Ohio State grabs top spot in WIN’s March 6 Rankings

NEWTON, Iowa — After Ohio State earned a second straight Big Ten tournament championship, the Buckeyes have taken over the No. 1 team ranking in what looks to be a tight team race at the NCAA Championships next week in Cleveland.

Ohio State finished WIN’s Tournament Power Index Rankings, release March 6, with 124 points and two-time defending champ Penn State had 111. With bonus points not factored into the TPI, Penn State will look to keep that NCAA edge over the field in Cleveland and hopes defending champ Jason Nolf (157) will be near 100 percent in the three-day tournament after medically defaulting out of the Big Tens after two matches.

The Buckeyes, featuring ten ranked wrestlers, have eight guys ranked among the Top 8 wrestlers in their weight class, including Big Ten individual champions Nathan Tomasello (133), Joey McKenna (165) Kollin Moore (197) and Kyle Snyder (Hwt).

Penn State, which has won six of the last seven NCAA Championships, fell to No. 2 in WIN’s rankings and features the most top-ranked wrestlers in Big Ten champ Zain Retherford (149), Mark Hall (174) and Bo Nickal (184). Eight Nittany Lions are ranked in the Top 8 of their weight classes.

Making the biggest jump in this week’s rankings is the University of Missouri, which captured a seventh straight Mid-American Conference championship and moved from No. 5 to No. 3 in WIN’s TPI with 80 points. The Tigers also feature eight ranked wrestlers, six rated in the Top 8 of their weight classes.

Meanwhile, two other wrestlers have taken over the top spot at their weight class in these rankings. Lehigh senior Darian Cruz, the defending champion at 125 pounds, has moved up from No. 3 at the lightest weight after winning an EIWA championship, while NC State redshirt freshman and ACC champion Hayden Hidlay is now ranked No. 1 at 157 pounds.

WIN’s Tournament Power Index (TPI), presented each week by Cliff Keen Athletic, awards team points for individuals ranked in the respective weight classes based on how many points that placement would bring their team at the 2018 NCAA Championships, March 15-17. WIN’s TPI point totals are broken down by the following individual rankings: 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). 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.

WIN’s March 6, 2018 Tournament Power Index (TPI)

WIN’s March 6, 2018 Individual Rankings

125 pounds                                               

133 pounds                                               

141 pounds                                               

149 pounds                                               

157 pounds                                               

165 pounds

174 pounds                                               

184 pounds                                               

197 pounds                                               

Heavyweight