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Big Ten Wrestling power rankings: Can anyone derail Penn State train?

By Chris Snyder

STATE COLLEGE, PENNSYLVANIA - FEBRUARY 04: Fans wait in their seats prior to a match between Penn State Nittany Lions and Ohio State Buckeyes at Bryce Jordan Center on February 04, 2022 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Bryan Bennett/Getty Images)
STATE COLLEGE, PENNSYLVANIA - FEBRUARY 04: Fans wait in their seats prior to a match between Penn State Nittany Lions and Ohio State Buckeyes at Bryce Jordan Center on February 04, 2022 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Bryan Bennett/Getty Images) /
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Northwestern Wildcats wrestler Yahya Thomas celebrates (Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports) /

11. team. 882. . . Previous: 8th. Wildcats

Dual Rank: NR
Record: 4-4 (2-4 B1G)
Ranked Wrestlers: 5
125 No. 13 Michael DeAugustino
133 No. 8 Chris Cannon
149 No. 11 Yahya Thomas
157 No. 2 Ryan Deakin
285 No. 10 Lucas Davison

We are still aboard the “disappointment” train and we are getting ready to pull into the Northwestern station.

It’s really hard to put my finger on exactly what went wrong for the Wildcats this season because they do have some of the nation’s elite wrestlers in several weight classes. Ryan Deakin looks poised to push for the title at 157 and Chris Cannon and Lucas Davison are legitimate All-American contenders.

But Yahya Thomas has fallen down several pegs this year at 149 and he’s struggled to gain any traction following his 3rd place finish in last year’s NCAA Championships.

Michael DeAugustino has been solid anchoring the top of the lineup but I think the main issue for Northwestern is the fact they don’t have many competitive wrestlers at the other weight classes.

The season started out on a good note for the Wildcats as they took home a 4th place finish in the CKLV and went 2-0 in their first two dual meets.

However, the wheels started to fall off following a close loss to Wisconsin. Northwestern then followed that loss up by getting waxed by both Minnesota and Iowa.

After Northwestern’s fourth straight dual loss of the season to Nebraska, the Wildcats got back in the win column with wins against Illinois and Maryland. So, at the least the season hasn’t been quite on the level of “Maryland Bad”. But, fans of the Big Ten usually see Northwestern finish somewhere in the top 2/3’s of the league, not contending for the basement.

Next up for the Wildcats is an away dual against Michigan State this Friday (2/11) at 7:00 p.m.

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