Minnesota’s Blockhus makes huge jump to No. 3 in WIN rankings; Penn State tops TPI and Dual Rankings
by Mike Finn, WIN Magazine
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 (12th at 125), there’s Michigan’s Sergio Lemley (17th at 141), Oklahoma State’s Sammy Alvarez (17th at 149), Purdue’s Joey Blaze (17th at 157), Indiana’s Tyler Lillard (18th at 165), Ohio State’s Bryce Hepner (19th at 165), Northwestern’s Maxx Mayfield (20th at 165) and Ohio’s Sal Perrine (19th at 174).
WIN Magazine’s Jan. 22 Dual-Team Rankings
Rk./School (Record)/Prev./Upcoming Weekend’s Schedules
1. Penn State (6-0) 1st Jan. 28 at Maryland
2. Missouri (7-0) 2nd Jan. 26 at West Virginia; Jan. 28 at Cornell
3. Iowa (8-0) 3rd Jan. 26 at Illinois; Jan. 28 at Northwestern
4. Iowa State (9-1) 4th Jan. 26 at Oklahoma; Jan. 27 at Oklahoma State
5. Oklahoma State (8-0) 5th Jan. 26 vs. Northern Iowa; Jan. 27 vs. Iowa State
6. Ohio State (11-1) 6th Jan. 26 vs. Michigan
7. Nebraska (7-1) 7th Jan. 26 at Northwestern; Jan. 28 at Wisconsin
8. NC State (10-2) 8th Jan. 26 at Pitt
9. Cornell (4-3) 9th Jan. 27 vs. Harvard & Brown; Jan. 28 vs. Missouri
10. Virginia Tech (4-3) 10th Jan. 26 vs. North Carolina
11. Michigan (5-2) 11th Jan. 26 at Ohio State
12. Minnesota (5-2) 12th Jan. 27 at Rutgers
13. Rutgers (10-2) 13th Jan. 27 vs. Minnesota
14. South Dakota State (8-2) 14th Jan. 26 vs. Air Force
15. Northern Iowa (3-4) 19th Jan. 26 at Oklahoma State; Jan. 27 at Oklahoma
16. Oregon State (5-3) 15th Jan. 26 vs. Little Rock
17. Lehigh (4-3) 20th off until Feb. 4 at Army
18. Stanford (7-2) 16th Jan. 28 vs. Little Rock
19. Wisconsin (6-2) 21st Jan. 26 at Michigan State; Jan. 28 vs. Nebraska
20. West Virginia (8-2) 22nd Jan. 26 vs. Missouri; Jan. 28 at Morgan State
21. Oklahoma (4-3) 23rd Jan. 26 vs. Iowa State; Jan. 27 vs. Northern Iowa
22. Pitt (7-5) 17th Jan. 26 vs. NC State
23. Little Rock (10-4) 24th Jan. 26 at Oregon State; Jan. 28 at Stanford
24. Navy (6-4) 18th Jan. 28 at North Carolina
25. Penn (1-4) 25th Jan. 28 vs. Columbia
WIN Magazine’s Jan. 22 Tournament Power Index (TPI)
Rk./School/Total Ranked/Top 8/TPI Pts
1. Penn State 10 8 135.5
2. Missouri 9 6 78.5
3. Iowa 8 4 59
4. NC State 8 4 57.5
5. Cornell 8 4 55
6. Oklahoma State 9 3 54.5
7. Michigan 9 4 54
8. Iowa State 7 4 50
9. Virginia Tech 9 3 46.5
10. Nebraska 7 4 43.5
11. Ohio State 8 3 38.5
12. Minnesota 6 3 35.5
13. Arizona State 3 3 35
14. Northern Iowa 6 2 33
15. Oregon State 5 2 28
16. South Dakota State 5 2 24
17. Lehigh 4 2 23
18. Purdue 2 1 21
19. Illinois 3 2 20
20. Air Force 3 1 19
21. Rutgers 7 2 17
22. Lock Haven 1 1 16
23. Wisconsin 4 1 13
24. Wyoming 1 1 12.5
25t. Little Rock 2 2 12
25t. Northern Colorado 3 1 12
27t. North Carolina 2 1 11.5
27t. Oklahoma 2 1 11.5
29. Pitt 6 0 9.5
30. West Virginia 3 1 9
31. Cal Poly 3 1 8.5
32. Stanford 3 1 8
33. Penn 2 1 7.5
34. Maryland 4 0 7
35. Campbell 1 1 6.5
36. Indiana 4 0 5.5
37t. Michigan State 3 0 4.5
37t. Ohio 3 0 4.5
39. Navy 3 0 4
40. Bucknell 2 0 3
41t. Central Michigan 1 0 2
41t. Harvard 1 0 2
41t. Northwestern 2 0 2
44t. Binghamton 1 0 1.5
44t. Columbia 1 0 1.5
44t. Princeton 1 0 1.5
44t. Virginia 1 0 1.5
48t. Chattanooga 1 0 1
48t. Franklin & Marshall 1 0 1
48t. North Dakota State 1 0 1
48t. Utah Valley 1 0 1
WIN Magazine’s Jan. 22 Individual Rankings
Wt/Name/School/Yr./Previous
125 pounds
1. Matt Ramos Purdue Jr. 1st
2. Anthony Noto Lock Haven Jr. 3rd
3. Drake Ayala Iowa So. 2nd
4. Jore Volk Wyoming So. 4th
5. Brandon Kaylor Oregon State Sr. 6th
6. Patrick McKee Minnesota Sr. 7th
7. Cooper Flynn Virginia Tech Fr. 8th
8. Noah Surtin Missouri Jr. 9th
9. Caleb Smith Nebraska Gr. 5th
10. Stevo Poulin Northern Colorado So. 10th
11. Eric Barnett Wisconsin Sr. 13th
12. Braeden Davis Penn State Fr. NR
13. Michael DeAugustino Michigan Sr. 19th
14. Nico Provo Stanford So. 11th
15. Tanner Jordan South Dakota State Sr. 14th
16. Troy Spratley Oklahoma State RSFr. 15th
17. Brett Ungar Cornell So. 16th
18. Jakob Camacho NC State Jr. 17th
19. Dean Peterson Rutgers So. 12th
20. Brayden Palmer Chattanooga Sr. 18th
133 pounds
1. Vito Arujau Cornell Sr. 1st
2. Daton Fix Oklahoma State Sr. 2nd
3. Ryan Crookham Lehigh Fr. 3rd
4. Dylan Ragusin Michigan Jr. 6th
5. Aaron Nagao Penn State So. 4th
6. Kai Orine NC State Jr. 5th
7. Nasir Bailey Little Rock Fr. 7th
8. Dylan Shawver Rutgers So. 8th
9. Evan Frost Iowa State RSFr. 9th
10. Michael Colaiocco Penn Sr. 10th
11. Nic Bouzakis Ohio State RSFr. 11th
12. Julian Farber Northern Iowa Jr. 12th
13. Sam Latona Virginia Tech Jr. 13th
14. Kurt Phipps Bucknell Sr. 14th
15. Braxton Brown Maryland So. 15th
16. Zeth Romney Cal Poly RSFr. 16th
17. Jacob Van Dee Nebraska RSFr. 17th
18. Dominic Serrano Northern Colorado So. 18th
19. Brody Teske Iowa Sr. 19th
20. Derrick Cardinal South Dakota State So. 20th
141 pounds
1. Real Woods Iowa Sr. 1st
2. Beau Bartlett Penn State Sr. 2nd
3. Jesse Mendez Ohio State So. 3rd
4. Ryan Jack NC State Jr. 4th
5. Lachlan McNeil North Carolina So. 5th
6. Anthony Echemendia Iowa State Jr. 7th
7. Cael Happel Northern Iowa Jr. 8th
8. Brock Hardy Nebraska So. 9th
9. Tagen Jamison Oklahoma State RSFr. 6th
10. Vince Cornella Cornell So. 10th
11. Vance VomBaur Minnesota So. 14th
12. Kal Miller Maryland So. 12th
13. Josh Koderhandt Navy Jr. 15th
14. Tom Crook Virginia Tech So. 13th
15. Jordan Titus West Virginia So. 16th
16. Josh Edmond Missouri So. 17th
17. Sergio Lemley Michigan Fr. NR
18. Mitch Moore Rutgers Gr. 11th
19. Malyke Hines Lehigh Jr. 18th
20. Cole Matthews Pitt Sr. 20th
149 pounds
1. Ridge Lovett Nebraska Jr. 1st
2. Caleb Henson Virginia Tech So. 2nd
3. Jackson Arrington NC State So. 3rd
4. Kyle Parco Arizona State Jr. 4th
5. Austin Gomez Michigan Gr. 5th
6. Kannon Webster Illinois Fr. 6th
7. Dylan D’Emilio Ohio State Sr. 7th
8. Chance Lamer Cal Poly So. 8th
9. Casey Swiderski Iowa State So. 9th
10. Ty Watters West Virginia Fr. 10th
11. Logan Gioffre Missouri Jr. 11th
12. Corbyn Munson Central Michigan Sr. 12th
13. Tyler Kasak Penn State Fr. 13th
14. Ethen Miller Maryland So. 14th
15. Graham Rooks Indiana Sr. 15th
16. Caleb Rathjen Iowa So. 19th
17. Sammy Alvarez Oklahoma State Sr. NR
18. Nash Singleton Oregon State RSFr. 18th
19. Joe Zargo Wisconsin Jr. 20th
20. Drew Roberts Minnesota So. 16th
157 pounds
1. Levi Haines Penn State So. 1st
2. Brock Mauller Missouri Sr. 5th
3. Michael Blockhus Minnesota Sr. 17th
4. Jared Franek Iowa Gr. 2nd
5. Jacori Teemer Arizona State Sr. 4th
6. Vinny Zerban Northern Colorado So. 6th
7. Peyton Robb Nebraska Sr. 3rd
8. Daniel Cardenas Stanford So. 7th
9. Ed Scott NC State Jr. 8th
10. Ryder Downey Northern Iowa RSFr. 9th
11. Meyer Shapiro Cornell Fr. 10th
12. Cody Chittum Iowa State Fr. 11th
13. Will Lewan Michigan Sr. 12th
14. Bryce Andonian Virginia Tech Sr. 13th
15. Peyten Kellar Ohio So. 14th
16. Teague Travis Oklahoma State So. 16th
17. Joey Blaze Purdue Fr. NR
18. Paddy Gallagher Ohio State So. 15th
19. Chase Saldate Michigan State Sr. 19th
20. Trevor Chumbley Northwestern Sr. 18th
165 pounds
1. Keegan O’Toole Missouri Jr. 1st
2. David Carr Iowa State Sr. 2nd
3. Mitchell Mesenbrink Penn State RSFr. 6th
4. Izzak Olejnik Oklahoma State Sr. 3rd
5. Julien Ramirez Cornell Jr. 4th
6. Dean Hamiti Wisconsin Jr. 5th
7. Michael Caliendo Iowa So. 7th
8. Peyton Hall West Virginia Jr. 8th
9. Cam Amine Michigan Sr. 9th
10. Caleb Fish Michigan State Sr. 11th
11. Matt Olguin Oregon State Sr. 12th
12. Garrett Thompson Ohio Fr. 14th
13. Holden Heller Pitt Sr. 10th
14. Noah Mulvaney Bucknell Fr. 17th
15. Andrew Cerniglia Navy Sr. 18th
16. Connor Brady Virginia Tech Jr. 16th
17. Giano Petrucelli Air Force Sr. 19th
18. Tyler Lillard Indiana RSFr. NR
19. Bryce Hepner Ohio State So. NR
20. Maxx Mayfield Northwestern Jr. NR
174 pounds
1. Carter Starocci Penn State Sr. 1st
2. Mekhi Lewis Virginia Tech Sr. 2nd
3. Shane Griffith Michigan Sr. 3rd
4. Carson Kharchla Ohio State Sr. 4th
5. Peyton Mocco Missouri Sr. 5th
6. Edmond Ruth Illinois Jr. 6th
7. Cade DeVos South Dakota State Jr. 7th
8. Nick Incontrera Penn Jr. 8th
9. Phillip Conigliaro Harvard Sr. 9th
10. Luca Augustine Pitt So. 10th
11. Patrick Kennedy Iowa So. 11th
12. Donnell Washington Indiana Sr. 12th
13. Lennox Wolak Columbia Sr. 13th
14. Jackson Turley Rutgers Sr. 14th
15. Adam Kemp Cal Poly Gr. 15th
16. Justin McCoy Virginia Gr. 16th
17. Max Maylor Wisconsin Gr. 17th
18. Gaven Sax North Dakota State Jr. 18th
19. Sal Perrine Ohio Jr. NR
20. Andrew Sparks Minnesota Jr. 20th
184 pounds
1. Parker Keckeisen Northern Iowa Jr. 1st
2. Dustin Plott Oklahoma State Sr. 2nd
3. Trey Munoz Oregon State Jr. 4th
4. Bernie Truax Penn State Sr. 5th
5. Chris Foca Cornell Sr. 6th
6. Isaiah Salazar Minnesota Sr. 8th
7. Lenny Pinto Nebraska So. 3rd
8. Will Feldkamp Iowa State Sr. 9th
9. Sam Wolf Air Force Sr. 7th
10. Clayton Whiting Missouri Fr. 10th
11. Dylan Fishback NC State RSFr. 11th
12. Jaden Bullock Michigan Jr. 14th
13. Reece Heller Pitt Sr. 13th
14. Layne Malczewski Michigan State Gr. 17th
15. Jacob Nolan Binghamton Sr. 15th
16. Bennett Berge South Dakota State RSFr. 16th
17. Brian Soldano Rutgers So. 12th
18. James Conway Franklin & Marshall Jr. 18th
19. Gavin Hoffman Ohio State Sr. 19th
20. Sam Fisher Virginia Tech Jr. 20th
197 pounds
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. 8th
9. Jaxon Smith Maryland So. 9th
10. Zach Glazier Iowa Sr. 10th
11. Luke Surber Oklahoma State Sr. 11th
12. Silas Allred Nebraska So. 12th
13. Luke Stout Princeton Jr. 13th
14. John Poznanski Rutgers Jr. 14th
15. Mac Stout Pitt RSFr. 15th
16. Max Shaw North Carolina Jr. 16th
17. Andy Smith Virginia Tech Jr. 17th
18. Nick Stemmet Stanford Sr. 18th
19. Evan Bockman Utah Valley Sr. 19th
20. Wyatt Voelker Northern Iowa RSFr. 20th
Heavyweight
1. Greg Kerkvliet Penn State Sr. 1st
2. Wyatt Hendrickson Air Force Sr. 2nd
3. Yonger Bastida Iowa State Sr. 3rd
4. Cohlton Schultz Arizona State Jr. 4th
5. Lucas Davison Michigan Gr. 5th
6. Zach Elam Missouri Sr. 6th
7. Taye Ghadiali Campbell Sr. 7th
8. Yaraslau Slavikouski Rutgers Gr. 8th
9. Luke Luffman Illinois Jr. 9th
10. Nathan Taylor Lehigh So. 10th
11. Konner Doucet Oklahoma State Jr. 11th
12. Dayton Pitzer Pitt RSFr. 12th
13. Owen Trephan NC State Jr. 14th
14. Tyrell Gordon Northern Iowa Sr. 15th
15. Boone McDermott Oregon State Sr. 13th
16. Josh Heindselman Oklahoma Sr. 16th
17. Nick Feldman Ohio State RSFr. 17th
18. Lewis Fernandes Cornell Sr. 19th
19. Jacob Bullock Indiana Sr. 20th
20. Grady Griess Navy Sr. 18th