Oklahoma State’s Olejnik and Stanford’s Provo make biggest jumps in WIN’s Dec. 4 Rankings

By
Updated: December 4, 2023

Photos: Izzak Olejnik (left) of Oklahoma State and Stanford’s Nico Provo were among the 10 individual winners at last weekend’s Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. With those wins, each wrestler moved up to No. 2 in their respective weight classes of 165 and 125 pounds. (Sam Janicki photos)

NEWTON, Iowa — NCAA Division I college wrestling started the month of December with a bang, especially at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, where there were plenty of upsets, which impacted WIN Magazine’s Dec. 4 rankings, presented by Cliff Keen Athletic.

While all 10 No.1-ranked individual remained on top of their weight classes, there were plenty of other changes.

Among the more notable changes to this week’s rankings saw Oklahoma State’s Issak Olejnik (165) and Stanford’s Nico Provo (125) move up to No. 2 in their weight classes after winning individual titles in Las Vegas last weekend. Olejnik, a senior transfer from Northern Illinois, was ranked fourth a week ago, while Provo, a sophomore, climbed all the way from a No. 20 ranking on Nov. 27.

Also, there are 14 individual newcomers to these rankings.

In the team rankings, defending champ Penn State holds a big lead in WIN’s Tournament Power Index (TPI), which 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 in 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., next March, if that event was held now.

The Nittany Lions feature nine ranked wrestlers for 144.5 TPI points, followed by NC State (79.5), Missouri and Nebraska (66 points each) and Cornell (64.5).

Penn State, which opened its dual-meet season with a victory over Lehigh this past weekend, is also rated No. 1 in WIN’s first dual-team rankings of the season. The other Top-5 dual teams are No. 2 NC State (7-0), No. 3 Missouri (2-0), No. 4 Iowa (4-0) and No. 5 Ohio State (4-0).

WIN’s Dec. 4 Dual-Team Rankings

Rk. School (Record) This week’s schedule
1. Penn State (1-0) vs. Hofstra, Dec. 10
2. NC State (7-0) off until Dec. 19
3. Missouri (2-0) vs. Wyoming, Dec. 8
4. Iowa (4-0) vs. Columbia, Dec. 8
5. Ohio State (4-0) vs. Pitt, Dec. 10
6. Cornell (1-0) off until Dec. 18
7. Michigan (2-0) off until Jan. 4
8. Iowa State (3-1) off until Dec. 18
9. Nebraska (2-0) off until Dec. 16
10. Virginia Tech (2-1) off until Dec. 17
11. Oklahoma State (1-0) vs. Lehigh, Dec. 8; at Oklahoma, Dec. 10
12. Minnesota (4-0) vs. North Dakota State, Dec. 10
13. Rutgers (3-1) vs. Princeton, Dec. 8; vs Buffalo, Dec. 10
14. South Dakota State (3-1) off until Dec. 16
15. Oregon State (3-1) off until Dec. 15
16. Northern Iowa (0-0) vs. Columbia, Dec. 10
17. Stanford (2-0) off until Dec. 17
18. Navy (4-0) vs. Ohio, Dec. 10
19. Oklahoma (3-1) vs. Oklahoma State, Dec. 10
20. Pitt (5-1) at Ohio State, Dec. 10
21. Lehigh (0-2) at Oklahoma State, Dec. 8
22. West Virginia (4-1) at Air Force, Dec. 8; at No. Colorado, Dec. 10
23. Arizona State (1-1) off until Dec. 29
24. North Carolina (5-2) off until Dec. 16
25. Maryland (1-1) at Morgan State, Dec. 10

WIN Magazine’s Dec. 4 Tournament Power Index (TPI)

Rk. School Total Rank Top 8 TPI Points
1. Penn State 9 9 144.5
2. NC State 8 6 79.5
3t. Missouri 8 5 66
3t. Nebraska 6 5 66
5. Cornell 7 5 64.5
6. Oklahoma State 7 4 56.5
7. Iowa State 7 5 49
8. Virginia Tech 5 4 46
9. Michigan 7 5 45.5
10. Iowa 7 3 44.5
11. Ohio State 8 3 43
12. Arizona State 4 3 40.5
13. Northern Iowa 6 2 35
14. South Dakota State 6 2 32.5
15. Stanford 5 2 26
16. Lehigh 4 2 22.5
17. Oregon State 5 2 22
18. Air Force 2 2 21.5
19t. Oklahoma 5 1 15.5
19t. Rutgers 7 1 15.5
21t. Illinois 3 1 13
21t. North Carolina 3 1 13
23. Lock Haven 1 1 12.5
24. Cal Poly 2 1 11
25. Wisconsin 2 1 10.5
26t. Minnesota 6 0 9
26t. Pitt 6 0 9
28. Indiana 3 1 8.5
29. Campbell 2 1 8
30t. Little Rock 2 1 7
30t. Maryland 4 0 7
32. Penn 4 0 6
33t. Michigan State 3 0 5.5
33t. Purdue 1 1 5.5
35. Navy 4 0 5
36. Columbia 3 0 4.5
37t. Northern Colorado 2 0 4
37t West Virginia 3 0 4
39. Ohio 2 0 3.5
40t. Central Michigan 3 0 3
40t. Northwestern 3 0 3
40t. Wyoming 2 0 3
43. Appalachian State 2 0 2.5
44t. North Dakota State 1 0 2
44t. Princeton 1 0 2
44t. Rider 1 0 2
44t. Virginia 1 0 2
48t. Chattanooga 1 0 1.5
48t. Harvard 1 0 1.5
50t. American U. 1 0 1
50t. Army West Point 1 0 1
50t. Binghamton 1 0 1
50t. Drexel 1 0 1
50t. Utah Valley 1 0 1

WIN Magazine’s Dec. 4 Individual Rankings

125 pounds 

Wt Name School Yr. Previous
1. Jakob Camacho NC State Jr. 1st
2. Nico Provo Stanford So. 20th
3. Brett Ungar Cornell So. 4th
4. Anthony Noto Lock Haven Jr. 3rd
5. Caleb Smith Nebraska Gr. 15th
6. Michael DeAugustino Michigan Sr. 5th
7. Brandon Kaylor Oregon State Sr. 6th
8. Matt Ramos Purdue Jr. 2nd
9. Patrick McKee Minnesota Sr. 8th
10. Stevo Poulin Northern Colorado So. 9th
11. Drake Ayala Iowa So. 10th
12. Dean Peterson Rutgers So. 11th
13. Eric Barnett Wisconsin Sr. 12th
14. Noah Surtin Missouri Jr. 13th
15. Brayden Palmer Chattanooga Sr. 14th
16. Jore Volk Wyoming So. 17th
17. Tanner Jordan South Dakota State Sr. NR
18. Troy Spratley Oklahoma State RSFr. 16th
19. Jack Maida American U. Jr. 19th
20. Max Gallagher Penn Fr. NR

133 pounds  

Wt Name School Yr. Previous
1. Vito Arujau Cornell Sr. 1st
2. Daton Fix Oklahoma State Sr. 2nd
3. Ryan Crookham Lehigh Fr. 6th
4. Kai Orine NC State Jr. 4th
5. Aaron Nagao Penn State So. 3rd
6. Sam Latona Virginia Tech Jr. 5th
7. Chris Cannon Michigan Sr. 7th
8. Evan Frost Iowa State RSFr. 11th
9. Michael Colaiocco Penn Sr. 9th
10. Dylan Shawver Rutgers So. 10th
11. Nic Bouzakis Ohio State RSFr. 16th
12. Angelo Rini Columbia Sr. 12th
13. Domenic Zaccone Campbell Sr. 19th
14. Braxton Brown Maryland So. 17th
15. Brody Teske Iowa Sr. 15th
16. Julian Farber Northern Iowa Jr. NR
17. Derrick Cardinal South Dakota State So. NR
18. Ethan Oakley Appalachian State So. 20th
19. Julian Chlebove Arizona State Jr. 8th
20. Brendan Ferretti Navy So. 14th

141 pounds 

Wt Name School Yr. Previous
1. Real Woods Iowa Sr. 1st
2. Beau Bartlett Penn State Sr. 2nd
3. Jesse Mendez Ohio State So. 5th
4. Ryan Jack NC State Jr. 7th
5. Lachlan McNeil North Carolina So. 3rd
6. Cael Happel Northern Iowa Jr. 10th
7. Tagen Jamison Oklahoma State RSFs. 17th
8. Brock Hardy Nebraska So. 4th
9. Anthony Echemendia Iowa State Jr. 18th
10. Clay Carlson South Dakota State Sr. 6th
11. Kal Miller Maryland So. 11th
12. Vince Cornella Cornell So. 8th
13. Mitch Moore Rutgers Gr. 13th
14. Mosha Schwartz Oklahoma Sr. 9th
15. Malyke Hines Lehigh Jr. 14th
16. Josh Koderhandt Navy Jr. NR
17. Frankie Tal Shahar Northwestern Jr. 15th
18. Cole Matthews Pitt Sr. 12th
19. Josh Edmond Missouri So. 16th
20. C.J. Composto Penn So. 19th

149 pounds                                                                                                 

Wt Name School Yr. Previous
1. Ridge Lovett Nebraska Jr. 1st
2. Shayne Van Ness Penn State So. 2nd
3. Caleb Henson Virginia Tech So. 4th
4. Kyle Parco Arizona State Jr. 3rd
5. Dylan D’Emilio Ohio State Sr. 7th
6. Chance Lamer Cal Poly So. 5th
7. Jackson Arrington NC State So. 6th
8. Casey Swiderski Iowa State So. 14th
9. Quinn Kinner Rider Sr. 9th
10. Jaden Abas Stanford Sr. 10th
11. Kannon Webster Illinois Fr. 11th
12. Kellyn March North Dakota State Sr. 12th
13. Ethen Miller Maryland So. 8th
14. Drew Roberts Minnesota So. NR
15. Victor Voinovich Iowa So. 15th
16. Graham Rooks Indiana Sr. 13th
17. Trae McDaniel Army West Point So. 18th
18. Corbyn Munson Central Michigan Sr. 20th
19. Willie McDougald Oklahoma So. NR
20. Ty Watters West Virginia Fr. 19th

157 pounds 

Wt Name School Yr. Previous
1. Levi Haines Penn State So. 1st
2. Peyton Robb Nebraska Sr. 3rd
3. Jacori Teemer Arizona State Sr. 5th
4. Jared Franek Iowa Gr. 2nd
5. Brock Mauller Missouri Sr. 7th
6. Ed Scott NC State Jr. 9th
7. Bryce Andonian Virginia Tech Sr. 4th
8. Daniel Cardenas Stanford So. 8th
9. Will Lewan Michigan Sr. 6th
10. Chase Saldate Michigan State Sr. 14th
11. Paddy Gallagher Ohio State So. 11th
12. Vinny Zerban Northern Colorado So. 13th
13. Peyten Kellar Ohio So. 17th
14. Michael Blockhus Minnesota Sr. 15th
15. Ryder Downey Northern Iowa RSFr. NR
16. Tommy Askey Appalachian State Jr. 16th
17. Trevor Chumbley Northwestern Sr. 10th
18. Cody Chittum Iowa State Fr. 12th
19. Johnny Lovett Central Michigan Sr. 18th
20. Andrew Clark Rutgers Jr. 19th

165 pounds                                                                                                 

Wt Name School Yr. Previous
1. Keegan O’Toole Missouri Jr. 1st
2. Izzak Olejnik Oklahoma State Sr. 4th
3. David Carr Iowa State Sr. 2nd
4. Julien Ramirez Cornell Jr. 8th
5. Cam Amine Michigan Sr. 3rd
6. Dean Hamiti Wisconsin Jr. 5th
7. Mitchell Mesenbrink Penn State RSFr. 6th
8. Michael Caliendo Iowa So. 7th
9. Holden Heller Pitt Sr. 9th
10. Garrett Thompson Ohio Fr. 17th
11. Peyton Hall West Virginia Jr. 11th
12. Matt Olguin Oregon State Sr. 10th
13. Derek Gilcher Indiana Sr. 13th
14. Tanner Cook South Dakota State Sr. 15th
15. Joseph Bianchi Little Rock Jr. NR
16. Caleb Fish Michigan State Sr. 16th
17. Hunter Garvin Stanford RSFr. NR
18. Joshua Ogunsanya Columbia Sr. 18th
19. Isaac Wilcox Ohio State Sr. 19th
20. Blaine Brenner Minnesota So. 14th

174 pounds                                                                                                 

Wt Name School Yr. Previous
1. Carter Starocci Penn State Sr. 1st
2. Mekhi Lewis Virginia Tech Sr. 2nd
3. Cade DeVos South Dakota State Jr. 7th
4. Carson Kharchla Ohio State Sr. 4th
5. Peyton Mocco Missouri Sr. 5th
6. Edmond Ruth Illinois Jr. 6th
7. Shane Griffith Michigan Sr. 3rd
8. Donnell Washington Indiana Sr. 8th
9. Nick Incontrera Penn Jr. 13th
10. Travis Wittlake Oregon State Sr. NR
11. Justin McCoy Virginia Gr. 12th
12. Adam Kemp Cal Poly Gr. 14th
13. Luca Augustine Pitt So. 15th
14. Patrick Kennedy Iowa So. 9th
15. Lennox Wolak Columbia Sr. 16th
16. Phillip Conigliaro Harvard Sr. 19th
17 Andrew Sparks Minnesota Jr. 20th
18. Alex Cramer Central Michigan Sr. 18th
19. Mickey O’Malley Drexel Gr. 10th
20. Tate Picklo Oklahoma Jr. 17th

184 pounds 

Wt Name School Yr. Previous
1. Parker Keckeisen Northern Iowa Jr. 1st
2. Bernie Truax Penn State Sr. 2nd
3. Dustin Plott Oklahoma State Sr. 5th
4. Lenny Pinto Nebraska So. 9th
5. Trey Munoz Oregon State Jr. 3rd
6. Will Feldkamp Iowa State Sr. 10th
7. Chris Foca Cornell Sr. 4th
8. Sam Wolf Air Force Sr. 11th/174
9. Colton Hawks Missouri So. 8th
10. Isaiah Salazar Minnesota Sr. 6th
11. Layne Malczewski Michigan State Gr. 13th
12. Brian Soldano Rutgers So. 14th
13. Jaden Bullock Michigan Jr. NR
14. Reece Heller Pitt Sr. 15th
15. Dylan Fishback NC State RSFr. 19th
16. Gavin Kane North Carolina Jr. 7th
17. David Key Navy Sr. 12th
18. Jacob Nolan Binghamton Sr. 11th
19. Gavin Hoffman Ohio State Sr. 17th
20. Troy Fisher Northwestern Sr. 16th

197 pounds   

Wt Name School Yr. Previous
1. Aaron Brooks Penn State Sr. 1st
2. Trent Hidlay NC State Sr. 2nd
3. Tanner Sloan South Dakota State Sr. 3rd
4. Rocky Elam Missouri Jr. 4th
5. Stephan Buchanan Oklahoma Jr. 5th
6. Jacob Cardenas Cornell Sr. 6th
7. Michael Beard Lehigh Jr. 7th
8. Stephen Little Little Rock RSFr. 9th
9. Jaxon Smith Maryland So. 12th
10. Luke Surber Oklahoma State Sr. 8th
11. Silas Allred Nebraska So. 11th
12. Luke Stout Princeton Jr. 10th
13. John Poznanski Rutgers Jr. 14th
14. Nick Stemmet Stanford Sr. 13th
15. Joey Novak Wyoming Fr. NR
16. Max Shaw North Carolina Jr. 15th
17. Wyatt Voelker Northern Iowa RSFr. 17th
18. Andy Smith Virginia Tech Jr. 18th
19. Mac Stout Pitt RSFr. 19th
20. Evan Bockman Utah Valley Sr. 16th

Heavyweight         

Wt Name School Yr. Previous
1. Greg Kerkvliet Penn State Sr. 1st
2. Wyatt Hendrickson Air Force Sr. 2nd
3. Cohlton Schultz Arizona State Jr. 4th
4. Yonger Bastida Iowa State Sr. 6th
5. Lucas Davison Michigan Gr. 3rd
6. Zach Elam Missouri Sr. 5th
7. Taye Ghadiali Campbell Sr. 12th
8. Yaraslau Slavikouski Rutgers Gr. 7th
9. Luke Luffman Illinois Jr. 8th
10. Dayton Pitzer Pitt RSFr. 10th
11. Tyrell Gordon Northern Iowa Sr. 11th
12. Josh Heindselman Oklahoma Sr. 14th
13. Konner Doucet Oklahoma State Jr. 16th
14. Boone McDermott Oregon State Sr. 15th
15. Owen Trephan NC State Jr. 13th
16. Grady Griess Navy Sr. 9th
17. Nathan Taylor Lehigh So. 17th
18. Nick Feldman Ohio State RSFr. 18th
19. Lewis Fernandes Cornell Sr. NR
20. Michael Wolfgram West Virginia Sr. 20th