Piccininni and Okie State make big statement in WIN’s Feb 25 Rankings
Photo: Oklahoma State’s Nick Piccininni declared himself a strong candidate to win the 125-pound NCAA championship next month when the Cowboy pinned Iowa’s defending national champion Spencer Lee on Feb. 24 in Stillwater, Okla. (Jeremy Cook photo)
NEWTON, Iowa — Oklahoma State put an exclamation mark to the end of the regular season with a 27-12 dual victory over Iowa, especially 125-pound Nick Piccininni who pinned defending champ Spencer Lee and has moved up to second in WIN’s Feb. 25, 2019 Rankings, presented by Cliff Keen Athletic.
The Cowboys (15-0) are ranked second in WIN’s final dual-team rankings and third in the Tournament Power Index with nine ranked wrestlers and 77 points.
Defending national champ Penn State (14-0) remained the top-ranked team in both ratings as the Nittany Lions (with 123 TPI points) also feature nine ranked wrestlers, including four wrestlers — Jason Nolf (157), Vincenzo Joseph (165), Mark Hall (174) and Bo Nickal (197) — who are ranked No. 1 at their weight class.
The remaining six top-ranked wrestlers also remained the same, including Cornell’s 141-pound Yianni Diakomihalis, who defeated Ohio State’s second-ranked Joey McKenna last weekend.
WIN’s weekly individual rankings are a prediction of final NCAA tournament placements at the 2019 NCAA Championships, March 21-23 in Pittsburgh, and based on each wrestler’s full season of competition up until each week’s release. WIN’s Tournament Power Index is a total of the TPI points that all the wrestlers on a respective team have earned based on their ranking. A team’s TPI points and TPI ranking is a prediction of a where a team might finish at the national tournament at this point in the season with their current line-up.
WIN’s TPI point totals are broken down by the following individual rankings: 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). 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.
Teams will now take two weeks off to prepare for one of eight NCAA Div. I qualifying tournaments, which will eventually send 330 wrestlers to the national tournament:
| • ACC — | March 9, Blacksburg, Va. |
| • Big 10 — | March 9-10, Minneapolis, Minn. |
| • Big 12 — | March 9-10, Tulsa, Okla. |
| • EIWA — | March 8-9, Vestal, N.Y. |
| • EWL — | March 9, Fairfax, Va. |
| • MAC — | March 8-9, Norfolk, Va. |
| • Pac-12 — | March 9, Tempe, Ariz. |
| • SoCon — | March 10, Boone, NC |
WIN Magazine’s Feb. 25, 2019 Dual-Team Rankings
| Rk | School | Record | Previous |
| 1. | Penn State | 14-0 | 1st |
| 2. | Oklahoma State | 15-0 | 3rd |
| 3. | Iowa | 14-1 | 2nd |
| 4. | Michigan | 13-1 | 4th |
| 5. | Ohio State | 12-2 | 5th |
| 6. | Missouri | 16-1 | 6th |
| 7. | Cornell | 13-3 | 7th |
| 8. | Nebraska | 12-5 | 8th |
| 9. | NC State | 16-3 | 9th |
| 10. | Minnesota | 14-3 | 10th |
| 11. | Northern Iowa | 7-5 | 11th |
| 12. | Iowa State | 10-4 | 12th |
| 13. | Virginia Tech | 9-5 | 13th |
| 14. | Wyoming | 16-4 | 14th |
| 15. | Rutgers | 12-6 | 15th |
| 16. | North Carolina | 12-7 | 16th |
| 17. | Pitt | 13-3 | 17th |
| 18. | Wisconsin | 9-6 | 18th |
| 19. | Princeton | 9-6 | 19th |
| 20. | Virginia | 12-10 | 20th |
| 21. | Lehigh | 9-9 | 21st |
| 22. | Lock Haven | 10-3 | 22nd |
| 23. | Purdue | 7-10 | 23rd |
| 24. | Oklahoma | 10-6 | NR |
| 25. | North Dakota State | 10-6 | 24th |
WIN Magazine’s Feb. 25, 2019 Tournament Power Index (TPI)
| Rk | School | Total | Top 8 | TPI |
| Ranked | Ranked | Points | ||
| 1. | Penn State | 9 | 7 | 123 |
| 2. | Ohio State | 9 | 5 | 80 |
| 3. | Oklahoma State | 9 | 5 | 77 |
| 4. | Iowa | 9 | 6 | 73 |
| 5. | Michigan | 8 | 6 | 63 |
| 6. | Missouri | 7 | 4 | 46 |
| 7. | Minnesota | 6 | 4 | 44 |
| 8. | Cornell | 7 | 3 | 41.5 |
| 9t. | NC State | 5 | 4 | 39 |
| 9t. | Nebraska | 8 | 3 | 39 |
| 11. | Northwestern | 3 | 2 | 35.5 |
| 12. | Lehigh | 5 | 3 | 35 |
| 13. | Rutgers | 3 | 2 | 34 |
| 14. | Illinois | 6 | 2 | 31.5 |
| 15. | Arizona State | 5 | 2 | 30 |
| 16. | Princeton | 3 | 2 | 29 |
| 17t. | Oregon State | 2 | 2 | 25 |
| 17t. | Wisconsin | 6 | 2 | 25 |
| 19. | Virginia Tech | 6 | 2 | 23 |
| 20. | Northern Iowa | 6 | 2 | 21 |
| 21. | Iowa State | 6 | 1 | 17.5 |
| 22t. | Virginia | 3 | 2 | 16.5 |
| 22t. | Wyoming | 5 | 2 | 16.5 |
| 24. | Pitt | 4 | 1 | 15.5 |
| 25. | Duke | 2 | 1 | 14 |
| 26t. | Lock Haven | 4 | 1 | 13 |
| 26t. | North Carolina | 3 | 1 | 13 |
| 28. | Central Michigan | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| 29. | North Dakota State | 3 | 1 | 8 |
| 30t. | Army | 2 | 1 | 7.5 |
| 30t. | Utah Valley | 4 | 0 | 7.5 |
| 32. | Purdue | 5 | 0 | 6.5 |
| 33. | Old Dominion | 4 | 0 | 5.5 |
| 34. | Stanford | 3 | 0 | 5 |
| 35. | Drexel | 3 | 0 | 4.5 |
| 36t. | Buffalo | 2 | 0 | 3.5 |
| 36t. | Michigan State | 2 | 0 | 3.5 |
| 38. | Oklahoma | 2 | 0 | 2.5 |
| 39t. | Binghamton | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 39t. | Bucknell | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 39t. | Campbell | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 39t. | Northern Illinois | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 39t. | Ohio U. | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 44t. | American U. | 1 | 0 | 1.5 |
| 44t. | Brown | 1 | 0 | 1.5 |
| 44t. | Clarion | 1 | 0 | 1.5 |
| 44t. | George Mason | 1 | 0 | 1.5 |
| 44t. | Maryland | 1 | 0 | 1.5 |
| 44t. | Navy | 1 | 0 | 1.5 |
| 44t. | Penn | 1 | 0 | 1.5 |
| 51t. | CSU Bakersfield | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 51t. | Fresno State | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 51t. | Northern Colorado | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 51t. | Rider | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 51t. | VMI | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 51t. | West Virginia | 1 | 0 | 1 |
WIN Magazine’s Feb. 25, 2019 Individual Rankings
125 pounds
| Rk. | Name | School | Year | Previous |
| 1 | Sebastian Rivera | Northwestern | So. | 1st |
| 2 | Nick Piccininni | Oklahoma State | Jr. | 3rd |
| 3 | Spencer Lee | Iowa | So. | 2nd |
| 4 | Ronnie Bresser | Oregon State | Sr. | 4th |
| 5 | Jack Mueller | Virginia | Jr. | 5th |
| 6 | Sean Russell | Minnesota | Sr. | 6th |
| 7 | Vitali Arujau | Cornell | Fr. | 8th |
| 8 | Brent Fleetwood | North Dakota State | Sr. | 9th |
| 9 | Rayvon Foley | Michigan State | So. | 7th |
| 10 | Ryan Millhof | Arizona State | Sr. | 10th |
| 11 | Sean Fausz | NC State | Sr. | 11th |
| 12 | Pat Glory | Princeton | Fr. | 12th |
| 13 | Travis Piotrowski | Illinois | Jr. | 13th |
| 14 | Drew Mattin | Michigan | So. | 14th |
| 15 | Zeke Moisey | Nebraska | Sr. | 15th |
| 16 | Michael McGee | Old Dominion | So. | 17th |
| 17 | Jay Schwarm | Northern Iowa | Jr. | 18th |
| 18 | Cole Verner | Wyoming | Jr. | 19th |
| 19 | Luke Werner | Lock Haven | So. | 20th |
| 20 | Alex Mackall | Iowa State | So. | 16th |
133 pounds
| Rk. | Name | School | Year | Rk |
| 1 | Stevan Micic | Michigan | Jr. | 1st |
| 2 | Daton Fix | Oklahoma State | RS Fr. | 2nd |
| 3 | Austin DeSanto | Iowa | So. | 3rd |
| 4 | Nick Suriano | Rutgers | Jr. | 4th |
| 5 | Micky Phillippi | Pitt | RS Fr. | 5th |
| 6 | Tariq Wilson | NC State | So. | 6th |
| 7 | Montorie Bridges | Wyoming | So. | 7th |
| 8 | John Erneste | Missouri | Sr. | 10th |
| 9 | Austin Gomez | Iowa State | RS Fr. | 8th |
| 10 | Chas Tucker | Cornell | Jr. | 12th |
| 11 | Ethan Lizak | Minnesota | Jr. | 11th |
| 12 | Roman Bravo-Young | Penn State | Fr. | 13th |
| 13 | Luke Pletcher | Ohio State | Jr. | 9th |
| 14 | Korbin Myers | Virginia Tech | Jr. | 14th |
| 15 | Josh Terao | American U. | Sr. | 15th |
| 16 | Gary Wayne Harding | North Carolina | Sr. | 17th |
| 17 | Ben Thornton | Purdue | Sr. | 18th |
| 18 | Sean Nickell | CSU Bakersfield | Sr. | 19th |
| 19 | Cam Sykora | North Dakota State | Jr. | 16th |
| 20 | Dylan Duncan | Illinois | So. | 20th |
141 pounds
| Rk. | Name | School | Year | Previous |
| 1 | Yianni Diakomihalis | Cornell | So. | 1st |
| 2 | Joey McKenna | Ohio State | Sr. | 2nd |
| 3 | Jaydin Eierman | Missouri | Jr. | 3rd |
| 4 | Michael Carr | Illinois | So. | 4th |
| 5 | Nick Lee | Penn State | So. | 5th |
| 6 | Josh Alber | Northern Iowa | Sr. | 6th |
| 7 | Mitch McKee | Minnesota | Jr. | 7th |
| 8 | Kanen Storr | Michigan | So. | 8th |
| 9 | Matt Findlay | Utah Valley | So. | 9th |
| 10 | Tristan Moran | Wisconsin | Jr. | 10th |
| 11 | Bryan Lantry | Buffalo | Sr. | 11th |
| 12 | Ian Parker | Iowa State | So. | 12th |
| 13 | Kaid Brock | Oklahoma State | Jr. | 13th |
| 14 | Dom Demas | Oklahoma | RS Fr. | 14th |
| 15 | Sam Turner | Wyoming | So. | 15th |
| 16 | Nick Gil | Navy | Sr. | 16th |
| 17 | Sa’Derian Perry | Old Dominion | Jr. | 17th |
| 18 | Cameron Kelly | Ohio U. | Sr. | 18th |
| 19 | Chad Red | Nebraska | So. | 19th |
| 20 | Max Murin | Iowa | RS Fr. | NR |
149 pounds
| Rk. | Name | School | Year | Previous |
| 1 | Anthony Ashnault | Rutgers | Sr. | 1st |
| 2 | Micah Jordan | Ohio State | Sr. | 3rd |
| 3 | Matt Kolodzik | Princeton | Jr. | 2nd |
| 4 | Mitch Finesilver | Duke | Sr. | 7th |
| 5 | Austin O’Connor | North Carolina | RS Fr. | 4th |
| 6 | Justin Oliver | NC State | Sr. | 8th |
| 7 | Pat Lugo | Iowa | Sr. | 9th |
| 8 | Brock Mauller | Missouri | Fr. | 5th |
| 9 | Kaden Gfeller | Oklahoma State | RS Fr. | 6th |
| 10 | Max Thomsen | Northern Iowa | Jr. | 10th |
| 11 | Josh Heil | Campbell | So. | 11th |
| 12 | Parker Kropman | Drexel | So. | NR |
| 13 | Brady Berge | Penn State | RS Fr. | 12th |
| 14 | Jarrett Degen | Iowa State | So. | 13th |
| 15 | Requir Van Der Merwe | Stanford | So. | 14th |
| 16 | Anthony Artalona | Penn | Fr. | 16th |
| 17 | Cole Martin | Wisconsin | Jr. | 17th |
| 18 | Josh Maruca | Arizona State | Jr. | 18th |
| 19 | Christian Monserrat | West Virginia | Sr. | 20th |
| 20 | Davion Jeffries | Oklahoma | Sr. | NR |
157 pounds
| Rk. | Name | School | Year | Previous |
| 1 | Jason Nolf | Penn State | Sr. | 1st |
| 2 | Tyler Berger | Nebraska | Sr. | 2nd |
| 3 | Ryan Deakin | Northwestern | So. | 3rd |
| 4 | Hayden Hidlay | NC State | So. | 4th |
| 5 | Alec Pantaleo | Michigan | Sr. | 5th |
| 6 | Kaleb Young | Iowa | So. | 6th |
| 7 | Ke-Shawn Hayes | Ohio State | Jr. | 7th |
| 8 | Steve Bleise | Minnesota | Sr. | 8th |
| 9 | Larry Early | Old Dominion | Jr. | 9th |
| 10 | Eric Barone | Illinois | Jr. | 10th |
| 11 | Jarrett Jacques | Missouri | Fr. | 12th |
| 12 | Zach Hartman | Bucknell | Fr. | 11th |
| 13 | Taleb Rahmani | Pitt | Jr. | 16th |
| 14 | Paul Fox | Stanford | Sr. | 13th |
| 15 | John Van Brill | Rutgers | Sr. | 15th |
| 16 | Josh Humphreys | Lehigh | Fr. | 17th |
| 17 | Griffin Parriott | Purdue | So. | 14th |
| 18 | Zac Carson | Ohio U. | Jr. | 18th |
| 19 | BC LaPrade | Virginia Tech | So. | 19th |
| 20 | Christian Pagdilao | Arizona State | Sr. | 20th |
165 pounds
| Rk. | Name | School | Year | Previous |
| 1 | Vincenzo Joseph | Penn State | Jr. | 1st |
| 2 | Alex Marinelli | Iowa | So. | 2nd |
| 3 | Evan Wick | Wisconsin | So. | 3rd |
| 4 | Josh Shields | Arizona State | Jr. | 4th |
| 5 | Chance Marstellar | Lock Haven | Sr. | 5th |
| 6 | Isaiah White | Nebraska | Jr. | 6th |
| 7 | Branson Ashworth | Wyoming | Sr. | 7th |
| 8 | Logan Massa | Michigan | Jr. | 8th |
| 9 | Chandler Rogers | Oklahoma State | Sr. | 9th |
| 10 | Mekhi Lewis | Virginia Tech | RS Fr. | 12th |
| 11 | Demetrius Romero | Utah Valley | Jr. | 10th |
| 12 | Bryce Steiert | Northern Iowa | Sr. | 11th |
| 13 | Andrew Fogarty | North Dakota State | Jr. | 13th |
| 14 | Connor Flynn | Missouri | Jr. | 14th |
| 15 | Jon Viruet | Brown | Sr. | 15th |
| 16 | Ebed Jarrell | Drexel | Jr. | 16th |
| 17 | Joey Gunther | Illinois | Jr. | 17th |
| 18 | Jesse Dellavecchia | Rider | Jr. | 18th |
| 19 | Cam Coy | Virginia | RS Fr. | 19th |
| 20 | Te’Shan Campbell | Ohio State | Sr. | 20th |
174 pounds
| Rk. | Name | School | Year | Previous |
| 1 | Mark Hall | Penn State | Jr. | 1st |
| 2 | Daniel Lewis | Missouri | Sr. | 2nd |
| 3 | Zahid Valencia | Arizona State | Jr. | 3rd |
| 4 | Myles Amine | Michigan | Jr. | 4th |
| 5 | Jordan Kutler | Lehigh | Jr. | 5th |
| 6 | Jacobe Smith | Oklahoma State | Sr. | 10th/184 |
| 7 | David McFadden | Virginia Tech | Jr. | 7th |
| 8 | Taylor Lujan | Northern Iowa | Jr. | 8th |
| 9 | Mikey Labriola | Nebraska | RS Fr. | 9th |
| 10 | Ryan Christiansen | Wisconsin | Sr. | NR |
| 11 | Kimball Bastian | Utah Valley | Jr. | 11th |
| 12 | Brit Wilson | Northern Illinois | RS Fr. | 12th |
| 13 | Matt Finesilver | Duke | So. | 13th |
| 14 | Dylan Lydy | Purdue | Jr. | 14th |
| 15 | Brandon Womack | Cornell | Jr. | 10th |
| 16 | Ethan Smith | Ohio State | Fr. | 20th |
| 17 | Seldon Wright | Old Dominion | Sr. | 15th |
| 18 | Ben Harvey | Army | Jr. | 16th |
| 19 | Devin Skatzka | Minnesota | Jr. | 18th |
| 20 | Neal Richards | VMI | Jr. | 19th |
184 pounds
| Rk. | Name | School | Year | Previous |
| 1 | Myles Martin | Ohio State | Sr. | 1st |
| 2 | Shakur Rasheed | Penn State | Sr. | 2nd |
| 3 | Emery Parker | Illinois | Sr. | 3rd |
| 4 | Ryan Preisch | Lehigh | Sr. | 5th |
| 5 | Zack Zavatsky | Virginia Tech | Sr. | 7th |
| 6 | Max Dean | Cornell | So. | 6th |
| 7 | Nick Reenan | NC State | Jr. | 4th |
| 8 | Taylor Venz | Nebraska | So. | 8th |
| 9 | Lou DePrez | Binghamton | Fr. | 9th |
| 10 | Dakota Geer | Oklahoma State | So. | 10th |
| 11 | Nino Bonaccorsi | Pitt | Fr. | 13th |
| 12 | Samuel Colbray | Iowa State | So. | 17th |
| 13 | Drew Foster | Northern Iowa | Sr. | 11th |
| 14 | Chip Ness | North Carolina | Sr. | 14th |
| 15 | Cash Wilcke | Iowa | Jr. | 12th |
| 16 | Cameron Caffey | Michigan State | So. | 16th |
| 17 | Max Lyon | Purdue | So. | 15th |
| 18 | Mason Reinhardt | Wisconsin | Jr. | 18th |
| 19 | Corey Hazel | Lock Haven | Jr. | 19th |
| 20 | Dylan Wisman | Missouri | Jr. | 20th |
197 pounds
| Rk. | Name | School | Year | Previous |
| 1 | Bo Nickal | Penn State | Sr. | 1st |
| 2 | Kollin Moore | Ohio State | Jr. | 2nd |
| 3 | Patrick Brucki | Princeton | So. | 3rd |
| 4 | Preston Weigel | Oklahoma State | Sr. | 6th |
| 5 | Jacob Warner | Iowa | RS Fr. | 4th |
| 6 | Willie Miklus | Iowa State | Sr. | 5th |
| 7 | Rocco Caywood | Army | Sr. | 7th |
| 8 | Jay Aiello | Virginia | So. | 8th |
| 9 | Christian Brunner | Purdue | Jr. | 9th |
| 10 | Nathan Traxler | Stanford | So. | 10th |
| 11 | Tom Sleigh | Virginia Tech | Sr. | 11th |
| 12 | Eric Schultz | Nebraska | So. | 12th |
| 13 | Ben Honis | Cornell | Sr. | 13th |
| 14 | Greg Bulsak | Clarion | So. | 19th |
| 15 | Tanner Orndorff | Utah Valley | Jr. | 16th |
| 16 | Jackson Striggow | Michigan | Jr. | 14th |
| 17 | Wyatt Koelling | Missouri | So. | 18th |
| 18 | Stephen Loiseau | Drexel | Sr. | 15th |
| 19 | Chris Weiler | Lehigh | So. | 20th |
| 20 | Jacob Seely | Northern Colorado | Jr. | 17th |
Heavyweight
| Rk. | Name | School | Year | Previous |
| 1 | Gable Steveson | Minnesota | Fr. | 1st |
| 2 | Derek White | Oklahoma State | Sr. | 2nd |
| 3 | Anthony Cassar | Penn State | Sr. | 3rd |
| 4 | Amar Dhesi | Oregon State | Sr. | 4th |
| 5 | Jordan Wood | Lehigh | So. | 5th |
| 6 | Matt Stencel | Central Michigan | So. | 6th |
| 7 | Mason Parris | Michigan | Fr. | 7th |
| 8 | Trent Hillger | Wisconsin | RS Fr. | 8th |
| 9 | David Jensen | Nebraska | Jr. | 9th |
| 10 | Demetrius Thomas | Pitt | Jr. | 10th |
| 11 | Sam Stoll | Iowa | Sr. | 11th |
| 12 | Conan Jennings | Northwestern | Sr. | 12th |
| 13 | Youssif Hemida | Maryland | Sr. | 13th |
| 14 | Jake Gunning | Buffalo | Sr. | 14th |
| 15 | Matt Voss | George Mason | Sr. | 15th |
| 16 | Chase Singletary | Ohio State | RS Fr. | 16th |
| 17 | Thomas Haines | Lock Haven | Sr. | 17th |
| 18 | Jeremy Sweany | Cornell | Sr. | 18th |
| 19 | A.J. Nevills | Fresno State | So. | 19th |
| 20 | Brian Andrews | Wyoming | So. | 20th |
