Cornell’s Arujau among top-ranked wrestlers; Penn State No. 1 team in WIN preseason poll
Photo: These three wrestlers all won individual championships at last March’s 2023 NCAAs: Cornell’s Vito Arujau, and Penn State Carter Starocci (middle) and Aaron Brooks. (Photos by Tony Rotundo)
NEWTON, Iowa — Cornell’s Vito Arujau, fresh off a World championship in freestyle wrestling, is one of 10 wrestlers who have been tabbed No. 1 at a weight class in WIN Magazine’s 2023 preseason NCAA Division I national rankings, presented by Cliff Keen Athletic.
Arujau, a senior, is the top-ranked wrestler at 133 pounds, the weight at which the Big Red wrestler captured his first NCAA title last March in Tulsa, Okla.
Click on the cover of the latest WIN Magazine or call 888-305-0606 to subscribe.
Meanwhile, Penn State features four top-ranked wrestlers, including Carter Starocci (174 pounds) and Aaron Brooks (197 pounds), who each will be shooting to win a fourth national championship at the 2024 NCAA Division I Championships next March in Kansas City, Mo. The other No. 1-ranked Nittany Lions are Levi Haines (157) and Greg Kerkvliet (Hwt), who each finished second last March.
Overall, Penn State features eight returning All-Americans, who played a big part in the Nittany Lions earning the No. 1 spot in WIN Magazine’s 2023-24 Preseason TPI (Tournament Power Index) and individual rankings. Shooting to win a third straight team title and 11th since 2011, Penn State is the only school to have all ten wrestlers ranked in the preseason rankings and tallied 149 TPI points. The other returning Penn State All-Americans are Beau Bartlett (141) and Shayne Van Ness (149), while the other two are transfers: Aaron Nagao (133/Minnesota) and Bernie Truax (184/Cal Poly).
WIN’s TPI is based on a point total associated with individual placement and advancement points that could be scored in the 2024 NCAAs if wrestlers finish where they are ranked in the preseason poll. 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.
Missouri (70.5 points), which features two-time defending national champ Keegan O’Toole, who is table No. 1 in WIN’s preseason rankings, and four other All-Americans Brock Mauller (149), Peyton Mocco (174), Rocky Elam (197) and Zach Elam (Hwt).
Coming in third place in WIN’s TPI is Virginia Tech (64.5) with returning All-Americans Eddie Ventresca (125), Sam Latona (133), Caleb Henson (149), Bryce Andonian (157) and Mekhi Lewis (174).
Rounding out the top-10 in Tournament Power Index is NC State, Nebraska, Arizona State, Michigan, Cornell and Iowa (tied for eight) and Oklahoma State.
The other top-ranked wrestlers are Purdue’s Matt Ramos (125), Iowa’s Real Woods (141), Nebraska’s Ridge Lovett (149) and Northern Iowa’s Parker Keckeisen (184). All have finished second in the past two national tournaments.
These rankings are subject to change as wrestlers finalize what weight class they will wrestle this winter. WIN Magazine, which will update its rankings on Nov. 1, will announce it dual-meet rankings in December.
After November 1, WIN Magazine will release weekly NCAA Division I Rankings. To get all of WIN’s college and high school rankings releases this season and WIN’s 12 monthly issues, subscribe to WIN in print or digitally at www.WIN-magazine.com.
WIN’s 2023-24 Preseason Tournament Power Index (TPI)
| Rk. | School | Total | Top 8 | TPI |
| Ranked | Ranked | Points | ||
| 1. | Penn State | 10 | 9 | 149 |
| 2. | Missouri | 8 | 6 | 70.5 |
| 3. | Virginia Tech | 7 | 5 | 64.5 |
| 4. | NC State | 7 | 7 | 60.5 |
| 5. | Nebraska | 8 | 4 | 58 |
| 6. | Arizona State | 5 | 4 | 56 |
| 7. | Michigan | 6 | 5 | 54.4 |
| 8t. | Cornell | 6 | 4 | 53.5 |
| 8t. | Iowa | 6 | 4 | 53.5 |
| 10. | Oklahoma State | 6 | 3 | 42 |
| 11. | Iowa State | 6 | 4 | 38.5 |
| 12. | Ohio State | 6 | 3 | 33 |
| 13. | South Dakota State | 6 | 3 | 32 |
| 14. | Northern Iowa | 5 | 1 | 27 |
| 15. | North Carolina | 3 | 3 | 24.5 |
| 16. | Wisconsin | 2 | 2 | 21.5 |
| 17t. | Oklahoma | 8 | 1 | 20 |
| 17t. | Purdue | 1 | 1 | 20 |
| 19. | Oregon State | 5 | 1 | 19.5 |
| 20t. | Illinois | 4 | 2 | 19 |
| 20t. | Minnesota | 2 | 2 | 19 |
| 22. | Air Force | 2 | 1 | 17.5 |
| 23. | Lock Haven | 2 | 1 | 17 |
| 24. | Rutgers | 7 | 1 | 14.5 |
| 25 | Pitt | 5 | 1 | 13 |
| 26. | Lehigh | 4 | 1 | 11 |
| 27. | Stanford | 4 | 1 | 10 |
| 28t. | Cal Poly | 1 | 1 | 6.5 |
| 28t. | Maryland | 4 | 0 | 6.5 |
| 30. | Michigan State | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| 31. | Penn | 4 | 0 | 5.5 |
| 32t. | Indiana | 4 | 0 | 5 |
| 32t. | Northwestern | 3 | 0 | 5 |
| 34. | Navy | 3 | 0 | 4.5 |
| 35t. | Campbell | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| 35t. | Northern Colorado | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 37t. | Central Michigan | 3 | 0 | 3.5 |
| 37t. | Columbia | 3 | 0 | 3.5 |
| 37t. | West Virginia | 2 | 0 | 3.5 |
| 40t. | Army West Point | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 40t. | Binghamton | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 40t. | Utah Valley | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 43t. | Appalachian State | 2 | 0 | 2.5 |
| 43t. | Ohio | 2 | 0 | 2.5 |
| 43t. | Virginia | 2 | 0 | 2.5 |
| 46t. | Chattanooga | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 46t. | Drexel | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 48t. | North Dakota State | 1 | 0 | 1.5 |
| 48t. | Princeton | 1 | 0 | 1.5 |
| 48t. | Rider | 1 | 0 | 1.5 |
| 48t. | Wyoming | 1 | 0 | 1.5 |
| 52t. | Bucknell | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 52t. | Gardner-Webb | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 52t. | George Mason | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 52t. | Little Rock | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 52t. | SIU-Edwardsville | 1 | 0 | 1 |
WIN’s 2023-24 Preseason Individual Rankings
125 pounds
| Wt | Name | School | Yr. | 2023 NCAA/Other |
| 1. | Matt Ramos | Purdue | Jr. | 2nd |
| 2. | Anthony Noto | Lock Haven | Jr. | 4th |
| 3. | Eddie Ventresca | Virginia Tech | So. | 7th |
| 4. | Richard Figueroa | Arizona State | Jr. | Reserve |
| 5. | Patrick McKee | Minnesota | 6th Sr. | R16 |
| 6. | Eric Barnett | Wisconsin | Sr. | R12 |
| 7. | Drake Ayala | Iowa | So. | Reserve/2022 NQ |
| 8. | Jakob Camacho | NC State | Sr. | Injured/3-time NQ |
| 9. | Brandon Kaylor | Oregon State | Sr. | R24 |
| 10. | Michael DeAugustino | Michigan | Sr. | R24/Northwestern transfer |
| 11. | Stevo Poulin | Northern Colorado | So. | R12 |
| 12. | Dean Peterson | Rutgers | So. | R12 |
| 13. | Noah Surtin | Missouri | Jr. | R24 |
| 14. | Caleb Smith | Nebraska | Gr. | R32/Appalachian St. transfer |
| 15. | Braxton Brown | Maryland | So. | R24 |
| 16. | Jore Volk | Wyoming | So. | R24 |
| 17. | Troy Spratley | Oklahoma State | RSFr. | Redshirted |
| 18. | Robert Howard | Penn State | Jr. | Injured/2022 NQ |
| 19. | Nico Provo | Stanford | So. | R32 |
| 20. | Ryan Miller | Penn | Jr. | R24 |
133 pounds
| Wt | Name | School | Yr. | 2023 NCAA/Other |
| 1. | Vito Arujau | Cornell | Sr. | 1st |
| 2. | Daton Fix | Oklahoma State | Sr. | 4th |
| 3. | Aaron Nagao | Penn State | So. | 5th/Minnesota transfer |
| 4. | Sam Latona | Virginia Tech | Jr. | 7th |
| 5. | Kai Orine | NC State | Jr. | 8th |
| 6. | Lucas Byrd | Illinois | Jr. | R12 |
| 7. | Chris Cannon | Michigan | Sr. | R24/Northwestern transfer |
| 8. | Zach Redding | Iowa State | Sr. | R12 |
| 9. | Michael Colaiocco | Penn | Sr. | R16 |
| 10. | Connor McGonagle | Lehigh | Jr. | Injured/2-time NQ |
| 11. | Nic Bouzakis | Ohio State | RSFr. | Redshirted |
| 12. | Brayden Palmer | Chattanooga | Sr. | R16 |
| 13. | Brody Teske | Iowa | Sr. | R24 |
| 14. | Haiden Drury | Utah Valley | Jr. | Injured/2022 NQ |
| 15. | Julian Chlebove | Arizona State | Jr. | Reserve |
| 16. | Dylan Shawver | Rutgers | So. | Injured/2022 NQ |
| 17. | Ethan Oakley | Appalachian State | So. | R32 |
| 18. | Domenic Zaccone | Campbell | Sr. | R24 |
| 19. | Angelo Rini | Columbia | Sr. | R24 |
| 20. | Brendan Ferretti | Navy | So. | R32 |
141 pounds
| Wt | Name | School | Yr. | 2023 NCAA/Other |
| 1. | Real Woods | Iowa | Sr. | 2nd |
| 2. | Beau Bartlett | Penn State | Sr. | 3rd |
| 3. | Lachlan McNeil | North Carolina | So. | 4th |
| 4. | Brock Hardy | Nebraska | So. | 6th |
| 5. | Jesse Mendez | Ohio State | So. | 6th/133 |
| 6. | Clay Carlson | South Dakota State | Sr. | 5th |
| 7 | Cole Matthews | Pitt | Sr. | R12 |
| 8. | Ryan Jack | NC State | Jr. | R24 |
| 9. | Casey Swiderski | Iowa State | So. | R12 |
| 10. | Vince Cornella | Cornell | So. | R24 |
| 11. | Mosha Schwartz | Oklahoma | Sr. | R24 |
| 12. | Cael Happel | Northern Iowa | Jr. | R16 |
| 13. | Frankie Tal Shahar | Northwestern | Jr. | R16 |
| 14. | Mitch Moore | Rutgers | Gr. | R24/149/Oklahoma transfer |
| 15. | C.J. Composto | Penn | So. | Injured/2022 AA (8th) |
| 16. | Malyke Hines | Lehigh | Jr. | R12 |
| 17. | Josh Edmond | Missouri | So. | Redshirted/2022 NQ |
| 18. | Kal Miller | Maryland | So. | R24 |
| 19. | Dylan Chappell | Bucknell | So. | R32/149 |
| 20. | Wyatt Henson | Lock Haven | So. | R24/133/Oklahoma transfer |
149 pounds
| Wt | Name | School | Yr. | 2023 NCAA/Other |
| 1. | Ridge Lovett | Nebraska | Jr. | Redshirted/2022 AA (2nd) |
| 2. | Shayne Van Ness | Penn State | So. | 3rd |
| 3. | Kyle Parco | Arizona State | Jr. | 4th |
| 4. | Caleb Henson | Virginia Tech | So. | 5th |
| 5. | Brock Mauller | Missouri | Sr. | 7th |
| 6. | Dylan D’Emilio | Ohio State | Sr. | 8th/141 |
| 7. | Chance Lamer | Cal Poly | So. | R12/Michigan transfer |
| 8. | Jackson Arrington | NC State | So. | R12 |
| 9. | Colin Realbuto | Northern Iowa | Sr. | R24 |
| 10. | Ethen Miller | Maryland | So. | R24 |
| 11. | Jaden Abas | Stanford | Sr. | R24 |
| 12. | Victor Voinovich | Iowa | So. | R16/Oklahoma State transfer |
| 13. | Corbyn Munson | Central Michigan | Sr. | R32/157 |
| 14. | Kellyn March | North Dakota State | Sr. | R24 |
| 15. | Willie McDougald | Oklahoma | So. | Redshirted/2022 NQ |
| 16. | Quinn Kinner | Rider | Sr. | R32 |
| 17. | Michael Gioffre | Virginia | RSFr. | Redshirted |
| 18. | Caleb Tyus | SIU-Edwardsville | Jr. | R24 |
| 19. | Nate Higley | George Mason | So. | R32 |
| 20. | Trae McDaniel | Army West Point | So. | DNQ |
157 pounds
| Wt | Name | School | Yr. | 2023 NCAA/Other |
| 1. | Levi Haines | Penn State | So. | 2nd |
| 2. | Jacori Teemer | Arizona State | Sr. | Injured/2-time AA |
| 3. | Jared Franek | Iowa | Gr. | 4th/North Dakota State transfer |
| 4. | Peyton Robb | Nebraska | Sr. | 6th |
| 5. | Bryce Andonian | Virginia Tech | Sr. | 7th |
| 6. | Ed Scott | NC State | Jr. | 5th |
| 7. | Will Lewan | Michigan | Sr. | 8th |
| 8. | Daniel Cardenas | Stanford | So. | R12 |
| 9. | Chase Saldate | Michigan State | Sr. | R12 |
| 10. | Trevor Chumbley | Northwestern | Sr. | R16 |
| 11. | Vinny Zerban | Northern Colorado | So. | R12 |
| 12. | Jason Kraisser | Iowa State | Sr. | R16 |
| 13. | Paddy Gallagher | Ohio State | So. | R16 |
| 14. | Cael Swensen | South Dakota State | So. | R12 |
| 15. | Tommy Askey | Appalachian State | Jr. | R32 |
| 16. | Peyten Kellar | Ohio | So. | R32 |
| 17. | Johnny Lovett | Central Michigan | Sr. | R24/149 |
| 18. | Andrew Clark | Rutgers | Jr. | R32 |
| 19. | Brayton Lee | Indiana | 6th Sr. | DNQ/Minnesota transfer/AA |
| 20. | Jared Hill | Oklahoma | Jr. | R32 |
165 pounds
| Wt | Name | School | Yr. | 2023 NCAA/Other |
| 1. | Keegan O’Toole | Missouri | Jr. | 1st |
| 2. | David Carr | Iowa State | Sr. | 2nd |
| 3. | Cam Amine | Michigan | Sr. | 4th |
| 4. | Dean Hamiti | Wisconsin | Jr. | 6th |
| 5. | Michael Caliendo | Iowa | So. | 7th/North Dakota State transfer |
| 6. | Izzak Olejnik | Oklahoma State | Sr. | 8th/Northern Illinois transfer |
| 7. | Mitchell Mesenbrink | Penn State | RSFr. | Redshirted |
| 8. | Julien Ramirez | Cornell | Jr. | R12 |
| 9. | Caleb Fish | Michigan State | Sr. | R12 |
| 10. | Bubba Wilson | Nebraska | Jr. | R16 |
| 11. | Peyton Hall | West Virginia | Jr. | R24 |
| 12. | Holden Heller | Pitt | Sr. | R16 |
| 13. | Matt Olguin | Oregon State | Sr. | R24 |
| 14. | Tanner Cook | South Dakota State | Sr. | R24 |
| 15. | Dan Braunagel | Illinois | Sr. | R24 |
| 16. | Connor Brady | Virginia Tech | Jr. | R24 |
| 17. | Derek Gilcher | Indiana | Sr. | R24/157 |
| 18. | Joshua Ogunsanya | Columbia | Sr. | R24 |
| 19. | Gerrit Nijenhuis | Oklahoma | Jr. | R32 |
| 20. | Brevin Cassella | Binghamton | Jr. | R32 |
174 pounds
| Wt | Name | School | Yr. | 2023 NCAA/Other |
| 1. | Carter Starocci | Penn State | Sr. | 1st |
| 2. | Chris Foca | Cornell | Sr. | 3rd |
| 3. | Mekhi Lewis | Virginia Tech | Sr. | 4th |
| 4 | Shane Griffith | Michigan | Sr. | 5th/165/Stanford transfer |
| 5. | Peyton Mocco | Missouri | Sr. | 8th |
| 6. | Carson Kharchla | Ohio State | Sr. | R12/165 |
| 7. | Edmond Ruth | Illinois | Jr. | R12 |
| 8. | Cade DeVos | South Dakota State | Jr. | R12 |
| 9. | Donnell Washington | Indiana | Sr. | R16 |
| 10. | Tate Picklo | Oklahoma | Jr. | R24 |
| 11. | Mickey O’Malley | Drexel | Gr. | R24 |
| 12. | Ben Pasiuk | Army | Sr. | R24 |
| 13. | Sam Wolf | Air Force | Sr. | R32 |
| 14. | Lennox Wolak | Columbia | Sr. | R24 |
| 15. | Travis Wittlake | Oregon State | Sr. | R24/184/Oklahoma State transfer |
| 16. | Justin McCoy | Virginia | Gr. | R16 |
| 17. | Nick Incontrera | Penn | Jr. | R32 |
| 18. | Luca Augustine | Pitt | So. | R32 |
| 19. | Sal Perrine | Ohio | Jr. | R32 |
| 20. | Alex Cramer | Central Michigan | Sr. | R24 |
184 pounds
| Wt | Name | School | Yr. | 2023 NCAA/Other |
| 1. | Parker Keckeisen | Northern Iowa | Jr. | 2nd |
| 2. | Bernie Truax | Penn State | Sr. | 4th/197/Cal Poly transfer |
| 3. | Trey Munoz | Oregon State | Jr. | 6th |
| 4. | Dustin Plott | Oklahoma State | Sr. | 6th/174 |
| 5. | Gavin Kane | North Carolina | Jr. | 8th |
| 6. | Isaiah Salazar | Minnesota | Sr. | R12 |
| 7. | Will Feldkamp | Iowa State | Sr. | 7th/197 |
| 8. | Colton Hawks | Missouri | So. | R16 |
| 9. | Jacob Nolan | Binghamton | Sr. | R16 |
| 10. | Brian Soldano | Rutgers | So. | R16 |
| 11. | Layne Malczewski | Michigan State | Gr. | R24 |
| 12. | Lenny Pinto | Nebraska | So. | R24 |
| 13. | Troy Fisher | Northwestern | Sr. | R16/184 |
| 14. | Reece Heller | Pitt | Sr. | R24 |
| 15. | Caleb Hopkins | Campbell | Gr. | R32 |
| 16. | David Key | Navy | Sr. | R24 |
| 17. | Cade King | South Dakota State | Sr. | F32 |
| 18. | Jonathan Loew | Cornell | Sr. | Injured/2022 AA (8th) |
| 19 | Giuseppe Hoose | Oklahoma | Sr. | R24/Buffalo transfer |
| 20. | Jha’Quan Anderson | Gardner Webb | Sr. | R32 |
197 pounds
| Wt | Name | School | Yr. | 2023 NCAA/Other |
| 1. | Aaron Brooks | Penn State | Sr. | 1st/184 |
| 2. | Trent Hidlay | NC State | Sr. | 4th/184 |
| 3. | Tanner Sloan | South Dakota State | Sr. | 2nd |
| 4. | Rocky Elam | Missouri | Jr. | 3rd |
| 5. | Stephan Buchanan | Oklahoma | Jr. | Redshirted/2022 AA/Wyoming transfer |
| 6. | Jacob Cardenas | Cornell | Sr. | 8th |
| 7. | Michael Beard | Lehigh | Jr. | R12 |
| 8. | Silas Allred | Nebraska | So. | R12 |
| 9. | Jaxon Smith | Maryland | So. | R12 |
| 10. | Luke Surber | Oklahoma State | Sr. | R16 |
| 11. | Zac Braunagel | Illinois | Sr. | R12 |
| 12. | Owen Pentz | Nebraska | Jr. | R24/North Dakota State transfer |
| 13. | Evan Bockman | Utah Valley | Sr. | R24 |
| 14. | Gavin Hoffman | Ohio State | Sr. | R24 |
| 15. | Nick Stemmet | Stanford | Sr. | R24 |
| 16. | Luke Stout | Princeton | Jr. | R32 |
| 17. | Wyatt Voelker | Northern Iowa | RSFr. | Redshirted |
| 18. | John Poznanski | Rutgers | Jr. | Injured/2021 AA |
| 19. | Max Shaw | North Carolina | Jr. | R24 |
| 20. | Stephen Little | Little Rock | RSFr. | Redshirted |
Heavyweight
| Wt | Name | School | Yr. | 2023 NCAA/Other |
| 1. | Greg Kerkvliet | Penn State | Sr. | 2nd |
| 2. | Wyatt Hendrickson | Air Force | Sr. | 3rd |
| 3. | Lucas Davison | Michigan | Gr. | 5th/Northwestern transfer |
| 4. | Cohlton Schultz | Arizona State | Jr. | 7th |
| 5. | Zach Elam | Missouri | Sr. | 6th |
| 6. | Owen Trephan | NC State | Jr. | R16 |
| 7. | Yonger Bastida | Iowa State | Sr. | R16/197 |
| 8. | Yaraslau Slavikouski | Rutgers | Gr. | R12/Harvard transfer |
| 9. | Dayton Pitzer | Pitt | RSFr. | Redshirted |
| 10. | Tyrell Gordon | Northern Iowa | Sr. | R16 |
| 11. | Grady Griess | Navy | Sr. | R24 |
| 12. | Taye Ghadiali | Campbell | Sr. | R24 |
| 13. | Konner Doucet | Oklahoma State | Jr. | R32 |
| 14. | Josh Heindselman | Oklahoma | Sr. | R16 |
| 15. | Michael Wolfgram | West Virginia | Sr. | F24 |
| 16. | Boone McDermott | Oregon State | Sr. | R32 |
| 17. | Jacob Bullock | Indiana | Sr.` | R24 |
| 18. | Hunter Catka | Virginia Tech | Jr. | R32 |
| 19. | Nathan Taylor | Lehigh | So. | R24 |
| 20. | Cory Day | Binghamton | Sr. | R32 |
Related Posts
- Penn State is dominant No. 1 before Christmas in WIN’s Dec. 23 Rankings
- WIN’S SPECIAL HOLIDAY ISSUE IS NOW AVAILABLE
- WIN Magazine’s Dec. 16 NCAA Division I Rankings, presented by Cliff Keen Athletic
- Exhibition or not, wrestlers toe the line the same way
- Dispelling the myths about Lincoln’s wrestling days
