Minnesota’s Blockhus makes big jump in WIN Magazine’s Jan. 22 rankings

Photo: Minnesota’s Michael Blockhus defeated Nebraska’s All-American Peyton Robb, 12-6, in a dual meet on Jan. 19 in Minneapolis. This happened a few days after the Gopher senior also upset Iowa’s second-ranked Jared Franek, 5-4, in Iowa City. With these victories, Blockhus moved from No. 17 to No. 3 in WIN’s Jan. 22 rankings. (Photo by Minnesota’s Bjorn Franke)

NEWTON, Iowa – Fewer NCAA Division I wrestlers had a better week last week than Minnesota’s Michael Blockhus. The Gopher senior turned in a pair of upset performances against All-Americans Jared Franek of Iowa and Nebraska’s Peyton Robb at 157 pounds, which moved Blockhus from No. 17 to No. 3 in WIN Magazine’s Jan. 22 rankings, presented by Cliff Keen Athletic.

Penn State, meanwhile, held its grip as the top-ranked team in both WIN’s dual rankings and Tournament Power Index. The Nittany Lions used a pair of road victories over Michigan and Michigan State to improve to 6-0 on the season. Penn State also has wrestlers ranked at all 10 weight classes. This includes four No. 1-rated wrestlers: Levi Haines (157), Carter Starocci (174), Aaron Brooks (197) and Greg Kerkvliet (Hwt) and added freshman Braeden Davis (125) as a newcomer to the weekly rankings.

Missouri and Iowa also remain the No. 2 and No. 3 teams, respectively in both the dual and TPI rankings. The Tigers (7-0) feature nine ranked wrestlers, including the top-ranked wrestler at 165 pounds: Keegan O’Toole. The Hawkeyes (8-0) feature eight ranked wrestlers, including No. 1 Real Woods at 141.

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.

The other top-ranked individuals include Purdue’s Matt Ramos (125), Cornell’s Vito Arujau (133), Nebraska’s Ridge Lovett (149) and Northern Iowa’s Parker Keckeisen (184).

There are eight newcomers to the Jan. 22 rankings. In addition to Penn State’s Davis (12^th at 125), there’s Michigan’s Sergio Lemley (17^th at 141), Oklahoma State’s Sammy Alvarez (17^th at 149), Purdue’s Joey Blaze (17^th at 157), Indiana’s Tyler Lillard (18^th at 165), Ohio State’s Bryce Hepner (19^th at 165), Northwestern’s Maxx Mayfield (20^th at 165) and Ohio’s Sal Perrine (19^th at 174).

WIN Magazine’s Jan. 22 Dual-Team Rankings

WIN Magazine’s Jan. 22 Tournament Power Index (TPI)

WIN Magazine’s Jan. 22 Individual Rankings

125 pounds  

133 pounds  

141 pounds

149 pounds

157 pounds   

165 pounds                                                                                                 

174 pounds                                                                                                 

184 pounds 

197 pounds  

Heavyweight