Iowa State’s Carr New No. 1 at 165 in WIN’s final regular-season rankings

Photo: David Carr (right) celebrated after beating Missouri’s top-ranked Keegan O’Toole, 7-2, last week to take over the No. 1 spot at 165 pounds in WIN’s Feb. 20 rankings. (Iowa State photo)

NEWTON, Iowa — As most NCAA Division I wrestling programs now focus on the postseason in two weeks, Iowa State’s David Carr has taken over the top spot at 165 pounds in WIN Magazine’s Feb. 20 rankings, presented by Cliff Keen Athletic.

Carr, a 2021 NCAA champion, closed out the regular season with a 7-2 decision over Missouri’s defending national champ Keegan O’Toole last week in Columbia, Mo. But the Tigers did beat the Cyclones, 23-12, to earn the No. 3 spot in WIN’s final Dual Rankings, while ISU fell to No. 4.

Penn State, which completed an undefeated regular season (16-0) for the seventh time in the past eight years, remained No. 1 in both WIN’s Dual Rankings and Tournament Power Index, which projects how high a team will finish in this year’s national tournament, based on rankings points associated with their individuals’ rankings. The Nittany Lions feature nine ranked wrestlers, seven in the Top 8 (which would earn All-American status), and three top-ranked wrestlers: Roman Bravo-Young (133), Carter Starocci (174) and Aaron Brooks (184).

Iowa and Nebraska are tied for second in WIN’s TPI with 62.5 points. The Hawkeyes, who ended their regular season with a 28-7 win over Oklahoma State on Sunday, are ranked second in the Dual Rankings. Iowa is the only school that features a wrestler ranked at all 10 weight classes, three in the Top 8, including top-ranked Spencer Lee at 125 pounds. The Huskers, which defeated Arizona State last weekend, have six ranked wrestlers, four in the Top 8 and one top-ranked wrestler: Peyton Robb at 157 pounds. Nebraska is ranked sixth in the Dual Rankings behind No. 5 NC State.

Cornell is ranked No. 4 in the TPI with six ranked wrestlers, with four in the Top 8, including No. 1-ranked Yianni Diakomihalis at 149 pounds.

The other three No. 1-ranked spots remain the same: Northern Colorado’s Andrew Alirez at 141, Pitt’s Nino Bonaccorsi at 197 and Michigan’s Mason Parris at heavyweight.

The following is a breakdown of the points from the TPI, based on a wrestler’s ranking: 20 for 1^st, 16 for 2^nd, 13.5 for 3^rd, 12.5 for 4^th, 10 for 5^th, 9 for 6^th, 6.5 for 7^th and 5.5 for 8^th. 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.

This will be WIN’s final regular-season rankings until after the seven conference tournaments are held the first weekend in March. Those NCAA-qualifying tournaments will determine most of the 330 wrestlers qualifying for the NCAA Division I Nationals, March 16-18, in Tulsa, Okla. (The only schools with a remaining dual meet this season are Oregon State and Stanford, which wrestle next Sunday in Corvallis, Ore.)

The following is a list of the when and where the conference tournaments will be held:

• Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), March 5 in Raleigh, N.C.
• Big Ten Conference, March 4-5 in Ann Arbor, Mich.
• Big 12 Conference, March 4-5 in Tulsa, Okla.
• Eastern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (EIWA), March 4-5 in Philadelphia, Pa.
• Mid-American Conference (MAC), March 3-4 in Fairfax, Va.
• Pac-12 Conference, March 5 in Stanford, Calif.
• Southern Conference (SOCON), March 4 in Boone, N.C.

The NCAA will soon announce how many automatic qualifiers, per weight class, each conference will earn for the Nationals, based on regular-season performances.

WIN Magazine’s Final 2022-23 Dual Rankings

WIN Magazine’s Feb. 20 Tournament Power Index

WIN Magazine’s Feb. 20 NCAA Div. I Individual Rankings

125 pounds  

133 pounds

141 pounds  

149 pounds

157 pounds        

165 pounds   

174 pounds  

184 pounds                                                                                                 

197 pounds  

Heavyweight