Ramos back at No. 1 at 125 pounds in WIN’s Rankings; Iowa moves up to No. 3 in TPI

Photo: Purdue’s Matt Ramos (right) has returned to the No. 1 spot at 125 pounds in WIN’s Jan. 15 rankings, presented by Cliff Keen Athleic. As last year’s national runner-up and preseason favorite, Ramos defeated Lock Haven’s Anthony Noto in the All-Star Classic in November, but lost three matches earlier this season before winning his last six bouts. Ramos is set to meet Iowa’s No. 2 Drake Ayala in a Jan. 19 dual in West Lafayette, Ind.

NEWTON, Iowa — In what has been a revolving door this season at 125 pounds, where three different wrestlers have been ranked No. 1, Purdue’s Matt Ramos has returned as that weight’s top-ranked wrestler in WIN Magazine’s Jan. 15 rankings, presented by Cliff Keen Athletic.

The Boilermaker junior, last year’s national runner-up and preseason No. 1 wrestler at 125, moved back into the top spot after Lock Haven’s Anthony Noto lost to Havard’s Diego Sotelo last weekend and fell to No. 3. Iowa’s Drake Ayala, who has won eight straight matches, is now rated No. 2 at 125 before his Jan. 15 meeting with Minnesota’s No. 7 Pat McKee and a Jan. 19 dual with Ramos.

Penn State remains the top-ranked team in both the dual rankings (4-0) and Tournament Power Index (129) as the Nittany Lions feature nine ranked wrestlers, including four No. 1-rated wrestlers: Levi Haines (157), Carter Starocci (174), Aaron Brooks (197) and Greg Kerkvliet (Hwt). Penn State also had an additional wrestler join the rankings this week in 149-pound Tyler Kasak (13^th).

There are 10 wrestlers who are new to this week’s rankings, including Iowa’s Zach Glazier, who upset Nebraska’s Big Ten champ Silas Allred last Friday, and is ranked No. 10. This addition to the individual ranking also moved Iowa from No. 6 to No. 3 in WIN’s TPI with 64.5 points; just four points behind No. 2 Missouri. There are then three schools separated by less than two points in the TPI: 4. Nebraska (63); 5. NC State (62) and 6. Oklahoma State (61.5).

WIN’s TPI predicts how high a team would finish in this year’s NCAA Division I Championships based on a point total associated with individual placement and advancement points that could be scored at the 2024 NCAAs.

The following is a breakdown of those points: 20 for 1st place, 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 one and a half points for wrestlers ranked 13-16 and one point for those ranked 17-20.

Also, it should be noted that WIN’s individual rankings are not necessarily simply an update of recent wins and losses, but more of a prediction at this point in the season of where wrestlers would be seeded at the 2024 NCAAs, which will be held in Kansas City, Mo., in March, if that event was held now.

WIN Magazine’s Jan. 15 Dual-Team Rankings

WIN Magazine’s Jan. 15 Tournament Power Index (TPI)

WIN Magazine’s Jan. 15 Individual Rankings

125 pounds  

133 pounds  

141 pounds

149 pounds

157 pounds   

165 pounds                                                                                                 

174 pounds                                                                                                 

184 pounds 

197 pounds   

Heavyweight