Missouri ranked just ahead of Iowa, Minnesota and Ohio State in final rankings
By Mike Finn
Updated: March 9, 2015
March 9, 2015
NEWTON, Iowa — With this year’s NCAA Division I team race expected to be one of the closest in history, Missouri remains No. 1 in WIN’s March 9 Tournament Power Index Rankings, presented by Cliff Keen Athletic, but will be closely challenged by Iowa, Minnesota and Ohio State.
Missouri, which captured a third straight Mid-American Conference championship on Sunday, March 8, has three wrestlers — Alan Waters (125), Drake Houdashelt (149) and J’den Cox (197) ranked No. 1 and could finish with six All-Americans. Based on WIN’s TPI formula, the Tigers have tallied 86 points in this week’s final rankings before the March 19-21 national tournament in St. Louis.
TPI point totals are broken down by the following projected NCAA placements: 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); 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.
Meanwhile, Big Ten co-champ Iowa is rated No. 2 with seven All-American projections and 81.5 points; followed by Minnesota with five Top-8 finishers and 75 TPI points and Ohio State — the other Big Ten co-champ — with six All-Americans projected and 73.5 points.
The individuals ranked No. 1 in their weight class remain the same after the completion of all nine NCAA qualifying tournaments. Of the seven other weight classes, the top-rated wrestlers are Minnesota’s Chris Dardanes (133), Ohio State’s Logan Stieber (141), Illinois’ Isaiah Martinez (157), Oklahoma State’s Alex Dieringer (165), Nebraska’s Robert Kokesh (174), Cornell’s Gabe Dean (184) and NC State’s Nick Gwiazdowski (Hwt.)
Stieber, Dieringer, Cox and Gwiazdowski are among six wrestlers who return as defending national champions. The others include Illinois’ Jesse Delgado (ranked sixth at 125) and Northwestern’s Jason Tsirtsis (second at 149).
WIN’s March 9, 2015 Tournament Power Index Rankings
| Rk. | School | Top 8 | TPI Pts |
| 1 | Missouri | 6 | 86 |
| 2 | Iowa | 7 | 81.5 |
| 3 | Minnesota | 5 | 75 |
| 4 | Ohio State | 6 | 73.5 |
| 5 | Cornell | 4 | 62.5 |
| 6 | Illinois | 4 | 49.5 |
| 7 | Virginia Tech | 3 | 45.5 |
| 8 | Wisconsin | 3 | 44 |
| 9 | Penn State | 3 | 43 |
| 10 | Northwestern | 3 | 40 |
| 11t | Nebraska | 2 | 39.5 |
| 11t | Edinboro | 3 | 39.5 |
| 13t | Oklahoma State | 2 | 39 |
| 13t | Iowa State | 3 | 39 |
| 15 | Pittsburgh | 2 | 27.5 |
| 16 | Virginia | 2 | 26.5 |
| 17 | Old Dominion | 2 | 26 |
| 18 | Michigan | 2 | 24.5 |
| 19 | NC State | 1 | 23 |
| 20 | Lehigh | 1 | 20 |
| 21t | Oklahoma | 1 | 16.5 |
| 21t | Arizona State | 2 | 16.5 |
| 23 | Northern Iowa | 2 | 13.5 |
| 24t | Ohio U. | 1 | 12.5 |
| 24t | Oregon State | 1 | 12.5 |
| 26 | Central Michigan | 1 | 11 |
| 27t | Indiana | 1 | 10 |
| 27t | Kent State | 1 | 10 |
| 29t | Penn | 1 | 9.5 |
| 29t | North Dakota State | 1 | 9.5 |
| 31 | Chattanooga | 1 | 7 |
| 32t | South Dakota State | 1 | 6.5 |
| 32t | Purdue | 0 | 6.5 |
| 32t | Duke | 1 | 6.5 |
| 32t | Boise State | 1 | 6.5 |
| 36t | Rutgers | 0 | 6 |
| 36t | Wyoming | 0 | 6 |
| 38 | North Carolina | 0 | 5.5 |
| 39 | Cleveland State | 0 | 3 |
| 40 | Maryland | 0 | 2.5 |
| 41t | Air Force | 0 | 2 |
| 41t | Pittsburgh | 0 | 2 |
| 41t | Stanford | 0 | 2 |
| 41t | Army | 0 | 2 |
| 41t | Bucknell | 0 | 2 |
| 41t | Drexel | 0 | 2 |
| 41t | The Citadel | 0 | 2 |
| 41t | Rider | 0 | 2 |
| 41t | Navy | 0 | 2 |
| 50t | Princeton | 0 | 1.5 |
| 50t | Northern Colorado | 0 | 1.5 |
| 50t | Appalachian State | 0 | 1.5 |
| 53t | Binghamton | 0 | 1 |
| 53t | Utah Valley | 0 | 1 |
| 53t | American | 0 | 1 |
| 53t | Hofstra | 0 | 1 |
| 53t | Harvard | 0 | 1 |
WIN’s March 9, 2015 Individual Rankings
125 Pounds
| Rank | Name | Previous | Yr. | School |
| 1 | Alan Waters | 1st | Sr. | Missouri |
| 2 | Joey Dance | 3rd | So. | Virginia Tech |
| 3 | Nahshon Garrett | 4th | Jr. | Cornell |
| 4 | Nathan Tomasello | 7th | RS Fr. | Ohio State |
| 5 | Thomas Gilman | 5th | So. | Iowa |
| 6 | Jesse Delgado | 2nd | Sr. | Illinois |
| 7 | Dylan Peters | 6th | So. | Northern Iowa |
| 8 | Sean Boyle | 8th | Sr. | Chattanooga |
| 9 | Eddie Kilmara | 11th | Sr. | Oklahoma State |
| 10 | Jordan Conaway | 9th | Jr. | Penn State |
| 11 | Ronnie Bresser | 14th | Fr. | Oregon State |
| 12 | Conor Youtsey | 15th | So. | Michigan |
| 13 | Tim Lambert | 10th | So. | Nebraska |
| 14 | Josh Rodriguez | 20th | So. | North Dakota State |
| 15 | Tyler Cox | 13th | Sr. | Wyoming |
| 16 | Kory Mines | 16th | Sr. | Edinboro |
| 17 | Ben Willeford | 17th | Sr. | Cleveland State |
| 18 | David Terao | 18th | Jr. | American |
| 19 | Chasen Tolbert | 19th | Jr. | Utah Valley |
| 20 | Josh Martinez | 12th | Jr. | Air Force |
133 Pounds
| Rank | Name | Previous | Yr. | School |
| 1 | Chris Dardanes | 1st | Sr. | Minnesota |
| 2 | Ryan Taylor | 3rd | So. | Wisconsin |
| 3 | Cory Clark | 6th | So. | Iowa |
| 4 | Cody Brewer | 8th | Jr. | Oklahoma |
| 5 | Zane Richards | 7th | So. | Illinois |
| 6 | Johnni DiJulius | 12th | Jr. | Ohio State |
| 7 |
|
2nd | Sr. | Edinboro |
| 8 | James Gulibon | 5th | So. | Penn State |
| 9 | Earl Hall | 4th | Jr. | Iowa State |
| 10 | Kevin Devoy | 14th | So. | Drexel |
| 11 | Mason Beckman | 10th | Jr. | Lehigh |
| 12 | Rossi Bruno | 11th | Jr. | Michigan |
| 13 | George DiCamillo | 13th | So. | Virginia |
| 14 | Nick Soto | 16th | Sr. | Chattanooga |
| 15 | Danny Sabatello | 9th | Jr. | Purdue |
| 16 | Mark Grey | 18th | So. | Cornell |
| 17 | Gary Wayne Harding | 20th | Fr. | Oklahoma State |
| 18 | Scott DelVecchio | NR | So. | Rutgers |
| 19 | Zach Synon | NR | So. | Missouri |
| 20 | Mack McGuire | 17th | Jr. | Kent State |
141 Pounds
| Rank | Name | Previous | Yr. | School |
| 1 | Logan Stieber | 1st | Sr. | Ohio State |
| 2 | Mitchell Port | 2nd | Sr. | Edinboro |
| 3 | Devin Carter | 3rd | Sr. | Virginia Tech |
| 4 | Nick Dardanes | 4th | Sr. | Minnesota |
| 5 | Zach Horan | 5th | Jr. | Central Michigan |
| 6 | Lavion Mayes | 6th | So. | Missouri |
| 7 | Geo Martinez | 7th | Fr. | Boise State |
| 8 | Josh Dziewa | 8th | Sr. | Iowa |
| 9 | Chris Mecate | 9th | Jr. | Old Dominion |
| 10 | Anthony Abidin | 10th | Jr. | Nebraska |
| 11 | Anthony Ashnault | 11th | RSFr. | Rutgers |
| 12 | Joey Ward | 14th | So. | North Carolina |
| 13 | Dean Heil | 18th | RSFr. | Oklahoma State |
| 14 | Randy Cruz | 20th | Jr. | Lehigh |
| 15 | Joe Spisak | 19th | Sr. | Virginia |
| 16 | Kevin Jack | 16th | Fr. | NC State |
| 17 | Mitch Bengston | NR | So. | North Dakota State |
| 18 | Nick Lawrence | NR | Sr. | Purdue |
| 19 | Todd Preston | 13th | Sr. | Harvard |
| 20 | Jamel Hudson | 15th | So. | Hofstra |
149 Pounds
| Rank | Name | Previous | Yr. | School |
| 1 | Drake Houdashelt | 1st | Sr. | Missouri |
| 2 | Jason Tsirtsis | 4th | So. | Northwestern |
| 3 | David Habat | 2nd | Sr. | Edinboro |
| 4 | Brandon Sorensen | 3rd | RSFr. | Iowa |
| 5 | Chris Villalonga | 5th | Sr. | Cornell |
| 6 | Alex Richardson | 12th | Jr. | Old Dominion |
| 7 | Christian Pagdilao | 13th | Fr. | Arizona State |
| 8 | Gabe Moreno | 8th | So. | Iowa State |
| 9 | Alec Pantaleo | 11th | Fr. | Michigan |
| 10 | B.J. Clagon | 20th | Fr. | Rider |
| 11 |
|
10th | Sr. | Penn |
| 12 | Kyle Langenderfer | NR | RSFr. | Illinois |
| 13 | Hunter Stieber | NR | Jr. | Ohio State |
| 14 | Mike Racciato | 18th | So. | Pittsburgh |
| 15 | Zach Beitz | 7th | So. | Penn State |
| 16 | Tywan Claxton | 14th | Sr. | Ohio U. |
| 17 | Sal Mastriani | 9th | So. | Virginia Tech |
| 18 | Colin Heffernan | 15th | RSFr. | Central Michigan |
| 19 | Brandon Nelson | NR | Sr. | Purdue |
| 20 | Victor Lopez | NR | So. | Bucknell |
157 Pounds
| Rank | Name | Previous | Yr. | School |
| 1 | Isaiah Martinez | 1st | RSFr. | Illinois |
| 2 | Dylan Ness | 2nd | Sr. | Minnesota |
| 3 | James Green | 3rd | Sr. | Nebraska |
| 4 | Brian Realbuto | 4th | So. | Cornell |
| 5 | Nick Brascetta | 5th | Jr. | Virginia Tech |
| 6 | Ian Miller | 6th | Jr. | Kent State |
| 7 | Cody Pack | 7th | Sr. | South Dakota State |
| 8 | Josh Demas | 12th | Sr. | Ohio State |
| 9 | Aaron Walker | 10th | So. | The Citadel |
| 10 | Brian Murphy | 8th | So. | Michigan |
| 11 | Doug Welch | 11th | Jr. | Purdue |
| 12 | Anthony Perrotti | 9th | Jr. | Rutgers |
| 13 | Anthony Collica | 15th | Sr. | Oklahoma State |
| 14 | Joey Lavallee | 16th | Sr. | Missouri |
| 15 | Alex Elder | 17th | Sr. | Oregon State |
| 16 | Mitch Minotti | 14th | So. | Lehigh |
| 17 | Russell Parsons | 13th | So. | Army |
| 18 | Mike Kelly | 18th | Sr. | Iowa |
| 19 | Justin DeAngelis | 19th | Sr. | Oklahoma |
| 20 | Lou Mascola | NR | Jr. | Maryland |
165 Pounds
| Rank | Name | Previous | Yr. | School |
| 1 | Alex Dieringer | 1st | Jr. | Oklahoma State |
| 2 | Nick Sulzer | 2nd | Sr. | Virginia |
| 3 | Mike Moreno | 3rd | Sr. | Iowa State |
| 4 | Isaac Jordan | 5th | So. | Wisconsin |
| 5 | Bo Jordan | 4th | RSFr. | Ohio State |
| 6 | Taylor Walsh | 6th | Sr. | Indiana |
| 7 | Pierce Harger | 7th | Sr. | Northwestern |
| 8 | Jackson Morse | 8th | Sr. | Illinois |
| 9 | Peyton Walsh | 10th | Sr. | Navy |
| 10 | Dylan Palacio | 9th | So. | Cornell |
| 11 | Ethan Ramos | 11th | RSFr. | North Carolina |
| 12 | Jim Wilson | 13th | So. | Stanford |
| 13 | Cooper Moore | 15th | So. | Northern Iowa |
| 14 | Tristan Warner | 14th | Sr. | Old Dominion |
| 15 | Mitch Polkowske | NR | Sr. | Northern Colorado |
| 16 | Dakota Friesth | 16th | Sr. | Wyoming |
| 17 | Jesse Stafford | 17th | Sr. | Air Force |
| 18 | Nick Moore | 12th | Sr. | Iowa |
| 19 | Garett Hammond | 19th | RSFr. | Penn State |
| 20 | Chad Strube | 18th | Jr. | Virginia Tech |
174 Pounds
| Rank | Name | Previous | Yr. | School |
| 1 | Robert Kokesh | 1st | Sr. | Nebraska |
| 2 | Matt Brown | 2nd | Sr. | Penn State |
| 3 | Mike Evans | 3rd | Sr. | Iowa |
| 4 | Logan Storley | 4th | Sr. | Minnesota |
| 5 | Tyler Wilps | 9th | Sr. | Pittsburgh |
| 6 | Cody Walters | 10th | Jr. | Ohio U. |
| 7 | John Eblen | 5th | Sr. | Missouri |
| 8 | Blaise Butler | 7th | Jr. | Virginia |
| 9 | Zach Epperly | 8th | So. | Virginia Tech |
| 10 | Kyle Crutchmer | 11th | So. | Oklahoma State |
| 11 | Zac Brunson | 6th | So. | Illinois |
| 12 | Tanner Weatherman | 14th | Jr. | Iowa State |
| 13 | Mark Martin | NR | Jr. | Ohio State |
| 14 | John Staudemayer | 15th | Jr. | North Carolina |
| 15 | Matt Reed | 13th | So. | Oklahoma |
| 16 | Pete Renda | 18th | So. | NC State |
| 17 | Santiago Martinez | 17th | Sr. | Lehigh |
| 18 | Nathan Jackson | 16th | So. | Indiana |
| 19 | Duke Pickett | 20th | Jr. | Cornell |
| 20 | Brian Harvey | 19th | Jr. | Army |
184 Pounds
| Rank | Name | Previous | Yr. | School |
| 1 | Gabe Dean | 1st | So. | Cornell |
| 2 | Max Thomusseit | 2nd | Sr. | Pittsburgh |
| 3 | Jack Dechow | 3rd | So. | Old Dominion |
| 4 | Nathaniel Brown | 4th | Jr. | Lehigh |
| 5 | Blake Stauffer | 5th | Jr. | Arizona State |
| 6 | Taylor Meeks | 6th | Sr. | Oregon State |
| 7 | Lorenzo Thomas | 7th | Sr. | Penn |
| 8 | Hayden Zillmer | 9th | Jr. | North Dakota State |
| 9 | Domenic Abounader | 10th | So. | Michigan |
| 10 | Sam Brooks | 8th | So. | Iowa |
| 11 | Victor Avery | 11th | Jr. | Edinboro |
| 12 | Brett Pfarr | 12th | So. | Minnesota |
| 13 | Ricky Robertson | 13th | RSFr. | Wisconsin |
| 14 | Willie Miklus | 14th | RSFr. | Missouri |
| 15 | Matt McCutcheon | NR | RSFr. | Penn State |
| 16 | T.J. Dudley | 15th | So. | Nebraska |
| 17 | Ben Stroh | 17th | So. | Wyoming |
| 18 | Nolan Boyd | 18th | So. | Oklahoma State |
| 19 | Nikko Reyes | 19th | So. | Illinois |
| 20 | Kenny Courts | NR | Jr. | Ohio State |
197 Pounds
| Rank | Name | Previous | Yr. | School |
| 1 | J’den Cox | 1st | So. | Missouri |
| 2 | Kyven Gadson | 2nd | Sr. | Iowa State |
| 3 | Morgan McIntosh | 4th | Jr. | Penn State |
| 4 | Kyle Snyder | 3rd | Fr. | Ohio State |
| 5 | Scott Schiller | 5th | Sr. | Minnesota |
| 6 | Nathan Burak | 6th | Jr. | Iowa |
| 7 | Conner Hartman | 7th | Jr. | Duke |
| 8 | Max Huntley | 8th | Sr. | Michigan |
| 9 | Shane Woods | 9th | Sr. | Wyoming |
| 10 | Jace Bennett | 10th | Sr. | Cornell |
| 11 | Phillip Wellington | 17th | Jr. | Ohio U. |
| 12 | Zach Nye | 16th | Jr. | Virginia |
| 13 | Abram Ayala | 15th | Jr. | Princeton |
| 14 | Alex Polizzi | 12th | Sr. | Northwestern |
| 15 | Elliot Riddick | 11th | So. | Lehigh |
| 16 | Timmy McCall | 18th | Sr. | Wisconsin |
| 17 | Aaron Studebaker | 19th | So. | Nebraska |
| 18 | Braden Atwood | 13th | Sr. | Purdue |
| 19 | Canaan Bethea | NR | Sr. | Penn |
| 20 | Nick Bonaccorsi | NR | Jr. | Pittsburgh |
Heavyweight
| Rank | Name | Previous | Yr. | School |
| 1 | Nick Gwiazdowski | 1st | Jr. | NC State |
| 2 | Michael McMullan | 3rd | Sr. | Northwestern |
| 3 | Bobby Telford | 4th | Sr. | Iowa |
| 4 | Connor Medbery | 2nd | Jr. | Wisconsin |
| 5 | Austin Marsden | 5th | Jr. | Oklahoma State |
| 6 | Adam Coon | 6th | So. | Michigan |
| 7 | Devin Mellon | 10th | Sr. | Missouri |
| 8 | Blaize Cabell | 9th | Jr. | Northern Iowa |
| 9 | Jimmy Lawson | 7th | Sr. | Penn State |
| 10 | Ty Walz | 8th | So. | Virginia Tech |
| 11 | Michael Kroells | 15th | So. | Minnesota |
| 12 | Riley Shaw | 13th | Jr. | Cleveland State |
| 13 | Ross Larson | 11th | So. | Oklahoma |
| 14 | Spencer Myers | 12th | Sr. | Maryland |
| 15 | Denzel Dejournette | 18th | So. | Appalachian State |
| 16 | Evan Knutson | 14th | Sr. | North Dakota State |
| 17 | Billy Smith | 19th | Jr. | Rutgers |
| 18 | Tyler Deuel | NR | Sr. | Binghamton |
| 19 | Ryan Solomon | NR | RSFr. | Pittsbugh |
| 20 | Joe Stolfi | 17th | Jr. | Bucknell |
