January kicked off with some great duals, and things are only going to get better. A highly-anticipated Daton Fix-Nick Suriano turned into an episode of the Twilight Zone at Rutgers last weekend with Fix earning a controversial 3-2, video-review-filled, match. A few wrestlers can claim No. 1 spots, but they need to wrestle some matches to earn that right. South Dakota State’s Seth Gross, a 2018 NCAA champ at 133 pounds, is still sidelined and may not compete again. Likewise for Iowa’s Sam Stoll, who has just three matches this season. Only time will tell if the injury bug allows certain individuals back on the mat this spring.
Called “upsets” by many, a number of weight classes — 141, 157, 184, 197 — have had some chaotic activity so the rankings continue to change from week-to-week. This weekend’s best match-up? Maybe its Suriano and Iowa’s Austin DeSanto or perhaps Nebraska’s Tyler Berger and Penn State pinning machine Jason Nolf. One thing is for sure, the next set of individual power rankings in two weeks might look different.
125 POUNDS
“Number oneeeee!”’s Rivera feelin’ on top of the world 💪
— NCAA Wrestling (@NCAAWrestling)
1 – Sebastian RIVERA (Northwestern, SO) … Opened second semester strong
2 – Spencer LEE (Iowa, SO) … Hasn’t missed a beat since his loss to Rivera
RELATED: Five questions with Spencer Lee
3 – Ronnie BRESSER (Oregon State, SR) … Might not be challenged until March
4 – Nick PICCININNI (Oklahoma State, JR) … Tough win over Glory last weekend
5 – Sean RUSSELL (Minnesota, SR) … No threat to Lee in Hawkeyes’ win
6 – Jack MUELLER (Virginia, JR) … 7 of 8 wins by technical fall or pin
7 – Rayvon FOLEY (Michigan State, SO) … Has won 21 of 22
8 – Brent FLEETWOOD (North Dakota State, SR) … Having himself a year
9 – Patrick GLORY (Princeton, FR) … Battled Piccininni for seven minutes
10 – Sean FAUSZ (North Carolina State, SR) … If he controls his weight, a tough out
133 POUNDS
133: Micic adds two more takedowns in the third, makes it seven total in the bout, and rides for 1:09 to beat Duncan, 18-8. He improves to 6-0 on the season. Wolverines are on the board.
— Michigan Wrestling (@umichwrestling)
Michigan 4, Illinois 3
1 – Stevan MICIC (Michigan, JR) … Can he hold off Fix and Suriano?
2 – Daton FIX (Oklahoma State, FR) … A video-review-filled win over Suriano
3 – Nick SURIANO (Rutgers, JR) … A match with Iowa’s DeSanto this week
4 – Micky PHILLIPPI (Pittsburgh, FR) … Can he challenge one of the top athletes in the weight class this weekend?
5 – Luke PLETCHER (Ohio State, JR) … Wins close matches
. gets the 7-3 win for .💪
— Ohio State on BTN (@OhioStateOnBTN)
6 – Austin GOMEZ (Iowa State, FR) … Only loss is to Fix
7 – Austin DeSANTO (Iowa, SO) … Cocky and backing it up so far
8 – Ethan LIZAK (Minnesota, SR) … This weight class is really tough
9 – Tariq WILSON (North Carolina State, SO) … When will he be back?
10 – Roman BRAVO-YOUNG (Penn State, FR) … Two good wins over the weekend
141 POUNDS
1 – Yianni DIAKOMIHALIS (Cornell, SO) … Rolling right along
MORE: 5 questions with returning NCAA wrestling champion Yianni Diakomihalis
2 – Joey McKENNA (Ohio State, SR) … Major, tech, pin to open second semester
3 – Jaydin EIERMAN (Missouri, JR) … Only losses to Nos. 1 and 2
4 – Josh ALBER (Northern Iowa, SR) … 8 straight wins since loss to Yianni
141 | #8 Josh Alber gets his second career win over #20 Chad Red with a 6-4 decision.
— UNI Wrestling (@UNI_wrestling)
That gives the the lead in team scoring over #11 Nebraska after 3 weights, 6-3.
5 – Michael CARR (Illinois, SO) …Edged Michigan’s Storr last time out
6 – Kanen STORR (Michigan, SO) … Both losses this season by 3-2 scores
7 – Mitch McKEE (Minnesota, JR) … Always a threat with his offense
8 – Nick LEE (Penn State, SO) … Suffered first loss of season against Wisconsin
RELATED: Penn State looks almost unbeatable. Here are 3 teams that could unseat the champs
9 – Dom DEMAS (Oklahoma, FR) … Loss to ODU’s Perry ended 11-match win streak
10 – Kaid BROCK (Oklahoma State, JR) … Two-time All-American getting healthy?
149 POUNDS
1 – Matthew KOLODZIK (Princeton, JR) … Two good wins over the weekend
Congrats to the Suburban Transit/GoPrincetonTigers.com Athlete of the Week, Matthew Kolodzik of . Kolodzik went 2-0 against wrestlers ranked in the national top 6.
— Princeton Tigers (@PUTIGERS)
2 – Anthony ASHNAULT (Rutgers, SR) … Edged Oklahoma State rookie Gfeller to stay unbeaten
3 – Micah JORDAN (Ohio State, SR) … Only loss is to Ashnault
4 – Austin O’CONNOR (North Carolina, FR) … 3-2 loss to Kolodzik last weekend
5 – Kaden GFELLER (Oklahoma State, FR) … Hung tough with 1 and 2
6 – Mitch FINESILVER (Duke, SR) … Has won 18 of 21
174 | Matt Finesilver with those bonus points.
— Duke Wrestling (@DukeWRES)
Major decision, 13-2
Season win No. 16
Brown 17, Duke 12
7 – Brock MAULLER (Missouri, FR) …One of three freshmen in top seven
8 – Christian MONSERRAT (West Virginia, SR) … Beat Oliver for 10th straight win
9 – Justin OLIVER (North Carolina State, SR) … Dropped two of last three matches
MORE: How NC State is trying to turn college wrestling into a must-see event
10 – Jarrett DEGEN (Iowa State, SO) … Two good wins last two starts
157 POUNDS
1 – Jason NOLF (Penn State, SR) … All-time pins leader at “PIN” State U
2 – Tyler BERGER (Nebraska, SR) … Beat Deakin and Hidlay in back-to-back matches
3 – Ryan DEAKIN (Northwestern, SO) … Last two matches against 1 and 2
ALSO: Northwestern's Ryan Deakin faces national championship expectations
4 – Hayden HIDLAY (North Carolina State, SO) … Dominant in last two outings
5 – Ke-Shawn HAYES (Ohio State, JR) … Won 15 of 18
6 – Kaleb YOUNG (Iowa, SO) … One of the better pins you’ll see against Minnesota
Kaleb Young with a filthy throw late in the third to beat Steve Bleise.
— FloWrestling (@FloWrestling)
7 – Steve BLEISE (Minnesota, SR) … Part of Young’s highlight toss
8 – Zach HARTMAN (Bucknell, FR) … A bit under the radar
9 – Brian LaPRADE (Virginia Tech, SO) … A good Virginia Duals performance
10 – Alec PANTALEO (Michigan, SR) … If he ever finds consistency look out
165 POUNDS
1 – Vincenzo JOSEPH (Penn State, JR) … Disappointed he didn’t go against Badgers
2 – Chance MARSTELLER (Lock Haven, SR) … Three wins since loss to Joseph
3 – Alex MARINELLI (Iowa, SO) … Just keeps getting better
4 – Evan WICK (Wisconsin, SO) … Has won 20 of 21
RELATED: Recent NWCA Rankings highlight the dominance of Big Ten wrestling programs
5 – Josh SHIELDS (Arizona State, JR) … Five wins to start 2019
6 – Isaiah WHITE (Nebraska, JR) … Could he add DI title after winning in DII?
7 – Mekhi LEWIS (Virginia Tech, FR) … A very dangerous opponent to all
8 – Branson ASHWORTH (Wyoming, SR) … Major, tech, two pins to open the spring
9 – Demetrius ROMERO (Utah Valley, JR) … Under the radar outside of Utah
10 – Chandler ROGERS (Oklahoma State, SR) … Health a concern
174 POUNDS
1 – Mark HALL (Penn State, JR) … Unbeaten and confident
2 – Zahid VALENCIA (Arizona State, JR) … Just waiting on rematch with Hall in Pittsburgh
CONGRATS to *three-time* Oustanding Wreslter, ‼️ ��
— Sun Devil Wrestling (@ASUWrestling)
3 – Myles AMINE (Michigan, JR) … Dropped a 6-4 match to Valencia on Jan. 5
4 – Daniel LEWIS (Missouri, SR) … Winner of 15 of 16
5 – Jordan KUTLER (Lehigh, JR) … Trying to carry the Mountain Hawks
6 – Joe SMITH (Oklahoma State, JR) … Two tough wins in New Jersey
7 – David McFADDEN (Virginia Tech, JR) … Hasn’t seen a lot of the top guys yet
8 – Taylor LUJAN (Northern Iowa, JR) … Beat Labriola over the weekend
MORE: College wrestling home | Rankings | National championship history
9 – Michael LABRIOLA (Nebraska, FR) … He’ll be trouble in the Big Ten
10 – Matt FINESILVER (Duke, SR) … Two of his five losses are to Hall
184 POUNDS
1 – Myles MARTIN (Ohio State, SR) … Two dominant wins last weekend
2 – Emery PARKER (Illinois, SR) … Only nine matches this season
No. 2 comes through 😏 got the job done in overtime in a 6-4 decision over Cam Caffey to give the their first B1G win of the season 🔶🔷
— Illinois Wrestling (@IlliniWrestling)
3 – Shakur RASHEED (Penn State, SR) … Undefeated and dangerous
4 – Nick REENAN (North Carolina State, SO) … 12-5 setback to Martin his only loss
MORE: NCAA debuts wrestling award standings for 2019 season
5 – Zack ZAVATSKY (Virginia Tech, SR) … Starting to roll
6 – Ryan PREISCH (Lehigh, SR) … Has to get healthy like the rest of Lehigh
7 – Lou DePREZ (Binghamton, FR) … Might he contend for national title down the road?
8 – Taylor VENZ (Nebraska, SO) … Has wrestled a tough schedule
9 – Drew FOSTER (Northern Iowa, SR) … Dropped a close 8-6 match to Venz
10 – Jacobe SMITH (Oklahoma State, SR) … Getting adjusted to no weight cut
197 POUNDS
1 – Bo NICKAL (Penn State, SR) … When he doesn’t pin it’s a surprise
2 – Kollin MOORE (Ohio State, JR) … 3 pins in last 4 matches
3 – Patrick BRUCKI (Princeton, SO) … Big, physical dude
4 – Nathan TRAXLER (Stanford, SO) … After the top three it’s anybody’s guess
5 – Tom SLEIGH (Virginia Tech, SR) … Gaining some momentum
Tom gets his revenge from Vegas!!!
— Virginia Tech Wrestling (@HokiesWrestling)
He beats #7 Aiello 7-3 after a late T2 and RT. up 33-5 heading into heavyweight
6 – Jacob WARNER (Iowa, FR) … Just eight matches this season
7 – Willie MIKLUS (Iowa State, SR) … Dropped an overtime bout to FSU’s Hokit
8 – Rocco CAYWOOD (Army, SR) … 2 of 3 losses this season to Brucki
9 – Dakota GEER (Oklahoma State, SO) … Getting adjusted to 197
10 – Ben HONIS (Cornell, SR) … Could also be No. 4
285 POUNDS
1 – Gable STEVESON (Minnesota, FR) … Making friends and enemies
2 – Derek WHITE (Oklahoma State, SR) … Just keeps winning
3 – Anthony CASSAR (Penn State, JR) … One of two solid Nittany Lion big men
4 – Jordan WOOD (Lehigh, SO) … Two good victories last weekend
5 – Youssif HEMIDA (Maryland, SR) … Getting some matches finally
6 – Mason PARRIS (Michigan, FR) … Gives Michigan more firepower
MORE: 2019 NCAA championships winter selection show schedule
7 – Amar DHESI (Oregon State, SR) … Opened with loss to Parris
8 – Trent HILLGER (Wisconsin, FR) … One of four freshmen in top 10
And another tourney cut short by injury, but Thor is gonna do big things this year. Congrats to on the eighth place finish!
— Wisconsin Wrestling (@BadgerWrestling)
9 – Tate ORNDORFF (Utah Valley, FR) … Two pins to start 2019
10 – Demetrius THOMAS (Pittsburgh, JR) … Former NAIA champ gets Oklahoma State's White next
