Takedown Report

DIVISION I COACHES POLL: Cornell vaults into Top 10 as dual season picks up speed

Manheim, Pennsylvania – Wins over Arizona State and Virginia Tech buoyed Cornell six spots as the Big Red were one of the nation’s biggest movers as the first NWCA Division I Coaches Poll of 2023 was released on Tuesday.

Cornell opened up the new year topping then-No. 3 Arizona State 19-12 in neutral site dual in Austin, Texas. The Big Red followed by heading into the sold out Moss Arts Center in Blacksburg, Virginia, and picking off then-No. 8 Virginia Tech 22-12.

Unbeaten Penn State (8-0) and Iowa (9-0) remained atop of the poll for the eighth straight poll in the 2022-23 regular season. The Nittany Lions topped then-No. 11 Wisconsin in Madison, while Iowa got past pesky Illinois 25-19 at home before topping Purdue 37-6 on the road.

Iowa State (9-2) and Michigan both earned a pair of weekend wins and ended this week’s voting tied for third. NC State (9-0) moved into the top five for the first time this season.  The Wolfpack beat Binghamton 36-3.

Iowa State handed Arizona State its second loss of the week with a gritty 19-15 win over the Sun Devils in Ames. Michigan (5-0) swept a pair of duals in California, first beating then-No. 24 Cal Poly 30-11 and then blanking CSU Bakersfield 36-0. Ohio State (7-1) topped Indiana and remained at No. 7, while Arizona State (2-2) dropped five spots to No. 8. Missouri (4-2) held firm at No. 10 after beating then No. 13 Northern Iowa 24-12.

Northwestern improved to 2-0 after an 18-11 win over then-No. 9 Minnesota. … rest of story at NWCAonline.com/division-i-coaches-poll-cornell-vaults-into-top-10-as-dual-season-picks-up-speed

Missouri and Cornell make most noticeable jumps in WIN Jan. 9 rankings

NEWTON, Iowa — Missouri and Cornell made the most noticeable jumps in WIN Magazine’s Jan. 9 Rankings, presented by Cliff Keen Athletic.

The Tigers, featuring eight ranked wrestlers, including a pair of top-ranked wrestlers — Keegan O’Toole (165) and Rocky Elam (197) — have moved ahead of Iowa for second place in WIN’s Tournament Power Index with 67 TPI points. The Hawkeyes, with nine ranked wrestlers and a top-ranked wrestler in Spencer Lee (125), are now in third place with 64 TPI points.

Cornell, meanwhile, made the biggest jump in WIN’s Dual Rankings as the Big Red defeated both Arizona State and Virginia Tech in road victories last week to climb from 15^th to No. 9 with a 4-2 record.

WIN’s Tournament Power Index projects where schools will finish in the 2023 NCAA Championships, held this March in Tulsa, Okla. The following is a breakdown of the points from the TPI, based on a wrestler’s ranking: 20 for 1^st, 16 for 2^nd, 13.5 for 3^rd, 12.5 for 4^th, 10 for 5^th, 9 for 6^th, 6.5 for 7^th and 5.5 for 8^th. Wrestlers ranked 9-12 earn two points each, followed by 1.5 points for wrestlers ranked 13-16 and 1 point for those ranked 17-20.

Defending NCAA champion Penn State features nine ranked wrestlers — including four who are ranked No. 1 nationally at their weight: Roman Bravo-Young (133), Carter Starocci (174), Aaron Brooks (184) and Greg Kerkvliet (Hwt). The Nittany Lions are ranked No. 1 in both WIN’s TPI and Dual Rankings with an 8-0 record. The Hawkeyes remain No. 2 at 9-0. The Big Ten rivals are scheduled to meet Jan. 27 in State College, Pa.

The other top-ranked individual wrestlers remain the same from a week ago. The members of this group are Northern Colorado’s Andrew Alirez (141), Cornell’s Yianni Diakomihalis (149) and Nebraska’s Peyton Robb (157). … rest of story at WIN-magazine.com/2023/01/09/missouri-and-cornell-make-most-noticeable-jumps-in-win-jan-9-rankings

7 Big Stories from the Week in College Wrestling (1/9/2023)

The first full week of the new year in the college wrestling season did not disappoint as we saw plenty of upsets, individually and team-based, along with standout performances from the sport’s best, coupled with some emerging stars.

It also marked the start of the Big Ten dual schedule which always leads to intriguing matchups, again, individually and team-based. In addition, six duals featured top-15 teams squaring off in dual competition.

With so much going on there’s any number of different talking points to hit on, but we’ve narrowed it down to 7 big stories from the week in college wrestling.

#1 Goes Down at 141 lbs

There was some controversy surrounding InterMat’s rankings at 141 lbs. Top-ranked Cole Matthews of Pittsburgh was bested in the All-Star Classic exhibition match in late-November. #3 Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado) was impressive in his victory over Matthews and looked deserving of the top spot. I don’t disagree with that notion; however, the entire dual was built around the fact that these are exhibition matches which will not count on a wrestler’s record or factor in towards NCAA seeding. … rest of story at Intermatwrestle.com/articles/26406

January 12, 2023 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized