Defending champ Penn State tabbed No. 1 in WIN’s Preseason TPI
Penn State tabbed No. 1 in WIN’s 2011-12 Preseason Tournament Power Index rankings
Sept. 14, 2011
NEWTON, Iowa — Penn State, which earned its first NCAA team championship in over 50 years last March in Philadelphia, Pa., has been tabbed to repeat this winter by Wrestling Insider Newsmagazine in WIN’s preseason Tournament Power Index.
Quentin Wright, the defending NCAA champion at 184 pounds, holds the 2011 team trophy. The junior is one of six returning All-American for the Nittany Lions, who earned just its second team title and first since 1953.
The WIN TPI is compiled by awarding points to each team for the ranked wrestlers they have in WIN’s current individual rankings that can be found below in all 10 weight classes. In a sense, it suggests how many points these teams could score at this year’s NCAA tournament, March 15-17, in St. Louis, Mo. TPI points will not match the final NCAA tournament points because it does not include bonus points for pins, technical falls, major decisions and forfeits/defaults.
Teams are awarded points based on how many potential All-Americans (Top 8 wrestlers) they could have and get advancement points for wrestlers ranked No. 9-20. The order of teams in the TPI vary greatly from dual meet rankings, as some teams have a number of highly-ranked individuals but may have holes in their dual meet line-up.
Point totals associated with individual rankings are as followed: 1st – 20 (16 AA points + 4 advancement points); 2nd – 16 (12+4); 3rd – 13.5 (10+3.5); 4th – 12. 5 (9+3.5); 5th – 10 (7+3); 6th – 9 (6+3); 7th – 6.5 (4+2.5); 8th – 5.5 (3+2.5); 9th/12th – 2; 13th/16th – 1.5; 17th-20th – 1. The rankings are subject to change if wrestlers decide to change weights or take an Olympic redshirt. The WIN TPI does not rank teams according to dual meet performances. WIN will provide its first Dual Team Rankings on Dec. 6.
The Nittany Lions, headed up by third-year head coach Cael Sanderson, features six ranked wrestlers and all are projected to finish among the top 8 in their weight classes, which would garner All-American honors. This includes three top-ranked wrestlers: Frank Molinaro at 149 pounds, David Taylor, who is moving up one weight to 165 and Quentin Wright, who captured the Lions’ lone championship at 184 pounds.
Tabbed to finish second and third, respectively, are Iowa and Oklahoma State, which are also predicted to finish with six All-Americans.
The highest-ranked Hawkeyes are No. 1 Matt McDonough, who finished second last winter at 125 pounds after winning that weight in 2010. Also picked to finish in the top three are Montell Marion at 141, Derek St. John at 157 and Grant Gambrall at 184.
Leading the OSU Cowboys is the 133-pound defending champion Jordan Oliver. Oklahoma State will also benefit from the return of Russian-native Alan Gelogaev, who redshirted in 2011 and is moving up one weight to heavyweight, and the transfer of Cayle Byers, a former nationally-ranked wrestler from George Mason.
WIN’S 2011-12 Preseason Team Tournament Power Index
Rank School Top 8# TPI
1 Penn State 6 91.5
2 Iowa 6 86.5
3 Oklahoma State 6 75
4t Minnesota 5 61.5
4t Lehigh 5 61.5
6 Cornell 4 59
7 American 4 46.5
8 Illinois 3 37
9 Michigan 2 34
10t Central Michigan 2 32.5
10t Maryland 3 32.5
12 Virginia Tech 3 31
13 Wyoming 2 30
14 Missouri 3 24.5
15 Rutgers 2 24
16t Ohio State 2 22.5
16t Penn 2 22.5
18t Oklahoma 1 22
18t Pittsburgh 2 22
20 Stanford 1 20
21t Virginia 1 19.5
21t Northwestern 1 19.5
23 Cal Poly 1 18.5
24 Oregon State 1 16
25t Edinboro 1 14.5
25t Kent State 1 14.5
27t Boston U. 1 13
27t Buffalo 1 13
27t Iowa State 1 13
30t Harvard 1 12.5
30t Indiana 1 12.5
32 Hofstra 1 11.5
33t Boise State 1 11
33t Arizona State 1 11
35 Purdue 1 10.5
36 Clarion 1 7.5
37 Nebraska 0 7
38 Northern Iowa 0 5
39t Binghamton 0 3.5
39t North Carolina 0 3.5
41t Appalachian State 0 3
41t Bloomsburg 0 3
41t Navy 0 3
41t Ohio 0 3
45t Michigan State 0 2.5
45t Wisconsin 0 2.5
47t Air Force 0 2
47t Lock Haven 0 2
47t No. Dakota State 0 2
47t Northern Colorado 0 2
47t Rider 0 2
47t West Virginia 0 2
53t Columbia 0 1.5
53t Drexel 0 1.5
55t Chattanooga 0 1
55t Franklin & Marshall 0 1
55t Gardner-Webb 0 1
55t NC State 0 1
55t Princeton 0 1
# — potential top-8 finishers or All-Americans at the 2012 NCAA Championships.
WIN’s 2011-12 Preseason Individual Rankings
Rank Name 2011 Finish Yr. School
1 Matt McDonough 2nd Jr. Iowa
2 Zach Sanders 5th Sr. Minnesota
3 Jarrod Patterson 6th Jr. Oklahoma
4 Nic Bedelyon NQ Sr. Kent State
5 Jon Morrison NQ So. Oklahoma State
6 Alan Waters NQ So. Missouri
7 Jarrod Garnett NQ Sr. Virginia Tech
8 Frank Perrelli NQ Sr. Cornell
9 Trent Sprenkle NQ Jr. No. Dakota State
10 Matt Snyder NQ Jr. Virginia
11 Sean Boyle NQ Jr. Michigan
12 Michael Martinez NQ Sr. Wyoming
13 Jason Lara NQ Sr. Oregon State
14 Mark Rappo NQ Jr. Wyoming
15 Jesse Delgado RS Fr. Illinois
16 Joe Langel NQ Jr. Rutgers
17 Anthony Zanetta NQ Jr. Pittsburgh
18 Garrett Frey NQ Jr. Princeton
19 Levi Mele NQ Jr. Northwestern
20 Ryak Finch RS Fr. Iowa State
133 pounds
Rk Name 2011 Yr. School
1 Jordan Oliver 1st Jr. Oklahoma State
2 Scott Sentes 4th Sr. Central Michigan
3 B.J. Futrell 8th Jr. Illinois
4 Tony Ramos NQ Jr. Iowa
5 Devin Carter NQ So. Virginia Tech
6 Logan Stieber RS Fr. Ohio State
7 Cashe Quiroga RS So. Purdue
8 David Thorn NQ So. Minnesota
9 Zac Stevens NQ Sr. Michigan
10 Colin Johnston RS Jr. West Virginia
11 Jordan Keller NQ Sr. Oklahoma
12 Kevin Smith NQ Sr. Buffalo
13 Nathan McCormick NQ Jr. Missouri
14 Garrett Drucker NQ Sr. Oregon State
15 A.J. Schopp RS Fr. Edinboro
16 Aaron Kalil NQ Sr. Navy
17 Joe Stanzione RS Jr. Cornell
18 Joe Spisak NQ So. Virginia
19 Casey Cruz NQ Jr. Northern Colorado
20 Fred Santiate NQ Sr. Boston U.
141 pounds
Rk Name 2011 Yr. School
1 Kellen Russell 1st Sr. Michigan
2 Boris Novachkov 2nd Sr. Cal Poly
3 Montell Marion 4th Sr. Iowa
4 Zack Kemmerer 8th Sr. Penn
5 Andrew Alton NQ So. Penn State
6 Matt Mariacher NQ So. American
7 Mike Mangrum NQ Jr. Oregon State
8 Steve Dutton NQ So. Lehigh
9 Josh Kindig NQ So. Oklahoma State
10 Cole Von Ohlen NQ Jr. Air Force
11 Matt Bonson NQ Sr. Lock Haven
12 Kaleb Friedley NQ So. Northwestern
13 Kendric Maple RS So. Oklahoma
14 Vincent Varela NQ Sr. Hofstra
15 Nick Dardanes RS So. Minnesota
16 Darrius Little NQ Sr. NC State
17 Nick Nelson NQ Sr. Virginia
18 Zach Niebert RS So. Virginia Tech
19 Trevor Melde NQ Sr. Rutgers
20 Josh Strait – So. Boise State
149 pounds
Rk Name 2011 Yr. School
1 Frank Molinaro 2nd Jr. Penn State
2 Ganbayar Sanjaa 4th Sr. American
3 Jamal Parks 5th Sr. Oklahoma State
4 Derek Valenti 8th Sr. Virginia
5 Mario Mason NQ Jr. Rutgers
6 Tyler Nauman NQ/141 Sr. Pittsburgh
7 Eric Grajales NQ So. Michigan
8 Eric Terrazas NQ Sr. Illinois
9 Ivan Lopouchanski NQ So. Purdue
10 Scott Sakaguchi NQ So. Oregon State
11 Dylan Ness RS Fr. Minnesota
12 Desi Green NQ Sr. Buffalo
13 Donnie Vinson RS Jr. Binghamton
14 Brian Stephens NQ Jr. Virginia Tech
15 Matt Lester NQ So. Oklahoma
16 Dylan Carew Inj. So. Iowa
17 Justin Gaethje NQ Sr. Northern Colorado
18 Cole Schmitt NQ Jr. Wisconsin
19 Anthony Salupo RS Fr. Lehigh
20 Zac Cibula NQ So. Rider
157 pounds
Rk Name 2011 Yr. School
1 Kyle Dake 1st/149 Jr. Cornell
2 Derek St. John 4th So. Iowa
3 Jason Welch 6th Jr. Northwestern
4 Walter Peppelman 8th Jr. Harvard
5 Jesse Dong NQ Sr. Virginia Tech
6 Mark Lewandowski NQ Jr. Buffalo
7 Kyle John NQ Jr. Maryland
8 James Fleming NQ So. Clarion
9 Albert White Inj. Sr. Oklahoma State
10 Jake Deitchler RS Fr. Minnesota
11 Corey Mock NQ So. North Carolina
12 Chase Nelson NQ Jr. Oklahoma
13 Johnny Greisheimer NQ Jr. Edinboro
14 Frank Hickman NQ Jr. Bloomsburg
15 David Bonin NQ Jr. Northern Iowa
16 Jackson Morse NQ So. Illinois
17 R.J. Pena – So. Oregon State
18 Alex Medved NQ Jr. Gardner-Webb
19 Donnie Corby NQ Jr. Central Michigan
20 Josh Condon NQ Jr. Chattanooga
165 pounds
Rk Name 2011 Yr. School
1 David Taylor 2nd/157 So. Penn State
2 Shane Onufer 5th Sr. Wyoming
3 John Asper 6th Jr. Maryland
4 Brandon Hatchett 7th Sr. Lehigh
5 Paul Gillespie 8th Sr. Hofstra
6 Scott Winston NQ Jr. Rutgers
7 Andrew Sorenson Inj. Sr. Iowa State
8 Zach Toal NQ Jr. Missouri
9 Cody Yohn NQ Jr. Minnesota
10 Bekzud Abdurakmanov NQ Sr. Clarion
11 Dallas Bailey NQ So. Oklahoma State
12 Robert Kokesh RS Fr. Nebraska
13 Kyle Blevins NQ Jr. Edinboro
14 Frank Hickman NQ Sr. Appalachian State
15 Ryan DesRoches NQ Sr. Cal Poly
16 Joe Booth NQ Jr. Drexel
17 Peter Yates NQ Jr. Virginia Tech
18 Justin Lister NQ Sr. Binghamton
19 Ethan Headlee NQ Sr. Pittsburgh
20 Nick Moore RS Fr. Iowa
174 pounds
Rk Name 2011 Yr. School
1 Nick Amuchastegui 2nd Sr. Stanford
2 Ed Ruth 3rd So. Penn State
3 Jordan Blanton RS Jr. Illinois
4 Nick Heflin NQ So. Ohio State
5 Hunter Meys NQ Jr. Boston U.
6 Jacob Swartz NQ So. Boise State
7 Ethen Lofthouse NQ So. Iowa
8 Dorian Henderson NQ Sr. Missouri
9 Jim Resnick NQ Jr. Rider
10 Chris Spangler Inj. Jr. Iowa State
11 Nick Purdue NQ Sr. Ohio
12 Eric Starks NQ Sr. Arizona State
13 Ben Jordan NQ Sr. Wisconsin
14 Curran Jacobs NQ Jr. Michigan State
15 Mike Dessino NQ Jr. Bloomsburg
16 Pat Martinez NQ So. Wyoming
17 Caleb Kolb RS So. Nebraska
18 Justin Zeerip NQ Sr. Michigan
19 Greg Zannetti – Jr. Rutgers
20 Matt Fullowan NQ Sr. Franklin & Marshall
184 pounds
Rk Name 2011 Yr. School
1 Quentin Wright 1st Jr. Penn State
2 Robert Hamlin 2nd Jr. Lehigh
3 Grant Gambrall 3rd Jr. Iowa
4 Steve Bosak 4th Jr. Cornell
5 Chris Honeycutt 5th Sr. Edinboro
6 Joe LeBlanc 6th Sr. Wyoming
7 Kevin Steinhaus 8th So. Minnesota
8 Chris Perry NQ So. Oklahoma State
9 Ben Bennett 8th/174 Sr. Central Michigan
10 Ryan Loder NQ So. Northern Iowa
11 Josh Ihnen NQ Sr. Nebraska
12 Jerome Ward NQ Sr. Iowa State
13 Luke Rebertus NQ Sr. Navy
14 Austin Trotman NQ Sr. Appalachian State
15 Jon Fausey NQ So. Virginia
16 Dan Rinaldi NQ Jr. Rutgers
17 Max Thomusseit NQ So. Pittsburgh
18 Lee Munster RS Fr. Northwestern
19 Mike Larson NQ Jr. Missouri
20 Nathan Schiedel NQ Jr. Binghamton
197 pounds
Rk Name 2011 Yr. School
1 Cam Simaz 3rd Sr. Cornell
2 Sonny Yohn 7th Sr. Minnesota
3 Cayle Byers Trans. Jr. Oklahoma State
4 Matt Powless 8th Sr. Indiana
5 Micah Burak NQ Jr. Penn
6 Zac Thomusseit NQ Sr. Pittsburgh
7 Joe Kennedy NQ Sr. Lehigh
8 Dan Mitchell NQ So. American
9 Brent Haynes NQ Jr. Missouri
10 A.J. Kissel NQ Sr. Purdue
11 Chad Hanke NQ Sr. Oregon State
12 John Hall NQ Sr. Boston U.
13 Zac Bennett NQ So. North Carolina
14 Kyven Gadsen RS Fr. Iowa State
15 Mike Salopek RS Jr. Virginia
16 Mario Gonzalez Inj. So. Illinois
17 Tyler Dickerson NQ So. Pittsburgh
18 Ryan Smith NQ Sr. Cal Poly
19 Max Huntley RS Fr. Michigan
20 Josh Capone NQ So. Ohio State
Heavyweight
Rk Name 2011 Yr. School
1 Zach Rey 1st Sr. Lehigh
2 Ryan Flores 2nd Sr. American
3 Jarod Trice 4th Sr. Central Michigan
4 Spenser Myers 6th So. Maryland
5 Anthony Nelson 7th Jr. Minnesota
6 Levi Cooper 8th Jr. Arizona State
7 Alan Gelogaev RS Jr. Oklahoma State
8 Cameron Wade NQ Jr. Penn State
9 Tucker Lane NQ Jr. Nebraska
10 Brendan Barlow NQ Sr. Kent State
11 Bobby Telford RS Fr. Iowa
12 Mike McMullan RS Fr. Northwestern
13 Elijah Madison Trans. Jr. Oklahoma
14 Clayton Jack NQ Sr. Oregon State
15 Ben Apland NQ Jr. Michigan
16 Christian Brantley NQ Sr. Northern Iowa
17 Joe Rizquallah NQ Sr. Michigan State
18 David Marone NQ Sr. Virginia Tech
19 J.T. Felix NQ So. Boise State
20 Jeremy Johnson NQ So. Ohio
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