Tyler Kasak jumps to No. 1 in updated national rankings following upset win

Penn State wrestling dominated No. 2 Iowa 30-8 last Friday. The match included multiple upsets, including No. 3 Tyler Kasak over No. 1 Jacori Teemer at 157 pounds.

As a result of the upset, Kasak has vaulted to No. 1 in the country, up from No. 3 a week ago, according to the latest InterMat rankings. The true sophomore had been slowly climbing the rankings this season after starting the year in the top 10. This success comes off a freshman campaign that saw Kasak rebound from an opening-round loss to finish third at the NCAA Championships.

Kasak has established himself as one of the top contenders at 157 pounds this season. After his win over Teemer, the Penn State 157-pounder is now 13-0 with a 53.85% bonus. He has quality wins over Teemer and No. 4 Antrell Taylor (Nebraska). Kasak’s top remaining opponent in the dual season will be No. 6 Ethen Miller of Maryland on Sunday.

The Big Ten Championships should offer a better picture of how good Kasak’s chances are to win the National Championship. Currently, seven of the top nine wrestlers at 157 pounds are in the Big Ten, including No. 7 Joey Blaze (Purdue), No. 8 Tommy Askey (Minnesota), and No. 9 Trevor Chumbley (Northwestern), all of whom Kasak will not face in the regular season.

Kasak will be almost guaranteed the No. 1 overall seed at the NCAA Championships if he finishes atop the podium at the conference tournament.

Finish atop the podium, and you are just about guaranteed to earn the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Championships. There, he’ll likely have to face the weight class’s current title favorite, Meyer Shapiro (Cornell), to claim a championship.

Van Ness moves up after top 5 win

© Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Shayne Van Ness put himself back into the title conversation after dominating then-No. 2 Kyle Parco for a 17-6 major decision. The match was close well into the second period, but the stamina of Van Ness proved to be too much as he took down Parco for the third time in his career.

After losing a 10-2 major decision to Nebraska’s Ridge Lovett, questions arose about where exactly the Nittany Lion stood with the top wrestlers at 149 pounds. This week, Van Ness moved up to No.3 in the 149 InterMat rankings, sitting behind Lovett and the undefeated Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech). While Henson’s success will likely prevent Van Ness from getting the top seed at Nationals, he may get another shot at Lovett in the Big Ten Championships.

Penn State wrestling will be in action twice this weekend

Penn State wrestling will face No. 19 Michigan on Friday night in another BJC dual. The match is slated to begin at 6 p.m and will air on the Big Ten Network.

Then, the Nittany Lions will follow it up Sunday with a matchup against No. 29 Maryland inside Rec Hall. Beginning at 1 p.m., Sunday afternoon’s action can be streamed on BTN+.

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