Penn State Holds Top Spot and 10 Ranked Wrestlers in Latest Intermat Release
UNIVERSITY PARK – Despite last Sunday’s one point loss at Minnesota, the Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team continues to dominate the national tournament rankings, both as a team and individually. Penn State rolls on as the No. 1 team in Intermat’s Tournament Power Index (TPI) with 10 ranked wrestlers in the latest release.
Penn State leads the TPI with 107.0 points while Iowa continues second with 98.0. No other team is above 80. The TPI ranks a team’s potential tournament strength based on Intermat’s individual rankings, not dual meet strength.
Minnesota moved to number one in the dual meet rankings, Penn State second and Iowa third.
Junior All-American Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.) holds the No. 2 ranking at 125 with a 21-2 record. Red-shirt freshman Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.) is at No. 16 at 133 and is 13-10 overall while true freshman Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.), unbeaten with a 24-0 mark, is No. 2 at 141. Red-shirt freshman Zack Beitz (Mifflintown, Pa.) returns to the rankings at 149, sitting at No. 17 with an 11-8 mark. Junior Dylan Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.) is ranked No. 6 at 157 with a 15-1 record.
Senior All-American David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio), unbeaten with a 24-0 record, is No. 1 at 165 and junior All-American Matt Brown (West Valley City, Utah) is No. 4 at 174 with a 23-2 mark. Senior Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.) is No. 2 at 184 with a 23-1 ledger as well. Sophomore Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), fresh off a big win over the former top-ranked wrestler, has moved up to No. 3 at 197 with a 23-2 record. Junior Jimmy Lawson (Tom’s River, N.J.), who is still sidelined with an injury, is No. 12 at 285 with a 16-4 mark.
The Nittany Lions head into this weekend’s national showcase dual against No. 5 Oklahoma State with a 13-1 record, 7-1 in Big Ten action and owners of their second Big Ten dual co-title in three years. Penn State hosts the Cowboys (8-4) on Sunday in sold out Rec Hall. The dual begins at 2 p.m.
