Underclassmen upset defending champs; make impact on Nov. 22 ranks

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Updated: November 22, 2021

Photos: Nebraska’s Peyton Robb (left) and Cornell’s Julian Ramirez each upset a defending national champ in North Carolina’s Austin O’Connor and Stanford’s Shane Griffith.

Nov. 22, 2021

NEWTON, Iowa — Underclassmen flexed their strength last week in some notable matches, particularly in two upset match-ups against 2021 NCAA champs. Stanford’s defending national champion Shane Griffith was defeated 3-2 by Cornell’s freshman Julian Ramirez in a rowdy home dual for Cornell on Saturday, Nov. 20, as the Big Red faced former coach Rob Koll and his new team in the Friedman Center.

Nebraska sophomore Peyton Robb also got a statement win last week on Thursday, Nov. 18. The Husker knocked off North Carolina’s Austin O’Connor — the 149-pound defending champ who moved up to 157 — 5-2 in home dual for Mark Manning’s squad.

Because of the upset of Griffith at 165, Iowa’s Alex Marinelli has taken over the top spot at that weight in WIN Magazine’s updated Nov. 22 Individual Rankings and Tournament Power Index, presented by Cliff Keen Athletic. Marinelli is one of two top-ranked Hawkeyes, who remain No. 1 in WIN’s Tournament Power Index. The other is three-time defending champ Spencer Lee. Overall, Iowa features a ranked wrestler at all ten weight classes, including seven who are rated in the Top 8 of their weight classes.

Penn State remains No. 2 in WIN’s TPI as seven Nittany Lions are ranked. That includes four wrestlers who are ranked No. 1 in their weight classes: Roman Bravo-Young (133), Nick Lee (141), Carter Starocci (174) and Aaron Brooks (184). All four won titles for Coach Cael Sanderson and company in 2021.

The other four top-ranked wrestlers are Cornell’s Yianni Diakomihalis (149), Iowa State’s David Carr (157), Oklahoma State’s A.J. Ferrari and Minnesota’s Olympic champion Gable Steveson (Hwt). Steveson and Lee were co-winners of the WIN/Culture House Dan Hodge Trophy in 2021.

The TPI predicts approximately how many NCAA points a team will score in Detroit in March at the Division I Championships. Excluding bonus points, the TPI is based on numbers associated with individual placements/rankings based on our current rankings: 20 for 1st, 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 1.5 points for wrestlers ranked 13-16 and 1 point for those ranked 17-20.

WIN’s dual rankings will be begin in next week’s rankings on Nov. 29.

WIN Magazine’s Nov. 22 Tournament Power Index

Rk. School Total Rank Top 8 Rank TPI Pts
1. Iowa 10 7 114
2. Penn State 7 6 104
3. Arizona State 8 5 64
4. Oklahoma State 8 4 59.5
5. Michigan 9 4 52.5
6. Missouri 9 3 50
7. NC State 8 4 48
8. Minnesota 3 2 34.5
9. Iowa State 5 2 33.5
10. Nebraska 7 1 31
11t. Cornell 6 2 42.5
11t. Ohio State 7 4 42.5
13. Northwestern 5 3 41.5
14. Virginia Tech 6 2 33
15. Rutgers 5 2 29
16. Pitt 4 2 28.5
17. Cal Poly 2 2 25
18. Princeton 2 2 22.5
19. Oklahoma 5 2 20
20t. Stanford 2 2 19
20t. Wisconsin 5 2 19
22. North Carolina 5 2 16.5
23. Northern Iowa 4 1 16
24. Wyoming 6 1 15.5
25. Northern Colorado 3 1 15
26. Utah Valley 2 1 12
27. Lehigh 4 1 10
28. North Dakota State 3 1 8.5
29t. Campbell 3 1 8
29t. Purdue 5 0 8
29t. West Virginia 2 1 8
32t. Illinois 3 1 7.5
32t. Indiana 2 1 7.5
32t. Penn 2 1 7.5
35. Northern Illinois 2 1 6.5
36. South Dakota State 4 0 6
37t. Appalachian State 1 1 5.5
37t. Bucknell 1 1 5.5
37t. Central Michigan 3 0 5.5
40t. Harvard 2 0 3.5
40t. Virginia 3 0 3.5
42t. Army-West Point 2 0 2.5
42t. CSU Bakersfield 2 0 2.5
42t. Michigan State 2 0 2.5
42t. Oregon State 2 0 2.5
46t. Air Force 1 0 2
46t. Chattanooga 2 0 2
48. Drexel 1 0 1.5
49t. Binghamton 1 0 1
49t. Columbia 1 0 1
49t. Duke 1 0 1
49t. Edinboro 1 0 1
49t. Navy 1 0 1

 

WIN Magazine’s Nov. 22 Individual Rankings

125 pounds

Rk. Name School Year Previous
1. Spencer Lee Iowa Sr. 1st
2. Vito Arujau Cornell So. 2nd
3. Pat Glory Princeton Jr. 3rd
4. Brandon Courtney Arizona State Jr. 4th
5. Taylor Lamont Utah Valley Jr. 6th
6. Jakob Camacho NC State So. 8th
7. Killian Cardinale West Virginia Sr. 9th
8. Eric Barnett Wisconsin Jr. 11th
9. Malik Heinselman Ohio State Sr. 14th
10. Trevor Mastrogiovani Oklahoma State So. 17th
11. Patrick McKee Minnesota Sr. 5th
12. Devin Schroeder Purdue Sr. 12th
13. Brody Teske Northern Iowa So. 7th
14. Michael DeAugustino Northwestern Jr. 16th
15. Sam Latona Virginia Tech RSFr. 10th
16. Jaret Lane Lehigh Sr. 15th
17. Jack Medley Michigan Jr. NR
18. Noah Surtin Missouri So. 19th
19. Kysen Terukina Iowa State So. NR
20. Fabian Gutierrez Chattanooga Sr. 20th

133 pounds

Rk. Name                               School                      Yr.         Previous
1. Roman Bravo-Young Penn State Jr. 1st
2. Daton Fix Oklahoma State Jr. 2nd
3. Austin DeSanto Iowa Sr. 3rd
4. Korbin Myers Virginia Tech Gr. 4th
5. Chris Cannon Northwestern So. 5th
6. Michael McGee Arizona State Sr. 6th
7. Michael Colaiocco Penn So. 9th
8. Lucas Byrd Illinois RSFr. 11th
9. Jamie Hernandez North Carolina Jr. NR
10. Sammy Alvarez Rutgers So. 12th
11. Malyke Hines Lehigh Fr. NR
12. Micky Phillippi Pitt Jr. 7th
13. Rayvon Foley Michigan State Jr. 16th
14. Chance Rich CSU Bakersfield So. 14th
15. Dylan Ragusin Michigan So. 19th
16. Mosha Schwartz Northern Colorado So. 18th
17. Tony Madrigal Oklahoma Sr. 10th
18. Kai Orine NC State Fr. NR
19. Brian Courtney Virginia Gr. 17th
20. Brock Hudkins Indiana Sr. NR

141 pounds

Rk. Name                               School                      Yr.   Previous
1. Nick Lee Penn State Sr. 1st
2. Jaydin Eierman Iowa Sr. 2nd
3. Sebastian Rivera Rutgers Gr. 3rd
4. Andrew Alirez Northern Colorado RSFr. 4th
5. Stevan Micic Michigan Gr. 6th
6. Ian Parker Iowa State Sr. 8th
7. Dom Demas Oklahoma Sr. 9th
8. Kizhan Clark North Carolina Gr. 13th
9. Chad Red Nebraska Sr. 5th
10. Clay Carlson South Dakota State So. 10th
11. Allan Hart Missouri Jr. 11th
12. Dresden Simon Central Michigan Sr. 12th
13. Grant Willits Oregon State Jr. 14th
14. Cole Matthews Pitt So. 16th
15. Jesse Vasquez Arizona State Fr. NR
16. Parker Filius Purdue Sr. 17th
17. Ryan Jack NC State Fr. 19th
18. Mike Carr Illinois Sr. 20th
19. Matt Kasimir Columbia Jr. NR
20. Angelo Martinoni CSU Bakersfield So. NR

149 pounds

Rk. Name                               School                      Yr.         Previous
1. Yianni Diakomihalis Cornell Jr. 1st
2. Sammy Sasso Ohio State Jr. 2nd
3. Brock Mauller Missouri Jr. 3rd
4. Yahya Thomas Northwestern Gr. 4th
5. Kyle Parco Arizona State So. 5th
6. Tariq Wilson NC State Sr. 6th
7. Jaden Abas Stanford So. 7th
8. Jon Millner Appalachian State Sr. 8th
9. Bryce Andonian Virginia Tech So. 9th
10. Max Murin Iowa Sr. 10th
11. Jarrett Degen Iowa State Sr. 11th
12. Mitch Moore Oklahoma Sr. 12th
13. Kanen Storr Michigan Sr. 13th
14. Josh Heil Campbell Sr. 15th
15. Ridge Lovett Nebraska So. 19th
16. Beau Bartlett Penn State RSFr. NR
17. P.J. Ogunsanya Army-West Point Sr. 14th
18. Anthony Artalona Penn Jr. 16th
19. Zach Sherman North Carolina Sr. 17th
20. Josh Finesilver Duke Jr. 18th

157 pounds

Rk. Name                               School                      Yr.         Previous
1. David Carr Iowa State So. 1st
2. Ryan Deakin Northwestern Gr. 2nd
3. Jacori Teemer Arizona State Jr. 3rd
4. Brayton Lee Minnesota Jr. 4th
5. Peyton Robb Nebraska So. NR
6. Quincy Monday Princeton Jr. 7th
7. Austin O’Connor North Carolina Jr. 5th
8. Jared Franek North Dakota State Jr. 8th
9. Kaleb Young Iowa Sr. 6th
10. Jarrett Jacques Missouri Jr. 10th
11. Jacob Wright Wyoming Sr. 11th
12. Wyatt Sheets Oklahoma State Sr. 9th
13. Kendall Coleman Purdue Jr. 13th
14. Will Lewan Michigan So. 14th
15. Justin Thomas Oklahoma Gr. 12th
16. Johnny Lovett Central Michigan RSFr. 17th
17. Josh Humphreys Lehigh Jr. 18th
18. Hunter Willits Oregon State Jr. 19th
19. Andrew Cerniglia Navy So. NR
20. Chase Saldate Michigan State Fr. 15th

165 pounds

Rk. Name                               School                      Yr.         Previous  
1. Alex Marinelli Iowa Sr. 2nd
2. Evan Wick Cal Poly Sr. 3rd
3. Keegan O’Toole Missouri RSFr. 5th
4. Shane Griffith Stanford Jr. 1st
5. Travis Wittlake Oklahoma State Jr. 6th
6. Jake Wentzel Pitt Sr. 4th
7. Carson Kharchla Ohio State RSFr. 7th
8. Zach Hartman Bucknell Sr. 8th
9. Anthony Valencia Arizona State Gr. 9th
10. Cameron Amine Michigan RSFr. 10th
11. Demetrius Romero Utah Valley Sr. 11th
12. Phillip Conigliaro Harvard Jr. 12th
13. Julian Ramirez Cornell Fr. NR
14. Luke Weber North Dakota State Sr. 14th
15. Tanner Cook South Dakota State So. 13th
16. Peyton Hall West Virginia So. 16th
17. Thomas Bullard NC State Sr. 15th
18. Izzak Olejnik Northern Illinois So. 17th
19. Andrew Nicholson Chattanooga Jr. 18th
20. Cole Moody Wyoming So. 19th

174 pounds

Rk. Name                               School                      Yr.         Previous
1. Carter Starocci Penn State RSFr. 1st
2. Michael Kemerer Iowa Gr. 2nd
3. Mekhi Lewis Virginia Tech So. 3rd
4. Mikey Labriola Nebraska Sr. 4th
5. Hayden Hidlay NC State  Sr. 5th
6. Ethan Smith Ohio State Sr. 6th
7. Donnell Washington Indiana Jr. 7th
8. Austin Murphy Campbell Jr. 8th
9. Hayden Hastings Wyoming Sr. 9th
10 Chris Foca Cornell So. 10th
11. Dustin Plott Oklahoma State So. 11th
12. Jackson Turley Rutgers So. 12th
13. Andrew McNally Wisconsin Sr. 13th
14. Ben Pasiuk Army So. 14th
15. Michael O’Malley Drexel Jr. 15th
16. Peyton Mocco Missouri So. 16th
17. Jackson Hemauer Northern Colorado Jr. 17th
18. Jacob Oliver Edinboro Jr. 18th
19. Cade Devos South Dakota State So. 19th
20. Lance Runyon Northern Iowa RSFr. 20th

184 pounds

Rk. Name                               School                      Yr.         Previous
1. Aaron Brooks Penn State So. 1st
2. Trent Hidlay NC State So. 2nd
3. Myles Amine Michigan Gr. 3rd
4. Parker Keckeisen Northern Iowa RSFr. 4th
5. John Poznanski Rutgers RSFr. 5th
6. Bernie Truax Cal Poly So. 6th
7. Dakota Geer Oklahoma State Sr. 7th
8. Brit Wilson Northern Illinois Jr. 8th
9. Hunter Bolen Virginia Tech Jr. 9th
10. Jeremiah Kent Missouri So. 12th
11. Tate Samuelson Wyoming Sr. 13th
12. Chris Weiler Wisconsin Gr. 15th
13. Marcus Coleman Iowa State Jr. 20th
14. Taylor Venz Nebraska Sr. 11th
15. Clay Lautt North Carolina Gr. 17th
16. Rocky Jordan Ohio State Jr. 16th
17. Max Lyon Purdue Sr 19th
18. Abe Assad Iowa So. NR
19. Zac Braunagel Illinois So. NR
20. Caleb Hopkins Campbell So. NR

197 pounds

Rk. Name                               School                      Yr.         Previous
1. A.J. Ferrari Oklahoma State RSFr. 1st
2. Nino Bonaccorsi Pitt Jr. 2nd
3. Jacob Warner Iowa Sr. 3rd
4. Rocky Elam Missouri RSFr. 4th
5. Max Dean Penn State Jr. 5th
6. Jake Woodley Oklahoma Sr. 6th
7. Stephan Buchanan Wyoming Jr. 7th
8. Patrick Brucki Michigan Sr. 8th
9. Ben Darmstadt Cornell Sr. 9th
10. Kordell Norfleet Arizona State Gr. 10th
11. Eric Schultz Nebraska Sr. 11th
12. Thomas Penola Purdue Jr. 12th
13. Tanner Sloan South Dakota State Sr. 13th
14. Greg Bulsak Rutgers Sr. 14th
15. Jay Aiello Virginia Sr. 15th
16. Owen Pentz North Dakota State So. 16th
17. Braxton Amos Wisconsin Fr. 17th
18. Isaac Trumble NC State RSFr. 18th
19. Gavin Hoffman Ohio State So. 19th
20. Lou Deprez Binghamton Jr. 10th/184

Heavyweight

Rk. Name                               School                      Yr.         Previous
1. Gable Steveson  Minnesota Jr. 1st
2. Mason Parris Michigan Jr. 2nd
3. Cohlton Schultz Arizona State RSFr. 4th
4. Greg Kerkvliet Penn State RSFr. 5th
5. Tony Cassioppi Iowa Jr. 3rd
6. Trent Hillger Wisconsin Sr. 6th
7. Tate Orndorff Ohio State Sr. 7th
8. Jordan Wood Lehigh Sr. 8th
9. Matt Stencel Central Michigan Sr. 9th
10. Wyatt Hendrickson Air Force So. 10th
11. Zach Elam Missouri So. 11th
12. Brian Andrews Wyoming Sr. 12th
13. Lucas Davison Northwestern So. 13th
14. Nathan Traxler Virginia Tech Sr. 14th
15. Yaraslau Slavikouski Harvard Jr. 15th
16. Christian Lance Nebraska Sr. 16th
17. Luke Surber Oklahoma State So. 17th
18. Carter Isley Northern Iowa Sr. 20th
19. Lewis Fernandez Cornell So. 19th
20. Quinn Miller Virginia Jr. 18th