Big Ten runner-up Penn State remains No. 1 in WIN’s March 6 TPI
By Mike Finn
Updated: March 6, 2017
NEWTON, Iowa — Despite failing to win the 2017 Big Ten Championships, defending NCAA national champion Penn State remains the team to beat in this year’s national tournament, based on WIN’s March 6 Tournament Power Index released prior to qualifier list being announced.
WIN’s TPI point totals are based on projections of how individuals could place at this year’s NCAAs, which will take place March 16-18 in St. Louis: 1st – 20 (16 All-American 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). Additional points for other rankings include: 9th/12th – 2; 13th/16th – 1.5; 17th-20th – 1. TPI points will be lower than the final actual NCAA tournament points because it does not include bonus points.
The Nittany Lions tallied 112 TPI points, based on nine ranked wrestlers, including eight ranked among the Top 8 in their weight class and are projected to claim All-American honors. That includes two top-ranked wrestlers in Zain Retherford (149 pounds) and Jason Nolf (157).
Rated second in this week’s rankings is Big 12 champion Oklahoma State with 99.5 TPI points. The Cowboys will send all 10 wrestlers to the NCAAs, including eight ranked in the Top 8 of their weight class. That group includs returning NCAA champion Dean Heil at 141 pounds.
Big Ten champion Ohio State ranks third in WIN’s final rankings with 91 points and features two top-ranked guys who have won NCAA titles in Nathan Tomasello (133) and heavyweight Kyle Snyder. There were also two other Buckeyes who won Big Ten championships in Bo Jordan (174) and Kollin Moore (197).
Iowa, which features one top-ranked wrestler (Thomas Gilman at 125 pounds) and five Top-8 wrestlers, is ranked fourth with 73.5 points; just ahead of ACC champion Virginia Tech with 71.5 points.
WIN’s March 6, 2017 NCAA I Tournament Power Index
| Total | Top 8 | TPI | ||
| Rk | College | Ranked | Ranked | Points |
| 1 | Penn State | 9 | 8 | 112 |
| 2 | Oklahoma State | 10 | 8 | 99.5 |
| 3 | Ohio State | 7 | 6 | 91 |
| 4 | Iowa | 6 | 5 | 73.5 |
| 5 | Virginia Tech | 7 | 6 | 71.5 |
| 6 | Missouri | 6 | 4 | 56.5 |
| 7t | Nebraska | 7 | 5 | 48.5 |
| 7t | Cornell | 5 | 3 | 48.5 |
| 9 | Minnesota | 7 | 3 | 39 |
| 10 | Arizona State | 5 | 3 | 37.5 |
| 11 | Michigan | 6 | 3 | 36.5 |
| 12 | Illinois | 5 | 2 | 34 |
| 13 | Wisconsin | 4 | 2 | 31.5 |
| 14 | Lehigh | 6 | 2 | 29 |
| 15 | NC State | 5 | 1 | 22.5 |
| 16 | Northern Iowa | 7 | 2 | 21 |
| 17 | South Dakota State | 4 | 1 | 19.5 |
| 18 | Rutgers | 5 | 1 | 17 |
| 19t | Stanford | 4 | 1 | 16.5 |
| 19t | Edinboro | 6 | 2 | 16.5 |
| 21 | Princeton | 3 | 1 | 13 |
| 22t | Rider | 2 | 1 | 12 |
| 22t | North Dakota State | 2 | 2 | 12 |
| 22t | North Carolina | 2 | 2 | 12 |
| 22t | Duke | 3 | 1 | 12 |
| 26 | Pitt | 4 | 1 | 11.5 |
| 27t | Old Dominion | 2 | 1 | 11 |
| 27t | Virginia | 2 | 1 | 11 |
| 29 | Wyoming | 4 | 1 | 10 |
| 30 | Oklahoma | 7 | 0 | 9 |
| 31 | Central Michigan | 5 | 0 | 8 |
| 32 | West Virginia | 2 | 1 | 7.5 |
| 33 | Northern Illinois | 4 | 0 | 5.5 |
| 34 | Oregon State | 3 | 0 | 5 |
| 35 | Navy | 3 | 0 | 4.5 |
| 36 | Penn | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 37 | Campbell U. | 3 | 0 | 3.5 |
| 38 | Drexel | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 39t | Chattanooga | 2 | 0 | 2.5 |
| 39t | Bucknell | 2 | 0 | 2.5 |
| 39t | Iowa State | 2 | 0 | 2.5 |
| 42t | American U. | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 42t | Maryland | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 42t | Appalachian State | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 42t | Army | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 42t | Indiana | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 42t | Buffalo | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 48t | Columbia | 1 | 0 | 1.5 |
| 48t | SIU-Edwardsville | 1 | 0 | 1.5 |
| 48t | CSU Bakersfield | 1 | 0 | 1.5 |
| 48t | Michigan State | 1 | 0 | 1.5 |
| 48t | Ohio U. | 1 | 0 | 1.5 |
| 48t | Lock Haven | 1 | 0 | 1.5 |
| 48t | Utah Valley | 1 | 0 | 1.5 |
| 55t | Binghamton | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 55t | Gardner-Webb | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 55t | Northern Colorado | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 55t | Purdue | 1 | 0 | 1 |
WIN’s March 6, 2017 NCAA Div. I Individual Rankings
125 Pounds
| Rk | Name | Prev. | Yr. | School |
| 1 | Thomas Gilman | (1st) | Sr. | Iowa |
| 2 | Joey Dance | (3rd) | Sr. | Virginia Tech |
| 3 | Tim Lambert | (5th) | Sr. | Nebraska |
| 4 | Darian Cruz | (6th) | Jr. | Lehigh |
| 5 | Ethan Lizak | (7th) | So. | Minnesota |
| 6 | Nick Suriano | (2nd) | Fr. | Penn State |
| 7 | Josh Rodriguez | (4th) | Sr. | North Dakota State |
| 8 | Sean Russell | (9th) | So. | Edinboro |
| 9 | Josh Terao | (10th) | Jr. | American U. |
| 10 | Nick Piccininni | (11th) | RFr. | Oklahoma State |
| 11 | Sean Fausz | (13th) | So. | NC State |
| 12 | Jack Mueller | (8th) | Fr. | Virginia |
| 13 | Shakur Laney | (17th) | So. | Ohio U. |
| 14 | Dylan Peters | (12th) | Sr. | Northern Iowa |
| 15 | Drew Templeman | (14th) | So. | Wyoming |
| 16 | Alfredo Rodriguez | (15th) | Sr. | SIUE |
| 17 | Nathan Kraisser | (20th) | Sr. | Campbell U. |
| 18 | Conor Youtsey | (16th) | Sr. | Michigan |
| 19 | Brock Hudkins | (NR) | Fr. | Northern Illinois |
| 20 | Noah Baughman | (NR) | Fr. | Cornell |
133 Pounds
| Rk | Name | Prev. | Yr. | School |
| 1 | Nathan Tomasello | (1st) | Jr. | Ohio State |
| 2 | Seth Gross | (4th) | So. | South Dakota State |
| 3 | Kaid Brock | (5th) | So. | Oklahoma State |
| 4 | Cory Clark | (6th) | Sr. | Iowa |
| 5 | Stevan Micic | (7th) | Fr. | Michigan |
| 6 | Zane Richards | (3rd) | Sr. | Illinois |
| 7 | Dom Forys | (8th) | Jr. | Pitt |
| 8 | Eric Montoya | (2nd) | Sr. | Nebraska |
| 9 | Scott Parker | (9th) | So. | Lehigh |
| 10 | John Erneste | (14th) | So. | Missouri |
| 11 | Bryan Lantry | (11th) | So. | Buffalo |
| 12 | Josh Alber | (12th) | Jr. | Northern Iowa |
| 13 | Joey Palmer | (15th) | Sr. | Oregon State |
| 14 | Mitch McKee | (17th) | Fr. | Minnesota |
| 15 | Earl Hall | (13th) | Sr. | Iowa State |
| 16 | Kevin Devoy | (10th) | Sr. | Drexel |
| 17 | Connor Schram | (16th) | Jr. | Stanford |
| 18 | Korbin Myers | (18th) | RFr. | Edinboro |
| 19 | Jamal Morris | (19th) | So. | NC State |
| 20 | Scott DelVecchio | (NR) | Jr. | Rutgers |
141 Pounds
| Rk | Name | Prev. | Yr. | School |
| 1 | Dean Heil | (1st) | Jr. | Oklahoma State |
| 2 | Kevin Jack | (3rd) | Jr. | NC State |
| 3 | Joey McKenna | (2nd) | So. | Stanford |
| 4 | Anthony Ashnault | (5th) | Jr. | Rutgers |
| 5 | Matt Kolodzik | (4th) | Fr. | Princeton |
| 6 | George DiCamillo | (6th) | Sr. | Virginia |
| 7 | Joseph Ward | (7th) | Sr. | North Carolina |
| 8 | Bryce Meredith | (8th) | Jr. | Wyoming |
| 9 | Jayden Eierman | (9th) | RFr. | Missouri |
| 10 | Randy Cruz | (11th) | Sr. | Lehigh |
| 11 | Jared Prince | (16th) | Fr. | Navy |
| 12 | Colton McCrystal | (17th) | Jr. | Nebraska |
| 13 | Luke Pletcher | (14th) | Fr. | Ohio State |
| 14 | Tommy Thorn | (13th) | So. | Minnesota |
| 15 | Tyler Smith | (10th) | Jr. | Bucknell |
| 16 | Ronnie Perry | (NR) | Jr. | Lock Haven |
| 17 | Michael Longo | (20th) | Jr. | Oklahoma |
| 18 | Ryan Diehl | (NR) | So. | Maryland |
| 19 | Cole Martin | (NR) | RFr. | Wisconsin |
| 20 | Jimmy Gulibon | (12th) | Sr. | Penn State |
149 Pounds
| Rk | Name | Prev. | Yr. | School |
| 1 | Zain Retherford | (1st) | Jr. | Penn State |
| 2 | Anthony Collica | (2nd) | Sr. | Oklahoma State |
| 3 | Lavion Mayes | (3rd) | Sr. | Missouri |
| 4 | Micah Jordan | (5th) | So. | Ohio State |
| 5 | Brandon Sorensen | (4th) | Jr. | Iowa |
| 6 | Solomon Chishko | (6th) | So. | Virginia Tech |
| 7 | Max Thomsen | (7th) | RFr. | Northern Iowa |
| 8 | Patricio Lugo | (8th) | So. | Edinboro |
| 9 | Justin Oliver | (10th) | So. | Central Michigan |
| 10 | Steve Bleise | (13th) | So. | Northern Illinois |
| 11 | Davion Jeffries | (12th) | So. | Oklahoma |
| 12 | Laike Gardner | (11th) | Sr. | Lehigh |
| 13 | Sam Speno | (9th) | Sr. | NC State |
| 14 | Jordan Laster | (19th) | Sr. | Princeton |
| 15 | Matt Cimato | (14th) | Sr. | Drexel |
| 16 | Cole Mendenhall | (NR) | Sr. | Wyoming |
| 17 | Zac Hall | (NR) | So. | Michigan |
| 18 | Alfred Bannister | (15th) | So. | Maryland |
| 19 | Josh Maruca | (20th) | RFr. | Arizona State |
| 20 | Ken Theobold | (17th) | Sr. | Rutgers |
157 Pounds
| Rk | Name | Prev. | Yr. | School |
| 1 | Jason Nolf | (1st) | So. | Penn State |
| 2 | Michael Kemerer | (2nd) | RFr. | Iowa |
| 3 | Tyler Berger | (3rd) | So. | Nebraska |
| 4 | Joey Lavallee | (5th) | Jr. | Missouri |
| 5 | Dylan Palacio | (6th) | Sr. | Cornell |
| 6 | Joe Smith | (7th) | So. | Oklahoma State |
| 7 | Brian Murphy | (15th) | Sr. | Michigan |
| 8 | Clay Ream | (8th) | Jr. | North Dakota State |
| 9 | Colin Heffernan | (12th) | Jr. | Central Michigan |
| 10 | Russell Parsons | (10th) | Sr. | Army |
| 11 | Josh Shields | (9th) | RFr. | Arizona State |
| 12 | Jake Short | (18th) | Jr. | Minnesota |
| 13 | Clark Glass | (11th) | Sr. | Oklahoma |
| 14 | Sal Mastriani | (13th) | Sr. | Virginia Tech |
| 15 | Archie Colgan | (16th) | Jr. | Wyoming |
| 16 | John Van Brill | (20th) | So. | Rutgers |
| 17 | Alex Griffin | (NR) | Sr. | Purdue |
| 18 | Kyle Langenderfer | (14th) | Jr. | Illinois |
| 19 | Jake Faust | (NR) | Jr | Duke |
| 20 | Taleb Rahmani | (NR) | RFr. | Pitt |
165 Pounds
| Rk | Name | Prev. | Yr. | School |
| 1 | Isaiah Martinez | (1st) | Jr. | Illinois |
| 2 | Logan Massa | (2nd) | Fr. | Michigan |
| 3 | Vincenzo Joseph | (4th) | RFr. | Penn State |
| 4 | Isaac Jordan | (3rd) | Sr. | Wisconsin |
| 5 | Chad Walsh | (5th) | Jr. | Rider |
| 6 | Anthony Valencia | (6th) | RFr. | Arizona State |
| 7 | Daniel Lewis | (7th) | So. | Missouri |
| 8 | Bryce Steiert | (9th) | So. | Northern Iowa |
| 9 | Dylan Cottrell | (11th) | Sr. | West Virginia |
| 10 | Chandler Rogers | (8th) | So. | Oklahoma State |
| 11 | Austin Matthews | (12th) | Jr. | Edinboro |
| 12 | TeShan Campbell | (14th) | So. | Pitt |
| 13 | Drew Hughes | (NR) | Fr. | Michigan State |
| 14 | Brandon Womack | (NR) | So. | Cornell |
| 15 | Nick Wanzek | (13th) | Jr. | Minnesota |
| 16 | Lorenzo De La Riva | (17th) | RFr. | CSU Bakersfield |
| 17 | Keaton Subjeck | (20th) | Jr. | Stanford |
| 18 | Keilan Torres | (NR) | Jr. | Northern Colorado |
| 19 | Yoanse Mejias | (16th) | Jr. | Oklahoma |
| 20 | Luke Zilverberg | (19th) | Jr. | South Dakota State |
174 Pounds
| Rk | Name | Prev. | Yr. | School |
| 1 | Zahid Valencia | (1st) | RFr. | Arizona State |
| 2 | Brian Realbuto | (2nd) | Sr. | Cornell |
| 3 | Bo Jordan | (3rd) | Jr. | Ohio State |
| 4 | Zach Epperly | (4th) | Jr. | Virginia Tech |
| 5 | Mark Hall | (5th) | Fr. | Penn State |
| 6 | Ryan Preisch | (6th) | So. | Lehigh |
| 7 | Kyle Crutchmer | (7th) | Sr. | Oklahoma State |
| 8 | Ethan Ramos | (10th) | Jr. | North Carolina |
| 9 | Casey Kent | (8th) | Sr. | Penn |
| 10 | Taylor Lujan | (9th) | RFr. | Northern Iowa |
| 11 | Myles Amine | (13th) | RFr. | Michigan |
| 12 | Zac Brunson | (12th) | Sr. | Illinois |
| 13 | Alex Meyer | (11th) | Sr. | Iowa |
| 14 | Jadaen Bernstein | (15th) | Jr. | Navy |
| 15 | Trace Engelkes | (20th) | Sr. | Northern Illinois |
| 16 | C.J. Brucki | (17th) | Jr. | Central Michigan |
| 17 | Matt Reed | (NR) | Sr. | Oklahoma |
| 18 | David Kocer | (16th) | Jr. | South Dakota State |
| 19 | Lelund Weatherspoon | (14th) | Sr. | Iowa State |
| 20 | Connor Bass | (19th) | Sr. | Duke |
184 Pounds
| Rk | Name | Prev. | Yr. | School |
| 1 | Gabe Dean | (1st) | Sr. | Cornell |
| 2 | Bo Nickal | (2nd) | So. | Penn State |
| 3 | Sammy Brooks | (3rd) | Sr. | Iowa |
| 4 | Nolan Boyd | (4th) | Sr. | Oklahoma State |
| 5 | Myles Martin | (8th) | So. | Ohio State |
| 6 | Jack Dechow | (7th) | Sr. | Old Dominion |
| 7 | Zach Zavatsky | (10th) | So. | Virginia Tech |
| 8 | Timothy Dudley | (5th) | Sr. | Nebraska |
| 9 | Nathan Jackson | (6th) | Sr. | Indiana |
| 10 | Mike Macchiavello | (9th) | Jr. | NC State |
| 11 | Emery Parker | (11th) | So. | Illinois |
| 12 | Drew Foster | (13th) | So. | Northern Iowa |
| 13 | Dakota Geer | (14th) | Fr. | Edinboro |
| 14 | Bryce Carr | (15th) | Jr. | Chattanooga |
| 15 | Jordan Ellingwood | (17th) | Jr. | Central Michigan |
| 16 | Ville Heino | (18th) | Jr. | Campbell |
| 17 | Hunter Gamble | (20th) | Jr. | Gardner-Webb |
| 18 | Nicholas Gravina | (12th) | Jr. | Rutgers |
| 19 | Michael Coleman | (NR) | Jr. | Navy |
| 20 | Steven Schneider | (16th) | Jr. | Binghamton |
197 Pounds
| Rk | Name | Prev. | Yr. | School |
| 1 | J’den Cox | (1st) | Sr. | Missouri |
| 2 | Brett Pfarr | (2nd) | Sr. | Minnesota |
| 3 | Kollin Moore | (4th) | RFr. | Ohio State |
| 4 | Jared Haught | (3rd) | Jr. | Virginia Tech |
| 5 | Matt McCutcheon | (7th) | Jr. | Penn State |
| 6 | Preston Weigel | (9th) | So. | Oklahoma State |
| 7 | Aaron Studebaker | (5th) | Sr. | Nebraska |
| 8 | Jake Smith | (6th) | Jr. | West Virginia |
| 9 | Ryan Wolfe | (10th) | Sr. | Rider |
| 10 | Kevin Beazley | (12th) | Jr. | Old Dominion |
| 11 | Frank Mattiace | (17th) | So. | Penn |
| 12 | Ricky Robertson | (13th) | Jr. | Wisconsin |
| 13 | Nate Rotert | (8th) | Jr. | South Dakota State |
| 14 | Corey Griego | (18th) | So. | Oregon State |
| 15 | Jacob Holschlag | (20th) | RFr. | Northern Iowa |
| 16 | Brett Harner | (11th) | Sr. | Princeton |
| 17 | Brad Johnson | (19th) | Sr. | Oklahoma |
| 18 | Shawn Scott | (15th) | Sr. | Northern Illinois |
| 19 | Tom Sleigh | (16th) | Jr. | Bucknell |
| 20 | Austin Severn | (14th) | Sr. | Central Michigan |
Heavyweight
| Rk | Name | Prev. | Yr. | School |
| 1 | Kyle Snyder | (1st) | Jr. | Ohio State |
| 2 | Connor Medbery | (2nd) | Sr. | Wisconsin |
| 3 | Ty Walz | (3rd) | Sr. | Virginia Tech |
| 4 | Nick Nevills | (4th) | So. | Penn State |
| 5 | Jake Kasper | (5th) | Jr. | Duke |
| 6 | Austin Schafer | (6th) | Sr. | Oklahoma State |
| 7 | Michael Kroells | (7th) | Sr. | Minnesota |
| 8 | Tanner Hall | (8th) | So. | Arizona State |
| 9 | Denzel Dejournette | (9th) | Sr. | Appalachian State |
| 10 | Ryan Solomon | (11th) | Jr. | Pitt |
| 11 | Collin Jensen | (10th) | Sr. | Nebraska |
| 12 | Cody Crawford | (15th) | Jr. | Oregon State |
| 13 | Dustin Dennison | (NR) | Jr. | Utah Valley |
| 14 | Ross Larson | (17th) | Sr. | Oklahoma |
| 15 | Garrett Ryan | (NR) | Jr. | Columbia |
| 16 | Doug Vollaro | (14th) | Sr. | Lehigh |
| 17 | Jere Heino | (NR) | So. | Campbell |
| 18 | Jared Johnson | (12th) | Sr. | Chattanooga |
| 19 | Nathan Butler | (16th) | Jr. | Stanford |
| 20 | Billy Miller | (19th) | So. | Edinboro |
Related Posts
- Hughes Spearheads New ‘America’s Wrestling Cup’
- NCAA/Olympic champ Steveson is returning to college wrestling
- WIN’s First Regular-Season Rankings include 34 Newcomers, 9 Freshmen
- California native Rodriguez rediscovered love of sport at small Doane U in Nebraska
- Gable: Coaches need to bring out kids’ natural abilities
