Penn State, Iowa, ASU tabbed as Pre-season Top 3 in WIN’s Rankings
Photo: Penn State featured five individual champions en route to claiming the 2022 NCAA team title last March in Detroit, Mich. Four return and are ranked No. l in WIN’s pre-season rankings. (WIN photo)
October 3, 2023
NEWTON, Iowa — Penn State, Iowa and Arizona State have been tabbed as the top three programs in WIN Magazine’s 2023 Pres-eason Tournament Power Index and Individual Rankings, presented by Cliff Keen Athletic.
WIN’s Tournament Power Index is a tally of potential NCAA placement points based on where wrestlers are ranked in the pre-season. This year’s NCAA Championships will take place, March 16-18, in Tulsa, Okla. The following is a point breakdown of the TPI, based on a wrestler’s ranking: 20 for 1st, 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 1.5 points for wrestlers ranked 13-16 and 1 point for those ranked 17-20.
The Nittany Lions — the 2022 defending champs — feature six ranked wrestlers in WIN’s ratings. That includes four defending national champions: Roman Bravo-Young (133 pounds), Carter Starocci (174), Aaron Brooks (184) and Max Dean (197). Along with Beau Bartlett (17th at 141) and Greg Kerkvliet (3rd at heavyweight), Penn State earned 97 TPI points.
Iowa edged Arizona State by a 2.5-point margin (74.5-72) for second and third place in the pre-season TPI. The Hawkeyes and Sun Devils finished third and fourth, respectively, in the 2022 NCAAs.
The Hawkeyes have eight ranked wrestlers, including five rated in the Top 8 of their weights, which would earn them All-American honors at the NCAAs. That included three-time NCAA champion Spencer Lee (ranked No. 1 at 125), who missed last season because of injury, as well as 2022 NCAA finalist Jacob Warner (2nd at 197), All-American Anthony Cassioppi (4th at Hwt), Stanford-transfer Real Woods (2nd at 141) and Max Murin (7th at 149).
The Sun Devils also have eight ranked wrestlers, five in the Top 8. That includes heavyweight Cohlton Schultz, who finished second in the 2022 NCAAs and is the top-ranked heavyweight in the pre-season rankings with 2022 Hodge winner Gable Steveson of Minnesota opting out at this point of his last year of eligibility to wrestle professionally. Other returning All-Americans include Brandon Courtney (ranked sixth at 125), Michael McGee (3rd at 133), Kyle Parco (6th at 149) and Jacori Teemer (2nd at 157).
Eight former champions are ranked in WIN’s pre-season rankings, including Cornell Yianni Diakomihalis (149), who is also shooting for a fourth all-time NCAA title. Meanwhile, 165 pounds features three former national champions: Missouri’s defending champ Keegan O’Toole, Stanford’s Shane Griffith (who won in 2021 and finished second in 2022) and Iowa State’s David Carr (the 157-pound champ in 2021 who has moved up a weight).
Weight classes are subject to change and WIN will update its pre-season rankings on Nov. 1.
WIN’s 2022-23 NCAA Div. I Preseason Tournament Power Index (TPI)
| Rk. | School | Total Rank | Top 8 | TPI Pts |
| 1. | Penn State | 6 | 5 | 97 |
| 2. | Iowa | 8 | 5 | 74.5 |
| 3. | Arizona State | 8 | 5 | 72 |
| 4. | Missouri | 7 | 5 | 53.5 |
| 5. | Cornell | 7 | 4 | 52.5 |
| 6. | Minnesota | 7 | 3 | 49 |
| 7. | Michigan | 7 | 4 | 47 |
| 8. | Nebraska | 4 | 3 | 43.5 |
| 9. | Ohio State | 8 | 3 | 43 |
| 10. | Oklahoma State | 7 | 2 | 39 |
| 11. | Iowa State | 6 | 3 | 36.5 |
| 12. | Northwestern | 5 | 3 | 36 |
| 13. | Wisconsin | 6 | 5 | 35.5 |
| 14. | Pitt | 4 | 3 | 33.5 |
| 15. | Virginia Tech | 3 | 3 | 31.5 |
| 16. | NC State | 7 | 2 | 28 |
| 17. | North Carolina | 5 | 2 | 26.5 |
| 18. | Penn | 7 | 2 | 25 |
| 19t. | Northern Iowa | 6 | 1 | 24 |
| 19t. | Princeton | 4 | 2 | 24 |
| 21. | Stanford | 3 | 1 | 19 |
| 22. | Lehigh | 6 | 2 | 17.5 |
| 23. | Wyoming | 3 | 1 | 17 |
| 24t. | Cal Poly | 3 | 1 | 15.5 |
| 24t. | Illinois | 3 | 1 | 15.5 |
| 26. | Oregon State | 3 | 2 | 13.5 |
| 27. | South Dakota Sate | 4 | 1 | 13 |
| 28t. | Appalachian State | 2 | 1 | 11 |
| 28t. | Rutgers | 4 | 1 | 11 |
| 30. | Utah Valley | 2 | 1 | 10.5 |
| 31. | Northern Colorado | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 32. | West Virginia | 3 | 1 | 9.5 |
| 33t. | Air Force | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| 33t. | Michigan State | 4 | 1 | 9 |
| 35. | Oklahoma | 5 | 0 | 8 |
| 36 | Purdue` | 4 | 0 | 7.5 |
| 37. | North Dakota State | 4 | 0 | 6 |
| 38. | Drexel | 1 | 1 | 5.5 |
| 39. | Columbia | 2 | 0 | 3.5 |
| 40t. | Campbell | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 40t. | Rider | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 40t. | Virginia | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 43t. | Central Michigan | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 43t. | CS Bakersfield | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 43t | Harvard | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 43t | Lock Haven | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 43t | Navy | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 48t. | Army | 1 | 0 | 1.5 |
| 48t. | Binghamton | 1 | 0 | 1.5 |
| 50. | Cleveland State | 1 | 0 | 1 |
WIN’s 2022-23 Preseason Individual Rankings
125 pounds
| Wt | Name | School | Year | 2022 NCAA |
| 1 | Spencer Lee | Iowa | Sr | Injured/3-time champ |
| 2 | Pat Glory | Princeton | Sr. | 2nd |
| 3 | Vitali Arujau | Cornell | Jr. | 3rd |
| 4 | Michael DeAugustino | Northwestern | Sr. | 4th |
| 5 | Pat McKee | Minnesota | Sr. | 5th |
| 6 | Brandon Courtney | Arizona State | Gr. | 6th |
| 7 | Eric Barnett | Wisconsin | Sr. | 7th |
| 8 | Brandon Kaylor | Oregon State | Jr. | 8th |
| 9 | Killian Cardinale | West Virginia | Sr. | R12 |
| 10 | Noah Surtin | Missouri | So. | R12 |
| 11 | Trevor Mastrogiovanni | Oklahoma State | Jr. | R24 |
| 12 | Matt Ramos | Purdue | So. | R12/133 |
| 13 | Joey Prata | Oklahoma | Gr. | R12 |
| 14 | Malik Heinselman | Ohio State | Sr. | R24 |
| 15 | Dylan Shawver | Rutgers | So. | R16 |
| 16 | Jakob Camacho | NC State | Jr. | R16 |
| 17 | Jaret Lane | Lehigh | Sr. | Injured |
| 18 | Anthony Noto | Lock Haven | So. | R24 |
| 19 | Jack Medley | Michigan | Gr. | NQ in 2021 |
| 20 | Kysen Terukina | Iowa State | Jr. | R32 |
133 pounds
| Wt | Name | School | Year | 2022 NCAA |
| 1 | Roman Bravo-Young | Penn State | Gr. | 1st |
| 2 | Daton Fix | Oklahoma State | Sr. | 2nd |
| 3 | Michael McGee | Arizona State | Sr. | 4th |
| 4 | Lucas Byrd | Illinois | So. | 5th |
| 5 | Chris Cannon | Northwestern | Jr. | 7th |
| 6 | Dylan Ragusin | Michigan | So. | R12 |
| 7 | Micky Phillippi | Pitt | Sr. | R12 |
| 8 | RayVon Foley | Michigan State | Gr. | R24 |
| 9 | Michael Colaiocco | Penn | Jr. | R24 |
| 10 | Kyle Biscoglia | Northern Iowa | Jr. | R24 |
| 11 | Kai Orine | NC State | So. | R16 |
| 12 | Chance Rich | CS-Bakersfield | Jr. | R16 |
| 13 | Haiden Drury | Utah Valley | So. | R24 |
| 14 | Richie Koehler | Rider | Sr. | R16 |
| 15 | Malyke Hines | Lehigh | So. | R32 |
| 16 | Jamie Hernandez | North Carolina | Gr. | Reserve |
| 17 | Cullan Schriever | Iowa | So. | Reserve |
| 18 | Josh Konderhandt | Navy | So. | R24 |
| 19 | Sammy Alvarez | Rutgers | Jr. | NQ in 2020 |
| 20 | Anthony Madrigal | Oklahoma | Gr. | R32 |
141 pounds
| Wt | Name | School | Year | 2022 NCAA |
| 1 | Cole Matthews | Pitt | Sr. | 5th |
| 2 | Real Woods | Iowa | Sr. | 6th (Stanford) |
| 3 | Jakob Bergeland | Minnesota | Gr. | 7th |
| 4 | CJ Composto | Penn | Jr. | 8th |
| 5 | Andrew Alirez | Northern Colorado | Jr. | R12 |
| 6 | Clay Carlson | South Dakota State | Sr. | R12 |
| 7 | Allan Hart | Missouri | Sr. | R24 |
| 8 | Ryan Jack | NC State | So. | R16 |
| 9 | Carter Young | Oklahoma State | So. | R32 |
| 10 | Dylan Droegemueller | North Dakota State | Sr. | R16 |
| 11 | Matt Kazmir | Columbia | Sr. | R24 |
| 12 | Joseph Zargo | Wisconsin | So. | R24 |
| 13 | Frankie Tal Shahar | Northwestern | Jr. | R24 |
| 14 | Dylan D’Emilio | Ohio State | Jr. | R24 |
| 15 | Quinn Kinner | Rider | Jr. | R24 |
| 16 | Parker Filius | Purdue | Gr. | R24 |
| 17 | Beau Bartlett | Penn State | Jr. | R24/149 |
| 18 | Cole Mattin | Michigan | Jr. | Reserve |
| 19 | Shannon Hanna | Campbell | Sr. | R32 |
| 20 | Jesse Vasquez | Arizona State | So. | Injured |
149 pounds
| Wt | Name | School | Year | 2022 NCAA |
| 1 | Yianni Diakomihalis | Cornell | Sr. | 1st |
| 2 | Ridge Lovett | Nebraska | Jr. | 2nd |
| 3 | Austin Gomez | Wisconsin | Sr. | 4th |
| 4 | Sammy Sasso | Ohio State | Sr. | 5th |
| 5 | Jon Millner | Appalachian State | Sr. | 6th |
| 6 | Kyle Parco | Arizona State | So. | 8th |
| 7 | Max Murin | Iowa | Sr. | R12 |
| 8 | Anthony Artalona | Penn | Sr. | R12 |
| 9 | Yahya Thomas | Northwestern | Gr. | R12/3rd in 2021 |
| 10 | Willie McDougald | Oklahoma | So. | R16 |
| 11 | Jaden Abas | Stanford | Jr. | R24 |
| 12 | Michael Blockhus | Minnesota | Sr. | R24 |
| 13 | Zach Sherman | North Carolina | Gr. | R24 |
| 14 | Dom Demas | Cal Poly | Sr. | Transfer/Oklahoma |
| 15 | Jarod Verkleeren | Virginia | Gr. | Transfer/Penn State |
| 16 | Colin Realbuto | Northern Iowa | Jr. | R16 |
| 17 | Corbyn Munson | Central Michigan | Sr. | R32 |
| 18 | Marcus Robinson | Cleveland State | So. | R24 |
| 19 | Manzona Bryant | Lehigh | Jr. | Reserve |
| 20 | Marshall Keller | Princeton | Sr. | R32 |
157 pounds
| Wt | Name | School | Year | 2022 NCAA |
| 1 | Brayton Lee | Minnesota | Sr. | Injured |
| 2 | Jacori Teemer | Arizona State | Jr. | 6th |
| 3 | Peyton Robb | Nebraska | Jr. | 4th |
| 4 | Austin O’Connor | North Carolina | Gr. | 8th |
| 5 | Bryan Andonian | Virginia Tech | Sr. | 3rd/149 |
| 6 | Will Lewan | Michigan | Sr. | 5th |
| 7 | Brock Mauler | Missouri | Jr. | RS/AA in 2021/149 |
| 8 | Josh Humphreys | Lehigh | Sr. | R12 |
| 9 | Ed Scott | NC State | So. | R12 |
| 10 | Jared Franek | North Dakota State | Sr. | R12 |
| 11 | Kendell Coleman | Purdue | Sr. | R32 |
| 12 | Wyatt Sheets | Oklahoma State | Gr. | R24 |
| 13 | Jake Keating | Virginia | Sr. | R16 |
| 14 | Jacob Wright | Wyoming | Gr. | R24 |
| 15 | Dazjon Casto | Pitt | Sr. | R12/Citadel |
| 16 | Doug Zapf | Penn | Sr. | R24 |
| 17 | Johnny Lovett | Central Michigan | Jr. | R16 |
| 18 | Andrew Cerniglia | Navy | Jr. | R32 |
| 19 | Chase Saldate | Michigan State | Jr. | R32 |
| 20 | Derek Holschlag | Northern Iowa | Sr. | R32 |
165 pounds
| Wt | Name | School | Year | 2022 NCAA |
| 1 | Keegan O’Toole | Missouri | So. | 1st |
| 2 | Shane Griffith | Stanford | Sr. | 2nd |
| 3 | David Carr | Iowa State | Sr. | 3rd/157 |
| 4 | Cameron Amine | Michigan | Jr. | 4th |
| 5 | Dean Hamiti | Wisconsin | So. | 6th |
| 6 | Carson Kharchla | Ohio State | Jr. | 7th |
| 7 | Peyton Hall | West Virginia | Jr. | 8th |
| 8 | Quincy Monday | Princeton | Sr. | 2nd/157 |
| 9 | Julian Ramirez | Cornell | So. | R12 |
| 0 | Justin McCoy | Virginia | Sr. | R12 |
| 11 | Izzak Olenjnik | Northern Illinois | Sr. | R16 |
| 12 | Austin Yant | Northern Iowa | Sr. | R16 |
| 13 | Brevin Cassella | Binghamton | Jr. | R24 |
| 14 | Josh Ogunsanya | Columbia | Jr. | R24 |
| 15 | Bubba Wilson | Nebraska | So. | R24 |
| 16 | Matt Olguin | Oregon State | So. | R24 |
| 17 | Lucas Revano | Penn | Jr. | R24 |
| 18 | William Formato | Appalachian State | Jr. | R24 |
| 19 | Patrick Kennedy | Iowa | So. | Reserve |
| 20 | Cael Carlson | Minnesota | Jr. | R32 |
174 pounds
| Wt | Name | School | Year | 2022 NCAA |
| 1 | Carter Starocci | Penn State | Jr. | 1st |
| 2 | Mekhi Lewis | Virginia Tech | Sr. | 2nd |
| 3 | Dustin Plott | Oklahoma State | Jr. | 6th |
| 4 | Mickey Labriola | Nebraska | Sr. | 7th |
| 5 | Clay Lautt | North Carolina | Gr. | 8th |
| 6 | Demetrius Romero | Utah Valley | Sr. | Inj/6th in 2021 |
| 7 | Jackson Turley | Rutgers | Jr. | Inj/AA in 2021 |
| 8 | Michael O’Malley | Drexel | Sr. | R12 |
| 9 | Peyton Mocco | Missouri | Jr. | R12 |
| 10 | Ethan Smith | Ohio State | Sr. | R12 |
| 11 | Hayden Hastings | Wyoming | Gr. | R12 |
| 12 | Philip Conigliaro | Harvard | Jr. | R12/165 |
| 13 | Lance Runyon | Northern Iowa | So. | R16 |
| 14 | Ben Pasiuk | Army | Jr. | R24 |
| 15 | Adam Kemp | Cal Poly | Jr. | R24 |
| 16 | Chris Foca | Cornell | Jr. | R24 |
| 17 | Nick Incontrera | Penn | So. | R24 |
| 18 | Cade DeVos | South Dakota State | Jr. | R24 |
| 19 | Tyler Eischens | Stanford | Sr. | R24 |
| 20 | Joel Devine | Iowa State | Sr. | R32 |
184 pounds
| Wt | Name | School | Year | 2022 NCAA |
| 1 | Aaron Brooks | Penn State | Sr. | 1st |
| 2 | Parker Keckeisen | Northern Iowa | So. | 3rd |
| 3 | Trent Hidlay | NC State | Jr. | 5th |
| 4 | Kaleb Romero | Ohio State | Sr. | 6th |
| 5 | Marcus Coleman | Iowa State | Sr. | 7th |
| 6 | Jonathan Loew | Cornell | Sr. | 8th |
| 7 | Trey Munoz | Oregon State | So. | R12 |
| 8 | Hunter Bolen | Virginia Tech | Sr. | R12/7th in 2021 |
| 9 | Travis Wittlake | Oklahoma State | Sr. | AA in 2020 and ’21/165 |
| 10 | Tate Samuelson | Lehigh (Wyoming) | Sr. | R16 |
| 11 | Keegan Moore | Oklahoma | Sr. | R16 |
| 12 | John Poznanski | Rutgers | So. | R16 |
| 13 | Anthony Montalvo | Arizona State | Jr. | Transfer/Oklahoma St. |
| 14 | Abe Assad | Iowa | Jr. | R24 |
| 15 | Isaiah Salazar | Minnesota | Jr. | R24 |
| 16 | Travis Stefanik | Princeton | Sr. | R24 |
| 17 | Caleb Hopkins | Campbell | Sr. | R24 |
| 18 | Matt Finesilver | Michigan (Duke) | Gr. | R16/174 |
| 19 | Layne Malczewski | Michigan State | Sr. | R32 |
| 20 | Gavin Kane | North Carolina | So. | R32 |
197 pounds
| Wt | Name | School | Year | 2022 NCAA |
| 1 | Max Dean | Penn State | Sr. | 1st |
| 2 | Jacob Warner | Iowa | Sr. | 2nd |
| 3 | Stephen Buchanan | Wyoming | Sr. | 3rd |
| 4 | Bernie Truax | Cal Poly | Jr. | 4th/184 |
| 5 | Rocky Elam | Missouri | So. | 4th |
| 6 | Yonger Bastida | Iowa State | Jr. | 5th |
| 7 | Michael Beard | Lehigh | So. | AA (7th) in 2021 (Penn State) |
| 8 | Nino Bonaccorsi | Pitt | Sr. | R12/2nd in 2021 |
| 9 | Gavin Hoffman | Ohio State | Sr. | 6th |
| 10 | Kordell Norfleet | Arizona State | Sr. | R16 |
| 11 | Thomas Penola | Purdue | Sr. | R16 |
| 12 | Isaac Trumble | NC State | Jr. | R24 |
| 13 | Tanner Sloan | South Dakota State | Sr. | R24 |
| 14 | Braxton Amos | Wisconsin | So. | R24 |
| 15 | Luke Surber | Oklahoma State | Jr. | R24/Hwt |
| 16 | Cameron Caffey | Michigan State | Gr. | R16 |
| 17 | Jacob Cardenas | Cornell | Jr. | R24 |
| 18 | Zac Braunagel | Illinois | Jr. | R12/184 |
| 19 | Owen Pentz | North Dakota State | Jr. | R24 |
| 20 | Michael Foy | Minnesota | Gr. | R32 |
Heavyweight
| Wt | Name | School | Year | 2022 NCAA |
| 1 | Cohlton Schultz | Arizona State | So. | 2nd |
| 2 | Greg Kerkvliet | Penn State | Jr. | 4th |
| 3 | Mason Parris | Michigan | Sr. | 5th |
| 4 | Tony Cassioppi | Iowa | Sr. | 7th |
| 5 | Lucas Davison | Northwestern | Sr. | 6th |
| 6 | Wyatt Hendrickson | Air Force | Jr. | R16 |
| 7 | Zach Elam | Missouri | Jr. | R12 |
| 8 | Lewis Fernandes | Cornell | Jr. | R12 |
| 9 | Tate Orndorff | Ohio State | Sr. | R12 |
| 10 | Trent Hillger | Wisconsin | Gr. | R24 |
| 11 | Sam Schuyler | Iowa State | Sr. | R32 |
| 12 | Luke Luffman | Illinois | Jr. | R24 |
| 13 | Tyrie Houghton | NC State | Sr. | R24 |
| 14 | AJ Nevills | South Dakota State | Gr. | R24 |
| 15 | Josh Heindselman | Oklahoma | Jr. | R32 |
| 16 | Ben Goldin | Penn | Sr. | R24 |
| 17 | Isaac Reid | Lock Haven | Jr. | R24 |
| 18 | Taye Ghadali | Campbell | Jr. | R24 |
| 19 | Brandon Metz | North Dakota State | Sr. | R32 |
| 20 | Michael Wolfgram | West Virginia | Jr. | R32 |
