National Duals champ Penn State rated No. 1 in final regular-season poll
NEWTON, Iowa — The 2017 NCAA Division I postseason is just around the corner and defending NCAA champion Penn State solidified itself as the team to beat again this March, according to WIN’s Feb. 20 Rankings, presented by Cliff Keen Athletic.
Coming of a 27-13 victory over No. 2 Oklahoma State in the championship dual of the National Wrestling Coaches Association National Duals Series, Feb. 19 in Stillwater, Okla., the undefeated Nittany Lions (14-0) earned the top spot in WIN’s final Dual Team rankings and are also rated No. 1 in WIN’s Tournament Power Index.
Heading into the 2017 NCAA qualifying tournaments — which begins this Sunday at the Pac-12 Championships in Stanford, Calif., with the other seven tournaments to start one week later — Penn State leads the current TPI rankings with 103.5 points, followed by Oklahoma State (86.5), Ohio State (82.5) and Iowa (79.5).
WIN’s TPI point totals are based on projections of how individuals could place at this year’s NCAAs: 1st – 20 (16 All-American 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.
Both the Nittany Lions and Cowboys feature eight wrestlers ranked in the Top 8 of their weight classes, including two Penn State wrestlers — Zain Retherford (149) and Jason Nolf (157) ranked No. 1 — and Oklahoma State features Dean Heil, ranked No. 1 at 141.
Ohio State has the most top-ranked wrestlers in Nathan Tomasello (133) and Kyle Snyder (Hwt). The other No. 1-rated individuals are Iowa’s Thomas Gilman (125), Illinois’ Isaiah Martinez (165), Arizona State’s Zahid Valencia (174), Cornell’s Gabe Dean (184) and Missouri’s J’den Cox (197).
The following are the dates and locations of the eight tournaments that will eventually qualify 330 wrestlers to compete in the 2017 NCAA Division I Championships, which will be held March 16-18 in St. Louis, Mo. The NCAA is expected to announce this week how many automatic qualifiers each conference will earn at each weight class.
| Feb. 26 | Pac-12 Conference | Stanford, Calif. |
| March 3-4 | Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association | Lewisburg, Pa. |
| March 4 | Atlantic Coast Conference | Raleigh, N.C. |
| Eastern Wrestling League | Bloomsburg, Pa. | |
| Southern Conference | Charleston, S.C. | |
| March 4-5 | Big Ten Conference | Bloomington, Ind. |
| Big 12 Conference | Tulsa, Okla. | |
| Mid-American Conference | Cedar Falls, Iowa |
WIN’s Feb. 20, 2017 Tournament Power Index (TPI)
| Total | Top 8 | TPI | ||
| Rank | College | Ranked | Ranked | Points |
| 1 | Penn State | 9 | 8 | 103.5 |
| 2 | Oklahoma State | 10 | 8 | 86.5 |
| 3 | Ohio State | 8 | 6 | 82.5 |
| 4 | Iowa | 8 | 5 | 79.5 |
| 5 | Virginia Tech | 7 | 5 | 67 |
| 6 | Nebraska | 7 | 5 | 63 |
| 7 | Missouri | 6 | 4 | 62 |
| 8 | Cornell | 3 | 3 | 40.5 |
| 9 | Illinois | 7 | 2 | 40 |
| 10 | Lehigh | 8 | 3 | 37.5 |
| 11 | Arizona State | 4 | 3 | 37 |
| 12 | Minnesota | 7 | 3 | 34 |
| 13 | Wisconsin | 3 | 2 | 32.5 |
| 14 | Michigan | 5 | 2 | 27.5 |
| 15 | South Dakota State | 5 | 2 | 22.5 |
| 16 | NC State | 6 | 1 | 21 |
| 17t | North Dakota State | 2 | 2 | 18.5 |
| 17t | Stanford | 4 | 1 | 18.5 |
| 19 | Princeton | 5 | 1 | 18 |
| 20 | Northern Iowa | 7 | 1 | 16.5 |
| 21t | Rutgers | 4 | 1 | 16 |
| 21t | Virginia | 2 | 2 | 16 |
| 23 | Edinboro | 6 | 1 | 13 |
| 24 | Rider | 2 | 1 | 12.5 |
| 25 | Duke | 2 | 1 | 12 |
| 26 | West Virginia | 2 | 1 | 11 |
| 27 | Wyoming | 4 | 1 | 10 |
| 28 | Pitt | 3 | 1 | 9.5 |
| 29t | Indiana | 1 | 1 | 8.5 |
| 29t | North Carolina | 2 | 1 | 8.5 |
| 31 | Old Dominion | 2 | 1 | 8 |
| 32t | Central Michigan | 5 | 0 | 7 |
| 32t | Oklahoma | 6 | 0 | 7 |
| 34 | Penn | 2 | 1 | 6.5 |
| 35 | Oregon State | 4 | 0 | 5.5 |
| 36 | Bucknell | 3 | 0 | 5 |
| 37t | Drexel | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 37t | Northern Illinois | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| 39 | Iowa State | 2 | 0 | 3.5 |
| 40 | Chattanooga | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 41t | American U. | 1 | 0 | 2.5 |
| 41t | Army | 2 | 0 | 2.5 |
| 41t | Buffalo | 2 | 0 | 2.5 |
| 41t | Campbell U. | 2 | 0 | 2.5 |
| 41t | Navy | 2 | 0 | 2.5 |
| 46t | Appalachian St | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 46t | Binghamton | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 46t | Ohio U. | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 46t | SIU Edwardsville | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 50t | Lock Haven | 1 | 0 | 1.5 |
| 50t | Maryland | 1 | 0 | 1.5 |
| 52t | CSU Bakersfield | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 52t | Clarion | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 52t | Gardner-Webb | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 52t | Northwestern | 1 | 0 | 1 |
WIN’s Feb. 20, 2017 Team Dual Rankings
| Rk | School | Prev | W-L |
| 1 | Penn State | 1st | 14-0 |
| 2 | Oklahoma State | 2nd | 14-1 |
| 3 | Iowa | 3rd | 13-2 |
| 4 | Ohio State | 4th | 11-3 |
| 5 | Virginia Tech | 5th | 18-1 |
| 6 | Nebraska | 6th | 12-4 |
| 7 | NC State | 7th | 13-2 |
| 8 | Cornell | 8th | 13-2 |
| 9 | Illinois | 9th | 9-3 |
| 10 | Missouri | 10th | 11-4 |
| 11 | Lehigh | 12th | 10-4 |
| 12 | Rutgers | 11th | 12-5 |
| 13 | Minnesota | 13th | 7-5 |
| 14 | Northern Iowa | 15th | 11-3 |
| 15 | South Dakota State | 14th | 14-5 |
| 16 | Oklahoma | 17th | 11-6 |
| 17 | Wisconsin | 18th | 7-5 |
| 18 | Central Michigan | 16th | 9-3 |
| 19 | Michigan | 19th | 8-7 |
| 20 | Arizona State | 21st | 10-4 |
| 21 | Stanford | 22nd | 10-3 |
| 22 | North Dakota State | 23rd | 14-5 |
| 23 | Appalachian State | 20th | 13-3 |
| 24 | North Carolina | 24th | 8-6 |
| 25 | Pitt | 25th | 11-5 |
WIN’s Feb. 20, 2017 NCAA Div. I Individual Rankings
125 Pounds
| Rk | Name | Prev. | Yr. | School |
| 1 | Thomas Gilman | (1st) | Sr. | Iowa |
| 2 | Nick Suriano | (2nd) | Fr. | Penn State |
| 3 | Joey Dance | (3rd) | Sr. | Virginia Tech |
| 4 | Josh Rodriguez | (4th) | Sr. | North Dakota State |
| 5 | Tim Lambert | (5th) | Sr. | Nebraska |
| 6 | Darian Cruz | (6th) | Jr. | Lehigh |
| 7 | Ethan Lizak | (7th) | So. | Minnesota |
| 8 | Jack Mueller | (8th) | Fr. | Virginia |
| 9 | Sean Russell | (9th) | So. | Edinboro |
| 10 | Josh Terao | (10th) | Jr. | American U. |
| 11 | Nick Piccininni | (11th) | RFr. | Oklahoma State |
| 12 | Dylan Peters | (12th) | Sr. | Northern Iowa |
| 13 | Sean Fausz | (13th) | So. | NC State |
| 14 | Drew Templeman | (14th) | So. | Wyoming |
| 15 | Alfredo Rodriguez | (15th) | Sr. | SIUE |
| 16 | Conor Youtsey | (16th) | Sr. | Michigan |
| 17 | Shakur Laney | (17th) | So. | Ohio U. |
| 18 | Kyle Akins | (18th) | So. | Buffalo |
| 19 | Jose Rodriguez | (19th) | RFr. | Ohio State |
| 20 | Nathan Kraisser | (20th) | Sr. | Campbell U. |
133 Pounds
| Rk | Name | Prev. | Yr. | School |
| 1 | Nathan Tomasello | (1st) | Jr. | Ohio State |
| 2 | Eric Montoya | (2nd) | Sr. | Nebraska |
| 3 | Zane Richards | (3rd) | Sr. | Illinois |
| 4 | Seth Gross | (4th) | So. | South Dakota State |
| 5 | Kaid Brock | (5th) | So. | Oklahoma State |
| 6 | Cory Clark | (6th) | Sr. | Iowa |
| 7 | Steven Micic | (7th) | Fr. | Michigan |
| 8 | Dom Forys | (8th) | Jr. | Pitt |
| 9 | Scott Parker | (9th) | So. | Lehigh |
| 10 | Kevin Devoy | (10th) | Sr. | Drexel |
| 11 | Bryan Lantry | (11th) | So. | Buffalo |
| 12 | Josh Alber | (12th) | Jr. | Northern Iowa |
| 13 | Earl Hall | (13th) | Sr. | Iowa State |
| 14 | John Erneste | (14th) | So. | Missouri |
| 15 | Joey Palmer | (15th) | Sr. | Oregon State |
| 16 | Connor Schram | (16th) | Jr. | Stanford |
| 17 | Mitch McKee | (18th) | Fr. | Minnesota |
| 18 | Korbin Myers | (19th) | RFr. | Edinboro |
| 19 | Jamal Morris | (20th) | So. | NC State |
| 20 | Cameron Kelly | (17th) | So. | Ohio U. |
141 Pounds
| Rk | Name | Prev. | Yr. | School |
| 1 | Dean Heil | (1st) | Jr. | Oklahoma State |
| 2 | Joey McKenna | (2nd) | So. | Stanford |
| 3 | Kevin Jack | (3rd) | Jr. | NC State |
| 4 | Matt Kolodzik | (4th) | Fr. | Princeton |
| 5 | Anthony Ashnault | (5th) | Jr. | Rutgers |
| 6 | George DiCamillo | (6th) | Sr. | Virginia |
| 7 | Joseph Ward | (7th) | Sr. | North Carolina |
| 8 | Bryce Meredith | (8th) | Jr. | Wyoming |
| 9 | Jayden Eierman | (9th) | RFr. | Missouri |
| 10 | Tyler Smith | (10th) | Jr. | Bucknell |
| 11 | Randy Cruz | (11th) | Sr. | Lehigh |
| 12 | Jimmy Gulibon | (13th) | Sr. | Penn State |
| 13 | Tommy Thorn | (14th) | So. | Minnesota |
| 14 | Luke Pletcher | (15th) | Fr. | Ohio State |
| 15 | Topher Carton | (16th) | Sr. | Iowa |
| 16 | Jared Prince | (18th) | Fr. | Navy |
| 17 | Colton McCrystal | (17th) | Jr. | Nebraska |
| 18 | Logan Everett | (12th) | Sr. | Army |
| 19 | Brock Zacherl | (19th) | So. | Clarion |
| 20 | Michael Longo | (20th) | Jr. | Oklahoma |
149 Pounds
| Rk | Name | Prev. | Yr. | School |
| 1 | Zain Retherford | (1st) | Jr. | Penn State |
| 2 | Anthony Collica | (2nd) | Sr. | Oklahoma State |
| 3 | Lavion Mayes | (5th) | Sr. | Missouri |
| 4 | Brandon Sorensen | (3rd) | Jr. | Iowa |
| 5 | Micah Jordan | (4th) | So. | Ohio State |
| 6 | Solomon Chishko | (6th) | So. | Virginia Tech |
| 7 | Max Thomsen | (7th) | RFr. | Northern Iowa |
| 8 | Patricio Lugo | (9th) | So. | Edinboro |
| 9 | Sam Speno | (10th) | Sr. | NC State |
| 10 | Justin Oliver | (8th) | So. | Central Michigan |
| 11 | Laike Gardner | (11th) | Sr. | Lehigh |
| 12 | Davion Jeffries | (13th) | So. | Oklahoma |
| 13 | Steve Bleise | (14th) | So. | Northern Illinois |
| 14 | Matt Cimato | (15th) | Sr. | Drexel |
| 15 | Joey Delgado | (12th) | Sr. | Oregon State |
| 16 | Alfred Bannister | (16th) | So. | Maryland |
| 17 | Alex Kocer | (17th) | Sr. | South Dakota State |
| 18 | Ken Theobold | (18th) | Sr. | Rutgers |
| 19 | Jordan Laster | (19th) | Sr. | Princeton |
| 20 | Eric Barone | (20th) | Fr. | Illinois |
157 Pounds
| Rk | Name | Prev. | Yr. | School |
| 1 | Jason Nolf | (1st) | So. | Penn State |
| 2 | Michael Kemerer | (2nd) | RFr. | Iowa |
| 3 | Tyler Berger | (3rd) | So. | Nebraska |
| 4 | Jordan Kutler | (4th) | RFr. | Lehigh |
| 5 | Joey Lavallee | (5th) | Sr. | Missouri |
| 6 | Dylan Palacio | (11th/165) | Sr. | Cornell |
| 7 | Joe Smith | (6th) | So. | Oklahoma State |
| 8 | Clay Ream | (7th) | Jr. | North Dakota State |
| 9 | Josh Shields | (8th) | RFr. | Arizona State |
| 10 | Russell Parsons | (9th) | Sr. | Army |
| 11 | Clark Glass | (10th) | Sr. | Oklahoma |
| 12 | Colin Heffernan | (11th) | Jr. | Central Michigan |
| 13 | Sal Mastriani | (12th) | Sr. | Virginia Tech |
| 14 | Kyle Langenderfer | (13th) | Jr. | Illinois |
| 15 | Brian Murphy | (14th) | Sr. | Michigan |
| 17 | Archie Colgan | (15th) | Jr. | Wyoming |
| 17 | Victor Lopez | (16th) | Sr. | Bucknell |
| 18 | Jake Short | (17th) | Jr. | Minnesota |
| 18 | Thomas Bullard | (18th) | Fr. | NC State |
| 20 | John Van Brill | (20th) | So. | Rutgers |
165 Pounds
| Rk | Name | Prev. | Yr. | School |
| 1 | Isaiah Martinez | (1st) | Jr. | Illinois |
| 2 | Logan Massa | (2nd) | Fr. | Michigan |
| 3 | Isaac Jordan | (3rd) | Sr. | Wisconsin |
| 4 | Vincenzo Joseph | (4th) | RFr. | Penn State |
| 5 | Chad Walsh | (5th) | Jr. | Rider |
| 6 | Anthony Valencia | (6th) | RFr. | Arizona State |
| 7 | Daniel Lewis | (7th) | So. | Missouri |
| 8 | Chandler Rogers | (9th) | So. | Oklahoma State |
| 9 | Bryce Steiert | (10th) | So. | Northern Iowa |
| 10 | Mitch Minotti | (13th) | Sr. | Lehigh |
| 11 | Dylan Cottrell | (17th) | Sr. | West Virginia |
| 12 | Austin Matthews | (8th) | Jr. | Edinboro |
| 13 | Nick Wanzek | (12th) | Jr. | Minnesota |
| 14 | TeShan Campbell | (14th) | So. | Pitt |
| 15 | Branson Ashworth | (15th) | So. | Wyoming |
| 16 | Yoanse Mejias | (16th) | Jr. | Oklahoma |
| 17 | Lorenzo De La Riva | (18th) | RFr. | CSU Bakersfield |
| 18 | Joey Gunther | (19th) | RFr. | Iowa |
| 19 | Luke Zilverberg | (20th) | Jr. | South Dakota State |
| 20 | Keaton Subjeck | (NR) | Jr. | Stanford |
174 Pounds
| Rk | Name | Prev. | Yr. | School |
| 1 | Zahid Valencia | (1st) | RFr. | Arizona State |
| 2 | Brian Realbuto | (3rd) | Sr. | Cornell |
| 3 | Bo Jordan | (2nd) | Jr. | Ohio State |
| 4 | Zach Epperly | (5th) | Jr. | Virginia Tech |
| 5 | Mark Hall | (6th) | Fr. | Penn State |
| 6 | Ryan Preisch | (4th) | So. | Lehigh |
| 7 | Kyle Crutchmer | (8th) | Sr. | Oklahoma State |
| 8 | Casey Kent | (7th) | Sr. | Penn |
| 9 | Taylor Lujan | (10th) | RFr. | Northern Iowa |
| 10 | Ethan Ramos | (11th) | Jr. | North Carolina |
| 11 | Alex Meyer | (13th) | Sr. | Iowa |
| 12 | Zac Brunson | (14th) | Sr. | Illinois |
| 13 | Myles Amine | (12th) | RFr. | Michigan |
| 14 | Lelund Weatherspoon | (9th) | Sr. | Iowa State |
| 15 | Jadaen Bernstein | (15th) | Jr. | Navy |
| 16 | David Kocer | (16th) | Jr. | South Dakota State |
| 17 | C.J. Brucki | (17th) | Jr. | Central Michigan |
| 18 | Jonathan Schleifer | (19th) | Jr. | Princeton |
| 19 | Connor Bass | (20th) | Sr. | Duke |
| 20 | Trace Engelkes | (NR) | Sr. | Northern Illinois |
184 Pounds
| Rk | Name | Prev. | Yr. | School |
| 1 | Gabe Dean | (1st) | Sr. | Cornell |
| 2 | Bo Nickal | (2nd) | So. | Penn State |
| 3 | Sammy Brooks | (3rd) | Sr. | Iowa |
| 4 | Nolan Boyd | (4th) | Sr. | Oklahoma State |
| 5 | Timothy Dudley | (5th) | Sr. | Nebraska |
| 6 | Nathan Jackson | (6th) | Sr. | Indiana |
| 7 | Jack Dechow | (7th) | Sr. | Old Dominion |
| 8 | Myles Martin | (8th) | So. | Ohio State |
| 9 | Mike Macchiavello | (9th) | Jr. | NC State |
| 10 | Zach Zavatsky | (10th) | So. | Virginia Tech |
| 11 | Emery Parker | (11th) | So. | Illinois |
| 12 | Nicholas Gravina | (12th) | Jr. | Rutgers |
| 13 | Drew Foster | (15th) | So. | Northern Iowa |
| 14 | Dakota Geer | (14th) | Fr. | Edinboro |
| 15 | Bryce Carr | (16th) | Jr. | Chattanooga |
| 16 | Steven Schneider | (13th) | Jr. | Binghamton |
| 17 | Jordan Ellingwood | (17th) | Jr. | Central Michigan |
| 18 | Ville Heino | (18th) | Jr. | Campbell |
| 19 | Mitch Sliga | (20th) | Jr. | Northwestern |
| 20 | Hunter Gamble | (19th) | Jr. | Gardner-Webb |
197 Pounds
| Rk | Name | Prev. | Yr. | School |
| 1 | J’den Cox | (1st) | Sr. | Missouri |
| 2 | Brett Pfarr | (2nd) | Sr. | Minnesota |
| 3 | Jared Haught | (3rd) | Jr. | Virginia Tech |
| 4 | Kollin Moore | (4th) | RFr. | Ohio State |
| 5 | Aaron Studebaker | (5th) | Sr. | Nebraska |
| 6 | Jake Smith | (6th) | Jr. | West Virginia |
| 7 | Matt McCutcheon | (9th) | Jr. | Penn State |
| 8 | Nate Rotert | (7th) | Jr. | South Dakota State |
| 9 | Preston Weigel | (8th) | So. | Oklahoma State |
| 10 | Ryan Wolfe | (10th) | Sr. | Rider |
| 11 | Brett Harner | (11th) | Sr. | Princeton |
| 12 | Kevin Beazley | (12th) | Jr. | Old Dominion |
| 13 | Ricky Robertson | (14th) | Jr. | Wisconsin |
| 14 | Austin Severn | (13th) | Sr. | Central Michigan |
| 15 | Shawn Scott | (15th) | Sr. | Northern Illinois |
| 16 | Tom Sleigh | (16th) | Jr. | Bucknell |
| 17 | Frank Mattiace | (17th) | So. | Penn |
| 18 | Corey Griego | (NR) | So. | Oregon State |
| 19 | Brad Johnson | (18th) | Sr. | Oklahoma |
| 20 | Jacob Holschlag | (19th) | RFr. | Northern Iowa |
Heavyweight
| Rk | Name | Prev. | Yr. | School |
| 1 | Kyle Snyder | (1st) | Jr. | Ohio State |
| 2 | Connor Medbery | (2nd) | Sr. | Wisconsin |
| 3 | Ty Walz | (4th) | Sr. | Virginia Tech |
| 4 | Nick Nevills | (5th) | So. | Penn State |
| 5 | Jake Kasper | (3rd) | Jr. | Duke |
| 6 | Austin Schafer | (6th) | Sr. | Oklahoma State |
| 7 | Michael Kroells | (7th) | Sr. | Minnesota |
| 8 | Tanner Hall | (8th) | So. | Arizona State |
| 9 | Denzel Dejournette | (9th) | Sr. | Appalachian State |
| 10 | Collin Jensen | (10th) | Sr. | Nebraska |
| 11 | Nathan Butler | (11th) | Jr. | Stanford |
| 12 | Ryan Solomon | (12th) | Jr. | Pitt |
| 13 | Jared Johnson | (13th) | Sr. | Chattanooga |
| 14 | Brooks Black | (14th) | Jr. | Illinois |
| 15 | Doug Vollaro | (15th) | Sr. | Lehigh |
| 16 | Thomas Haines | (16th) | So. | Lock Haven |
| 17 | Ross Larson | (17th) | Sr. | Oklahoma |
| 18 | Billy Miller | (18th) | So. | Edinboro |
| 19 | Cody Crawford | (19th) | Jr. | Oregon State |
| 20 | Ray O’Donnell | (20th) | Sr. | Princeton |
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