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NCAA Wrestling – Pre-Season Power Rankings – Can anyone compete with Penn State?

By Chris Snyder

Mar 19, 2022; Detroit, MI, USA; The Penn State Nittany Lions wrestling team poses with the trophy after taking first place at the NCAA Wrestling Championships at Little Cesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 19, 2022; Detroit, MI, USA; The Penn State Nittany Lions wrestling team poses with the trophy after taking first place at the NCAA Wrestling Championships at Little Cesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /
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Iowa wrestler Tony Cassioppi high-fives a fan while walking out before a NCAA Big Ten Conference wrestling dual against Penn State, Friday, Jan. 28, 2022, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa.220127 Penn St Iowa Wr 028 Jpg
Iowa wrestler Tony Cassioppi high-fives a fan while walking out before a NCAA Big Ten Conference wrestling dual against Penn State, Friday, Jan. 28, 2022, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa.220127 Penn St Iowa Wr 028 Jpg /

team. 878. . . . Hawkeyes . 4

2022 Dual Meet Record: 14-1
2022 NCAA Finish: 3rd (74.0)
Returning All-Americans: 3

125 Spencer Lee (1st – 2021)
197 Jacob Warner (2nd)
285 Tony Cassioppi (7th)

Does anyone remember Iowa plowing through the field last year to win the 2021 NCAA team title, and then every single Hawkeye veteran announced they were coming back for the 2021-2022 season?

I mean, I remember it but holy cow the mighty have fallen.

Granted, Iowa was most likely going to win the 2020 NCAA Wrestling Championships had they actually happened, thus they would have won back-to-back team titles in both 2020 and 2021. But as it stands, the 2020 NCAA’s didn’t happen and after attempting to assemble the oldest ever team in NCAA athletics history*, all the Hawkeyes got from it was a single individual title and a single team title.

Following the 2021-2022 season, most parents in Iowa City had to tell their kids that the majority of the Hawkeye team would be sent to grandma and grandpa’s farm upstate to live out the rest of their lives.

Look, there is simply no way Iowa can lose Austin DeSanto, Jaydin Eierman, Alex Marinelli, and Michael Kemerer and expect to sniff anything inside the top three. And yes, this is still Iowa Wrestling we’re talking about.

Speaking of the reputation of Iowa Wrestling, it still has a strong pull in college wrestling as evident by Real Woods’ announcement back in April that he would be transferring from Stanford to Iowa. This is a huge get for Tom Brands as it fills Eierman’s giant void at 141.

Also, they get 2021 Dan Hodge Trophy co-winner Spencer Lee back to anchor the top of the lineup, which may mean standout freshman Drake Ayala bumps up to 133. Plus the Hawkeyes may let highly touted recruit Caleb Rathjen rip at either 149 or 157 depending on how his body has rounded out early in his tenure in Iowa City.

Iowa will be back fighting to be at the top of collegiate wrestling soon, but just like Michigan, it’s not going to be next year.

* – I have done no research and have zero proof of this, but I’m fairly confident this is 100% correct

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