Takedown Report

Nebraska and Little Rock make big jumps in WIN’s Dec. 20 Rankings

NEWTON, Iowa – Nebraska and Little Rock made the most noticeable of jumps among the NCAA Division I schools in WIN Magazine’s Dec. 20 national rankings, presented by Cliff Keen Athletic.
The Huskers moved up seven spots to No. 2 in WIN’s Tournament Power Index with seven ranked wrestlers, including a No. 1-ranked wrestler in Ridge Lovett and a pair of wrestlers at No. 2: Caleb Smith (125) and Peyton Robb (157). Nebraska earned 74 points in this week’s TPI. Meanwhile, Little Rock, which did not have a college wrestling program until 2019-20, features three ranked wrestlers, including two ranked in the Top 8 of their weight class: 133-pound freshman Nasir Bailey and 197-pound Stephen Little. The Arkansas school is now ranked No. 26 in WIN’s TPI with 12 points.
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 in 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., next March, if that event was held now. Penn State, the defending champs with eight guys in the top eight, remains No. 1 in both WIN’s TPI and dual rankings with a 131 TPI points and a 2-0 record.
The Nittany Lions are followed by Missouri (4-0), Iowa (5-0), NC State (9-1) and Cornell (3-1) in the dual rankings, while Missouri, NC State and Cornell follow Penn State and Nebraska in the TPI. … story at … WIN-magazine.com/Nebraska-and-little-rock-make-big-jumps-in-wins-dec-20-rankings

January 1, 2024 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

College wrestling midseason awards for 2023-24

With the Cliff Keen Invitational and Collegiate Duals in the rearview mirror, it’s time to take stock of where some of the nation’s top wrestlers and early stars stand. Who has had the best start to the season? Who is primed for a breakout moment come January? Which teams have impressed the most? These are all questions that will be answered in the first annual NCAA Wrestling Midseason Awards presentation below. 
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Keep in mind, these awards are based on performances from Nov. 1-Dec. 20, 2023. There’s a lot of wrestling still to come before the 10 individual champions are crowned in March. For now though, these are some of the midseason stars who deserve recognition.

Biggest upset of the year: Ryan Crookham (Lehigh) over Vito Arujau (Cornell) 8-4

Finalists: Julian Ramirez (Cornell) over David Carr (Iowa State) 4-3, Lorenzo Norman (Stanford) over Shane Griffith (Michigan) 4-2

Within the first week of the season, absolute chaos broke loose in college wrestling. Lehigh’s Ryan Crookham was the leader of this disruption.

The Mountain Hawk rookie started the season on a hot streak, sweeping his 133-pound bracket at the Princeton Open with 100% bonus, but he really made a name for himself the following weekend, at the Journeymen Classic. He teched Jacob Cox of N.C. State and beat his teammate, then No. 6-ranked Connor McGonagle, before facing off against (and defeating) 2023 senior world champion and NCAA champion Vito Arujau. Cornell’s Arujau, who beat two-time NCAA champion Roman Bravo-Young in last year’s national championship, had not lost a folkstyle match prior to this contest since Jan. 6, 2023 when he dropped to Virginia Tech All-American Sam Latona. Arujau was considered one of the most dangerous wrestlers in the NCAA this season, someone who had jumped level and someone who could compete for an Olympic spot in March. … story at … NCAA.com/news/wrestling/College-wrestling-midseason-awards-2023-24

January 1, 2024 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment