After another wild week of high-level college wrestling, it's time to reevaluate the power rankings for each weight class. While the most recent slate of duals brought excitement and energy, they also brought clarity. The top-five rankings continue to sort themselves out as the action continues, but here's where we stand right now.
125 pounds
1. Spencer Lee, Iowa
2. Patrick Glory, Princeton
3. Liam Cronin, Nebraska
4. Matt Ramos, Purdue
5. Patrick McKee, Minnesota
Spencer Lee continues to do Spencer Lee things. After being taken down by Penn State's Marco Vespa to open up the Nittany Lion dual against the Hawkeyes, Lee turned up his offense and notched a first-period tech against his opponent. He's now 11-0 on the year with 100% bonus. Unreal.
Not to be outdone, Princeton's Patrick Glory secure bonus points of his own with a pin against Harvard before topping Adrian Hunter of Brown 10-3. It's good to see him competing at 125 pound and looking strong. He's a title contender, and the match we all want to see is Lee vs. Glory.
SPENCER LEE: Reliving the champ's 2021 NCAA title run
Outside of these two, 125 pounds continues to be interesting. Credit to Liam Cronin for staying the course and notching a good 7-3 win over All-American Barnett. He holds down his No. 3 spot with that win. Matt Ramos also did his part to stay at No. 4 with a win over Jacob Moran of Indiana, and Patrick McKee notched a victory against Illinois with bonus. There wasn't a lot of craziness in the weight class this week, but we potentially get to see Lee vs. McKee and Cronin vs. Ramos next week. Killian Cardinale of West Virginia also remains undefeated, and he'll have Iowa State and Northern Iowa next weekend.
133 pounds
1. Roman Bravo-Young, Penn State
2. Daton Fix, Oklahoma State
3. Vito Arujau, Cornell
4. Michael McGee, Arizona State
5. Micky Phillippi, Pittsburgh
Roman Bravo-Young is the guy at 133 pounds. With two back-to-back falls against top-10 opponents, he's been on fire lately and will be expected to run through the rest of his schedule without too much trouble. He's just competing on a different level.
Daton Fix also notched two solid decision wins this weekend, and he's solidly No. 2 at the weight, though Bravo-Young has created separation. Vito Arujau and Michael McGee protected their rankings this week as well, as Arujau notched two bonus point wins and McGee held off Lehigh's Connor McGonagle 8-6. The big change though was the emergence of Micky Phillippi. With a lone loss to McGonagle this season, Phillippi jumps into the rankings this week after beating Virginia Tech's Sam Latona in the Panthers' win over the Hokies. Phillippi is the only wrestler other than Bravo-Young to have a win over Daton Fix and NCAA champion Nick Suriano in college, and while Phillippi has not yet been able to finish on the podium in his career, this ranked win over Latona is a huge step towards that goal.
141 pounds
1. Andrew Alirez, Northern Colorado
2. Real Woods, Iowa
3. Cole Matthews, Pitt
4. Brock Hardy, Nebraska
5. Ryan Jack, N.C. State
Andrew Alirez continues to show why he deserves this top spot at 141 pounds. The junior Northern Colorado star not only fended off All-American Clay Carlson over the weekend, but he did so definitively, topping the Jackrabbit 10-3. Alirez is now 2-2 against Carlson in his career, but he's won the last two battles.
ALL STAR CLASSIC: Complete results from the 2022 NWCA exhibition
Iowa's Real Woods stopped Penn State's Beau Bartlett as well, causing Bartlett — who continues to look tough — to shift out of the rankings in favor of Ryan Jack from N.C. State. Cole Matthews bumps up to No. 3 after Bartlett's loss and Matthews' win over Tom Crook.
Jack, Hardy and Bartlett, have all lost now this year, but Hardy and Jack both have a quality win over each other, giving them the edge in this week's ranking. Hardy takes the No. 4 spot, despite having two more losses than Jack, because he has the last win against the Wolfpack leader. Bartlett absolutely has a shot to re-emerge in this top five too if Matthews, Hardy or Jack take losses, but, for now, he's just on the outside looking in, even after his gritty effort against No. 2 Real Woods.
149 pounds
1. Yianni Diakomihalis, Cornell
2. Sammy Sasso, Ohio State
3. Yahya Thomas, Northwestern
4. Austin Gomez, Wisconsin
5. Kyle Parco, Arizona State
After starting the season 0-1, Cornell's Yianni Diakomihalis has rattled off nine wins a row, adding another W to his record this weekend with a major decision against Danny Fongaro of Columbia. The three-time champ continues his quest toward a fourth a final title, though he'll have a fun bout just a few weeks before NCAAs when he's set to take on No. 2 Sammy Sasso of Ohio State.
Sasso bumped up to No. 2 in this week's power rankings after Wisconsin's Austin Gomez, last week's No. 2 injury defaulted out of his match against Yahya Thomas of Northwestern during the first period. Gomez looked to tweak his knee in that bout and attempted to wrestle through it, but ultimately needed medical attention. The Badger did not wrestle on Sunday but will hopefully return later in the season and continue to showcase his funk. For now, he sits at No. 4, just behind Thomas, with the hopes that he's able to continue his season.
157 pounds
1. Peyton Robb, Nebraska2. Austin O'Connor, North Carolina
3. Jared Franek, North Dakota State
4. Bryce Andonian, Virginia Tech
5. Josh Humphreys, Lehigh
The 157-pound weight class has its fair share of undefeated wrestlers, but Nebraska's Peyton Robb leads them all. The All-American Husker had a test this week in national qualifier Garrett Model, but Robb did what he's done all season and shut down the Badger. Robb has been so impressive in his 19 victories, and he's alone at the top of 157 pounds once again this week.
ACC WRESTLING: 5 takeaways from the 2022 conference tournament
The North Dakota Bison did not wrestle last week, so it may not be fair to drop Jared Franek down to No. 3, but North Carolina's Austin O'Connor deserves to be rewarded for his 84.62% bonus percentage. The Tar Heel champ teched Jake Keating of Virginia over the weekend, a particularly impressive win given that Keating finished in the Round of 16 last year. O'Connor's so skilled, and a rematch between him and Robb would be must-watch wrestling.
Another ACC wrestler rising in the rankings this week is All-American Bryce Andonian, a Virginia Tech junior who majored Dazjon Casto, a Round of 12 finisher last year from Pittsburgh. Despite fighting an injury earlier this year, Andonian looks like he's back, and he's now No. 4 in these power rankings, just behind Franek. Josh Humphreys round out the group at No. 5, though he hasn't wrestled since December and may slip out of the top 5 if he doesn't record a match soon.
165 pounds
1. Keegan O'Toole, Missouri
2. David Carr, Iowa State
3. Quincy Monday, Princeton
4. Shane Griffith, Stanford
5. Cam Amine, Michigan
The 165-pound weight class is top heavy, with national champs Keegan O'Toole and David Carr leading the way. Carr, in particular, earned two good wins over the weekend, majoring Gerrit Nijenhuis and topping All-American Wyatt Sheets 5-3. NCAA finalist Quincy Monday also did his part, earning two Ivy League wins over the weekend as well, while 2021 NCAA champion Shane Griffith notched a decision win over Tyler Brennan.
MICHIGAN MEN: A complete recap of how Michigan won the 2022 Big Ten championships
The fifth spot at 165 pounds is tricky though. Cam Amine, last week's holder of that spot. All-American Cam Amine lost to Penn State freshman Alex Facundo who lost to Iowa's Patrick Kennedy who lost to Wisconsin All-American Dean Hamiti who lost to Amine. However, the fifth spot this week will still go to Amine as a result of his pin over Ohio State's Carson Kharchla in sudden victory. Amine's losses to Facundo and Ohio State's Bryce Hepner as not ideal, but he has wins over Hamiti and Kharchla, and he'll have a shot against No. 20 Nijenhuis and No. Kennedy over the next two weeks.
174 pounds
1. Carter Starocci, Penn State2. Mikey Labriola, Nebraska
3. Mekhi Lewis, Virginia Tech
4. Michael O'Malley, Drexel
5. Chris Foca, Cornell
The entire top-five at 174 pounds held steady this week, as Penn State's Carter Starocci beat Iowa's Nelson Brands, Nebraska's Mikey Labriola bonused Wisconsin's Josh Otto, Virginia Tech's Mekhi Lewis majored Pitt's Luca Augustine, Drexel's Michael O'Malley stopped Brown's Drew Clearie and Chris Foca earned wins against Ben Pasiuk and Lenox Wolak. Columbia's Wolak, in particular, has been known to give top guys trouble, as he beat Ohio State's Ethan Smith earlier this year, but Foca handled him.
The bigger story out of 174 pounds this week is outside the top five, as Iowa's Brands showed that he can compete with top-ranked Starocci, as he held the Nittany Lion to a 2-1 score. We've seen former champs go down in this weight already this season. Will Starocci be able to hold on through the rest of the season? He's a favorite to run through the dual schedule, but the rest of the conference certainly as their eye on the defending champ.
184 pounds
1. Aaron Brooks, Penn State
2. Parker Keckeisen, Northern Iowa
3. Trent Hidlay, NC State
4. Marcus Coleman, Iowa State
5. Kaleb Romero, Ohio State
The only change at 184 pounds this week is for the fifth position, as Cornell's Jon Loew dropped out the rankings following his injury default loss Sahm Abdulrazzaq of Army. Much like Gomez at 149 pounds, Loew has had an impressive season, but as March nears, injuries become more serious and impactful in the rankings. We'll continue to monitor Loew and add him back to the top five if his health improves and he's able to return to form. In the meantime, Ohio State's Kaleb Romero joins the rankings at No. 5 following his solid weekend where he earned wins over Matt Finesilver and Lucas Daly. Romero finished the 2022 season as an All-American, and he's absolutely capable of doing so again.
21-6 tech for the resident gorilla at 184lbs. 😤 @wrestlingbucks x @KalebRomero7 pic.twitter.com/sGZw5fp7AG
— Ohio State on BTN (@OhioStateOnBTN) January 29, 2023
Penn State's Aaron Brooks leads the weight again after his tech fall against Iowa, while his fellow ranked upperweights — Parker Keckeisen, Trent Hidlay and Marcus Coleman — all hold their spots either as a result of weekend wins or a lack of losses.
197 pounds
1. Rocky Elam, Missouri
2. Nino Bonaccorsi, Pittsburgh
3. Michael Beard, Lehigh
4. Max Dean, Penn State
5. Yonger Bastida, Iowa State
This week's 197 pound ranking remains unchanged and aligns perfectly with InterMat's rankings from last week as well. Elam, the top-ranked wrestler at this weight who took over the spot after Dean's losses, did not wrestle this week, so he stay in position by default. No. 2 Nino Bonaccorsi looked good against Virginia Tech’s Andy Smith to stay undefeated on the year at 10-0, while Michael Beard dominated, teching teched Jack Wehmeyer and pinning Damion Schunke of Columbia and Arizona State respectively.
PENN STATE BEATS IOWA: Here's how the Nittany Lions topped the Hawks 23-14
Yonger Bastida notched a good win over Luke Surber of Oklahoma State as the Cyclones continue their impressive season as a top Big 12 team.
Max Dean had perhaps the most dramatic weekend, beating Iowa's Jacob Warner once again to help Penn State prevail over Iowa. Dean has taken some losses this year, but his top game is nearly unstoppable, and his performance against NCAA finalist Warner shows that he's ready to compete for national title #2.
285 pounds
1. Mason Parris, Michigan
2. Greg Kerkvliet, Penn State
3. Tony Cassioppi, Iowa
4. Lucas Davison, Northwestern
5. Wyatt Hendrickson, Air Force
Penn State's reg Kerkvliet made big moves this week at heavyweight, as he jumped from No. 3 and No. 2 following his dual-winning victory over Iowa's Tony Cassioppi. Kerkvliet's improvement is clear, and though he did take that loss to Parris earlier this season, he's in this hunt for a title. Parris, as a result of that previous win over Kerkvliet, holds down the top spot.
Penn State, Coach Cael Sanderson
— Penn State/NLWC Fan (@NlwcFan) January 28, 2023
Plus, Aaron Brooks & Greg Kerkvliet recap Iowa dual@pennstateWREST @NittanyLionWC @__ABALLDAY @kerkvlietpsu https://t.co/DFft8dBXQv via @YouTube
Cassioppi drops down to No. 3 following his loss to Kerkvliet but he stays ahead of no. 4 Lucas Davison as a result of his win over the Wildcat.
Arizona State's Cohlton Schultz is a top-five contender as well, though his early season losses hurt him in this list right now, given that Air Force's Wyatt Hendrickson still hasn't taken a loss and continue to pin, tech or major everyone he meets. Schultz has finished higher than Hendrickson in the last two NCAA tournaments, and he's probably a better wrestler on paper, but Hendrickson stays in this power rankings because his dominance continues to be impressive.
