University of Minnesota Athletics
Wrestling Ranked Fifth in the Preseason by WIN
10/5/2009 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Newton, Iowa - The University of Minnesota wrestling team received it's first preseason ranking today (Oct. 5) when Wrestling Insider News (WIN) Magazine announced their Preseason Tournament Power Index.
Minnesota collected 50 points in the Tournament Power Index (TPI) to place fifth in the rankings, after finishing 14th at the NCAA Championships last season. Defending national champion Iowa came in on top of the rankings with 90 points, ahead of Iowa State in second place with 70 points. Cornell in third with 53 points and Ohio State in fourth with 52 points round out the top five.
The TPI is compiled by awarding points to each team for the ranked wrestlers listed in WIN's current individual rankings. Teams are awarded points based on how many potential All-Americans they could have and get advancement points for wrestlers ranked No. 9-20. The order of teams in the TPI vary greatly from dual meet rankings, as some teams have a number of highly-ranked individuals but may have holes in their dual meet line-up.
The Big 12 is the only other team with three teams in the top-10 as Nebraska and Missouri join Iowa State.
In the individual rankings, three-time All-Americans Jayson Ness (Bloomington, Minn.) and Dustin Schlatter (Massillion, Ohio) are the highest ranking Gophers as they begin the season second at 133 and 165 pounds respectively. Coming off an All-American season, Zach Sanders (Wabasha, Minn.) is ranked fourth, and is the only other Gopher to start the season in the top-eight.
Other Gophers to land on the preseason rankings include No. 11 Mike Thorn (St. Michael, Minn.) at 141, No. 13 Ben Berhow (Hayward, Minn.) at heavyweight, No. 19 Mario Mason (Moorestown, N.J.) at 149 and No. 20 Jake Deitchler (Anoka, Minn.) at 157.
Minnesota begins it's season on Nov. 14 at the Bison Open in Fargo, N.D. hosted by North Dakota State University. Their first home meet is on Nov. 28 when the host Cal State-Bakersfield.
No. School, Top 8, Total Points
1. Iowa, 7, 90
2. Iowa State, 5, 70
3. Cornell, 4, 53
4. Ohio State, 4, 52
5. Minnesota, 3, 50
6. Maryland, 3, 44
7. Central Michigan, 3, 41
8. Nebraska, 2, 40
9. Boise State, 4, 38.5
10. Missouri, 3, 36.5
Players Mentioned
