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Illinois, Missouri climb in latest edition of Trackwrestling Division I Rankings

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by Andy Hamilton, Trackwrestling

The biggest weekend slate of college wrestling action yet in 2021 led to the biggest shakeup of the season in the latest edition of the Trackwrestling Division I Rankings presented by Resilite.

Missouri and Illinois climbed in the team standings and Iowa added to its massive projected point total while Ohio State and Iowa State tumbled in the bottled-up pack of teams jockeying for position in the NCAA trophy chase.

Iowa sophomore Nelson Brands made a two-notch jump to No. 6 at 184 after scoring a major decision win against then-No. 6 Taylor Venz, giving the Hawkeyes 10 wrestlers ranked in the top seven of their respective weight classes.

The top-ranked Hawkeyes check in this week with 137.5 projected NCAA placement and advancement points. Michigan is second with 85. The Wolverines added to their point total thanks to freshman Dylan Ragusin’s three-notch jump to No. 7 in the scrambled 125-pound rankings.

Minnesota sophomore Patrick McKee’s win over then-No. 2 RayVon Foley of Michigan State rattled the rankings in the lightest weight class. McKee and Nebraska’s Liam Cronin — who beat McKee 8-1 a week earlier — each climbed eight spots, checking in this week at ninth and eighth, respectively. Ohio State 125-pounder Malik Heinselman leaped nine notches to No. 12 after posting a pair of wins, including a 9-2 victory against Illinois' Justin Cardani, who had been ranked No. 11.

On the opposite end of the rankings, Illinois heavyweight Luke Luffman made the biggest individual move, going from No. 27 up to No. 5 after posting wins against All-Americans Trent Hilger of Wisconsin and Tate Orndorff of Ohio State.

The Illini moved up from 29th to a tie for 20th in the team standings. Missouri also made an upward move, climbing two spots to No. 13 after hammering Northern Iowa and Iowa State on Sunday.

Penn State remains No. 3 with 71 points, followed by Nebraska (54), Oklahoma State (51.5), North Carolina State (45), Ohio State (44), Virginia Tech (44), Arizona State (37.5) and Northwestern (37.5) rounding out the top 10.

The rankings, which are linked below, do not include wrestlers from conferences and schools that have stated plans not to compete during the 2021 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Trackwrestling team rankings are based strictly on the number of advancement and placement points each squad would accumulate if its wrestlers finished in those ranking slots at the NCAA Championships. Top-ranked wrestlers earn 20 points, followed by 16 for second, 13.5 for third, 12.5 for fourth, 10 for fifth, 9 for sixth, 6.5 for seventh, 5.5 for eighth, 2 for spots 9-12, 1.5 for spots 13-16 and 1 for 17-25. Team dual outcomes are not factored into the team rankings.

The Trackwrestling rankings include 33 wrestlers at each weight class, representing the number of wrestlers who qualify for the NCAA Championships.

Do you have questions or comments on the Trackwrestling rankings? Email us with feedback at rankings@trackwrestling.com.

Rank

School

Points

1

Iowa

137.5

2

Michigan

85

3

Penn State

71

4

Nebraska

54

5

Oklahoma State

51.5

6

North Carolina State

45

T-7

Ohio State

44

T-7

Virginia Tech

44

T-9

Arizona State

37.5

T-9

Northwestern

37.5

11

Minnesota

37

12

Rutgers

36

13

Missouri

35

T-14

Iowa State

33

T-14

North Carolina

33

16

Purdue

30.5

17

Stanford

30

18

Central Michigan

29

19

Pittsburgh

24.5

T-20

Illinois

21

T-20

West Virginia

21

22

Virginia

19

23

Oklahoma

18.5

24

Northern Colorado

15.5

25

Rider

15

26

Michigan State

14.5

27

Binghamton

13.5

28

Wisconsin

12

29

Utah Valley

11

30

Navy

10.5

31

Wyoming

8

32

Clarion

7.5

33

Duke

6.5

34

South Dakota State

5.5

T-35

Appalachian State

5

T-35

North Dakota State

5

37

Oregon State

4.5

38

Campbell

4

T-39

Army West Point

3.5

T-39

Bucknell

3.5

T-39

Indiana

3.5

T-39

Northern Illinois

3.5

T-39

Northern Iowa

3.5

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