Big Ten Wrestling power rankings: Penn State Wrestling push for No. 1?

STATE COLLEGE, PA - FEBRUARY 10: The Nittany Lion Mascot of Penn State University rallies the crowd during a match against of the Iowa Hawkeyes on February 10, 2018 at the Bryce Jordan Center on the campus of Penn State University in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images) /

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Head coach Tom Ryan of the Ohio State Buckeyes (Photo by G Fiume/Maryland Terrapins/Getty Images) /

5. team. 812. . . . Buckeyes

Dual Rank: 8
Record Last Season: 5-4
Ranked Wrestlers: 8
125 No. 15 Malik Heinselman
141 No. 18 Dylan D’Emilio
149 No. 1 Sammy Sasso
165 No. 10 Carson Kharchla
174 No. 6 Ethan Smith
184 No. 11 Kaleb Romero
197 No. 17 Rocky Jordan
285 No. 7 Tate Orndorff

Nothing screams “Ohio State Wrestling” like a goofy picture of Tom Ryan. Do you know what else screams “Ohio State Wrestling”? A very talented and capable wrestling team.

And the 2021-2022 is no different as they sport eight grapplers ranked in the top 25 of the preseason rankings.

Sammy Sasso (149) is coming off a heartbreaking loss in the finals of the 2021 NCAA Championships, where he fell to UNC’s Austin O’Connor. The good news? O’Connor is set to bump up a weight class to 157.

Between Ethan Smith (174), Kaleb Romero (184), and Tate Orndorff (285) the Buckeyes have supreme talent and they have guys who are hungry to prove something. And I wouldn’t be surprised to see Ohio State possibly creep into the top four at some point in the year.

The Buckeyes are set to host UNC in a huge early-season dual meet matchup on November 7th.

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