oklahoma State 7 4 59.5
7. Virginia Tech 8 4 51.5
8. Iowa 7 4 49
9. Iowa State 7 4 43
10t. Michigan 7 5 42
10t. Ohio State 7 3 42
12. Arizona State 3 3 40.5
13. South Dakota State 6 2 32
14. Stanford 5 3 27
15. Northern Iowa 5 1 26.5
16. Oregon State 5 2 24.5
17. Lehigh 4 2 23.5
18. Air Force 2 2 22.5
19. Lock Haven 1 1 20
20. Rutgers 8 1 17
21t. Oklahoma 4 1 13.5
21t. Purdue 1 1 13.5
23t. Illinois 3 1 13
23t. North Carolina 3 1 13
23t. Wisconsin 3 1 13
26. Little Rock 3 2 12
27. Minnesota 5 1 11.5
28. Cal Poly 2 1 11
29. Pitt 6 0 9
30. Indiana 3 1 8.5
31. Maryland 4 0 7.5
32. Campbell 1 1 6.5
33. Penn 4 0 6
34. Michigan State 3 0 5.5
35. Navy 4 0 5
36t. Columbia 3 0 4
36t. West Virginia 3 0 4
38t. Northern Colorado 2 0 3.5
38t. Ohio 2 0 3.5
40t. Central Michigan 3 0 3
40t. Wyoming 2 0 3
42t. Appalachian State 2 0 2.5
42t. North Dakota State 2 0 2.5
44t. Northwestern 2 0 2
44t. Rider 1 0 2
44t. Virginia 1 0 2
47t. Chattanooga 1 0 1.5
47t. Harvard 1 0 1.5
47t. Princeton 1 0 1.5
50t. Army West Point 1 0 1
50t. Binghamton 1 0 1
50t. Drexel 1 0 1
50t. Franklin & Marshall 1 0 1
50t. Utah Valley 1 0 1
WIN Magazine’s Dec. 20 Individual Rankings
Wt/Name/School/Yr./Previous
125 pounds
1. Anthony Noto Lock Haven Jr. 4th
2. Caleb Smith Nebraska Gr. 5th
3. Matt Ramos Purdue Jr. 8th
4. Nico Provo Stanford So. 2nd
5. Brett Ungar Cornell So. 3rd
6. Brandon Kaylor Oregon State Sr. 7th
7. Drake Ayala Iowa So. 10th
8. Michael DeAugustino Michigan Sr. 6th
9. Patrick McKee Minnesota Sr. 9th
10. Jakob Camacho NC State Jr. 1st
11. Dean Peterson Rutgers So. 11th
12. Eric Barnett Wisconsin Sr. 12th
13. Noah Surtin Missouri Jr. 13th
14. Brayden Palmer Chattanooga Sr. 14th
15. Stevo Poulin Northern Colorado So. 15th
16. Jore Volk Wyoming So. 16th
17. Tanner Jordan South Dakota State Sr. 17th
18. Troy Spratley Oklahoma State RSFr. 18th
19. Cooper Flynn Virginia Tech Fr NR
20. Max Gallagher Penn Fr. 20th
133 pounds
1. Vito Arujau Cornell Sr. 1st
2. Daton Fix Oklahoma State Sr. 2nd
3. Ryan Crookham Lehigh Fr. 3rd
4. Aaron Nagao Penn State So. 5th
5. Kai Orine NC State Jr. 4th
6. Sam Latona Virginia Tech Jr. 6th
7. Chris Cannon Michigan Sr. 7th
8. Nasir Bailey Little Rock Fr. NR
9. Michael Colaiocco Penn Sr. 9th
10. Dylan Shawver Rutgers So. 10th
11. Evan Frost Iowa State RSFr. 8th
12. Nic Bouzakis Ohio State RSFr. 11th
13. Braxton Brown Maryland So. 13th
14. Tyler Knox Stanford Fr. 14th
15. Julian Farber Northern Iowa Jr. NR
16 Brody Teske Iowa Sr. 15th
17. Ethan Oakley Appalachian State So. 17th
18. Derrick Cardinal South Dakota State So. 16th
19. Brendan Ferretti Navy So. 19th
20. Angelo Rini Columbia Sr. 20th
141 pounds
1. Real Woods Iowa Sr. 1st
2. Beau Bartlett Penn State Sr. 2nd
3. Jesse Mendez Ohio State So. 3rd
4. Ryan Jack NC State Jr. 4th
5. Lachlan McNeil North Carolina So. 5th
6. Tagen Jamison Oklahoma State RSFs. 6th
7. Brock Hardy Nebraska So. 7th
8. Anthony Echemendia Iowa State Jr. 8th
9. Cael Happel Northern Iowa Jr. 9th
10. Clay Carlson South Dakota State Sr. 10th
11. Kal Miller Maryland So. 11th
12. Vince Cornella Cornell So. 13th
13. Mitch Moore Rutgers Gr. 14th
14. Josh Koderhandt Navy Jr. 16th
15. Mosha Schwartz Oklahoma Sr. 15th
16. Malyke Hines Lehigh Jr. 17th
17. Frankie Tal Shahar Northwestern Jr. 18th
18. Josh Edmond Missouri So. 19th
19. C.J. Composto Penn So. 20th
20. Cole Matthews Pitt Sr. 12th
149 pounds
1. Ridge Lovett Nebraska Jr. 1st
2. Caleb Henson Virginia Tech So. 2nd
3. Kyle Parco Arizona State Jr. 3rd
4. Jackson Arrington NC State So. 6th
5. Dylan D’Emilio Ohio State Sr. 4th
6. Chance Lamer Cal Poly So. 5th
7. Casey Swiderski Iowa State So. 7th
8. Jaden Abas Stanford Sr. 8th
9. Kannon Webster Illinois Fr. 9th
10. Ethen Miller Maryland So. 11th
11. Joe Zargo Wisconsin Jr. 12th
12. Quinn Kinner Rider Sr. 13th
13. Graham Rooks Indiana Sr. 15th
14. Drew Roberts Minnesota So. 14th
15. Kellyn March North Dakota State Sr. 10th
16. Victor Voinovich Iowa So. 16th
17. Trae McDaniel Army West Point So. 17th
18. Corbyn Munson Central Michigan Sr. 18th
19. Willie McDougald Oklahoma So. 19th
20. Ty Watters West Virginia Fr. 20th
157 pounds
1. Levi Haines Penn State So. 1st
2. Peyton Robb Nebraska Sr. 2nd
3. Jacori Teemer Arizona State Sr. 3rd
4. Jared Franek Iowa Gr. 4th
5. Brock Mauller Missouri Sr. 5th
6. Ed Scott NC State Jr. 6th
7. Daniel Cardenas Stanford So. 8th
8. Bryce Andonian Virginia Tech Sr. 7th
9. Will Lewan Michigan Sr. 9th
10. Chase Saldate Michigan State Sr. 10th
11. Paddy Gallagher Ohio State So. 11th
12. Vinny Zerban Northern Colorado So. 12th
13. Peyten Kellar Ohio So. 13th
14. Michael Blockhus Minnesota Sr. 14th
15. Ryder Downey Northern Iowa RSFr. 15th
16. Tommy Askey Appalachian State Jr. 16th
17. Trevor Chumbley Northwestern Sr. 17th
18. Cody Chittum Iowa State Fr. 18th
19. Johnny Lovett Central Michigan Sr. 19th
20. Andrew Clark Rutgers Jr. 20th
165 pounds
1. Keegan O’Toole Missouri Jr. 1st
2. Izzak Olejnik Oklahoma State Sr. 2nd
3. David Carr Iowa State Sr. 3rd
4. Julien Ramirez Cornell Jr. 4th
5. Cam Amine Michigan Sr. 5th
6. Dean Hamiti Wisconsin Jr. 6th
7. Mitchell Mesenbrink Penn State RSFr. 7th
8. Michael Caliendo Iowa So. 8th
9. Peyton Hall West Virginia Jr. 10th
10. Holden Heller Pitt Sr. 9th
11. Garrett Thompson Ohio Fr. 11th
12. Matt Olguin Oregon State Sr. 12th
13. Derek Gilcher Indiana Sr. 13th
14. Caleb Fish Michigan State Sr. 16th
15. Joshua Ogunsanya Columbia Sr. 18th
16. Connor Brady Virginia Tech xx NR
17. Tanner Cook South Dakota State Sr. 14th
18. Bubba Wilson Nebraska Jr. NR
19. Andrew Cerniglia Navy Sr. 19th
20. Blaine Brenner Minnesota So. 20th
174 pounds
1. Carter Starocci Penn State Sr. 1st
2. Mekhi Lewis Virginia Tech Sr. 2nd
3. Cade DeVos South Dakota State Jr. 3rd
4. Carson Kharchla Ohio State Sr. 4th
5. Peyton Mocco Missouri Sr. 5th
6. Edmond Ruth Illinois Jr. 6th
7. Shane Griffith Michigan Sr. 7th
8. Donnell Washington Indiana Sr. 8th
9. Nick Incontrera Penn Jr. 9th
10. Travis Wittlake Oregon State Sr. 10th
11. Justin McCoy Virginia Gr. 11th
12. Adam Kemp Cal Poly Gr. 12th
13. Luca Augustine Pitt So. 13th
14. Patrick Kennedy Iowa So. 14th
15. Lennox Wolak Columbia Sr. 15th
16. Phillip Conigliaro Harvard Sr. 16th
17. Alex Cramer Central Michigan Sr. 18th
18 Mickey O’Malley Drexel Gr. 19th
19. Jackson Turley Rutgers Sr. 20th
20. Gaven Sax North Dakota State Jr. NR
184 pounds
1. Parker Keckeisen Northern Iowa Jr. 1st
2. Bernie Truax Penn State Sr. 2nd
3. Dustin Plott Oklahoma State Sr. 3rd
4. Lenny Pinto Nebraska So. 4th
5. Trey Munoz Oregon State Jr. 5th
6. Chris Foca Cornell Sr. 7th
7. Sam Wolf Air Force Sr. 8th
8. Isaiah Salazar Minnesota Sr. 10th
9. Will Feldkamp Iowa State Sr. 6th
10. Layne Malczewski Michigan State Gr. 11th
11. Brian Soldano Rutgers So. 12th
12. Clayton Whiting Missouri Fr. NR
13. Dylan Fishback NC State RSFr. 15th
14. Jaden Bullock Michigan Jr. 13th
15. Gavin Kane North Carolina Jr. 16th
16. Reece Heller Pitt Sr. 14th
17. James Conway Franklin & Marshall Jr. 17th
18. Jacob Nolan Binghamton Sr. 18th
19. Gavin Hoffman Ohio State Sr. 19th
20. Triston Wills Little Rock Jr. NR
197 pounds
1. Aaron Brooks Penn State Sr. 1st
2. Trent Hidlay NC State Sr. 2nd
3. Tanner Sloan South Dakota State Sr. 3rd
4. Rocky Elam Missouri Jr. 4th
5. Stephan Buchanan Oklahoma Jr. 5th
6. Jacob Cardenas Cornell Sr. 6th
7. Michael Beard Lehigh Jr. 7th
8. Stephen Little Little Rock RSFr. 8th
9. Jaxon Smith Maryland So. 9th
10. Luke Surber Oklahoma State Sr. 10th
11. Silas Allred Nebraska So. 11th
12. John Poznanski Rutgers Jr. 12th
13. Luke Stout Princeton Jr. 13th
14. Sonny Sasso Virginia Tech Fr. NR
15. Joey Novak Wyoming Fr. 15th
16. Max Shaw North Carolina Jr. 16th
17. Nick Stemmet Stanford Sr. 14th
18. Andy Smith Virginia Tech Jr. 18th
19. Mac Stout Pitt RSFr. 19th
20. Evan Bockman Utah Valley Sr. 20th
Heavyweight
1. Greg Kerkvliet Penn State Sr. 1st
2. Wyatt Hendrickson Air Force Sr. 2nd
3. Cohlton Schultz Arizona State Jr. 3rd
4. Yonger Bastida Iowa State Sr. 4th
5. Lucas Davison Michigan Gr. 5th
6. Zach Elam Missouri Sr. 6th
7. Taye Ghadiali Campbell Sr. 7th
8. Yaraslau Slavikouski Rutgers Gr. 8th
9. Luke Luffman Illinois Jr. 9th
10. Dayton Pitzer Pitt RSFr. 10th
11. Nathan Taylor Lehigh So. 12th
12. Konner Doucet Oklahoma State Jr. 13th
13. Boone McDermott Oregon State Sr. 14th
14. Owen Trephan NC State Jr. 15th
15. Tyrell Gordon Northern Iowa Sr. 11th
16. Grady Griess Navy Sr. 16th
17. Josh Heindselman Oklahoma Sr. 17th
18. Nick Feldman Ohio State RSFr. 18th
19. Lewis Fernandes Cornell Sr. 19th
20. Michael Wolfgram West Virginia Sr. 20th