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Big Ten Wrestling Power Rankings: Is it Penn State Wrestling and everyone else?

By Chris Snyder

Penn State's Carter Starocci, right, wrestles Virginia Tech's Mekhi Lewis at 174 pounds in the finals during the sixth session of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, Saturday, March 19, 2022, at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Mich.220319 Ncaa Session 6 Wr 056 Jpg
Penn State's Carter Starocci, right, wrestles Virginia Tech's Mekhi Lewis at 174 pounds in the finals during the sixth session of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, Saturday, March 19, 2022, at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Mich.220319 Ncaa Session 6 Wr 056 Jpg /
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Mar 20, 2021; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Northwestern Wildcats wrestler Yahya Thomas celebrates after defeating Oklahoma State Cowboys wrestler Boo Lewallen in third place match of the 149 weight class during the finals of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 20, 2021; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Northwestern Wildcats wrestler Yahya Thomas celebrates after defeating Oklahoma State Cowboys wrestler Boo Lewallen in third place match of the 149 weight class during the finals of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /

882. . . . Wildcats . 5. team

Dual Rank: 9
Record: 0-0
Ranked Wrestlers: 7
125 No. 3 Michael DeAugustino
133 No. 7 Chris Cannon
141 No. 8 Frankie Tal-Shahar
149 No. 8 Yahya Thomas
157 No. 23 Trevor Chumbley
174 No. 19 Troy Fisher
285 No. 6 Lucas Davison

Northwestern may not have as many wrestlers ranked in the top 25 as Wisconsin and Minnesota, but boy do they have a ton of top end talent. Which is impressive considering last year’s NCAA Champion at 157, Ryan Deakin, is out of eligibility.

The Wildcats, like a lot of other Big Ten teams, took part in the 2022 Michigan State Open back on November 5th. Trevor Chumbley, who is taking over the slot from the before mentioned Ryan Deakin, took home the title in the 157 Open division and Troy Fisher last in the 174 Open division finals to finish second.

And really that was it because Michael DeAugustino, Chris Cannon, Frankie Tal-Shahar, Yahya Thomas, and Lucas Davison all skipped the tournament. DeAugustino, Cannon, Thomas, and Davison are all previous All-Americans and Tal-Shahar certainly has the ability to finish in the top eight at 141 this year.

So maybe these guys are so good they don’t need any additional practice?

I’ll go with that.

Northwestern will be a very dangerous team this year in the Big Ten and I would not be surprised at all if they move up a spot or two by the end of the season.

The Wildcats first dual meet of the season is an away tilt against Virginia on November 20th.

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