UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team (13-0, 8-0) remains the top-ranked team in the country in the Feb. 9 release of InterMat Wrestling’s Tournament Power Index (TPI). Head coach Cael Sanderson’s squad also tops InterMat’s Dual Meet Rankings. This marks the 16th straight week that Penn State, with nine ranked individuals, holds the No. 1 spot in the TPI.
Four of Penn State’s nine ranked wrestlers continue to be ranked No. 1 at their respective weights. As a team, Penn State holds the top spot on InterMat’s TPI with 128.5 points while Oklahoma State is second with 95.5. Ohio State is third at 87.0, Virginia Tech fourth at 84.5 and Iowa fifth at 82.5.
The four Nittany Lions who hold top spots at their weight classes are senior Morgan McIntosh, 21-0 at 197; sophomore Zain Retherford, 22-0 at 149; red-shirt freshman Bo Nickal, 23-1 at 174; and red-shirt freshman Jason Nolf, 23-0 at 157.
Senior Nico Megaludis is ranked No. 4 at 125 with a 21-2 record. Senior All-American Jordan Conaway is ranked No. 5 at 133 with a 19-3 record and sophomore Matt McCutcheon is No. 6 at 184 with a 13-2 mark, giving Penn State seven individuals ranked in the top five at their respective weights. Junior Jimmy Gulibon is No. 14 at 141 with a 10-5 mark. Red-shirt freshman Shakur Rasheed is No. 17 at 165 with a 14-6 record. Penn State is now 13-0 on the year, 8-0 in Big Ten action. The Nittany Lions are coming off a convincing 24-14 win over Ohio State last Friday night in a sold out Bryce Jordan Center.