College Wrestling News

Top 200 Individual Point Scorers at the DI NCAA Wrestling Tournament – Apr. 28th, 2018

By Alex Steen

Posted on 04/28/2018

Last week, we presented the top 200 adjusted team scores in NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships history. This week, we set our sites on the individuals who have scored the most team points over their careers at the DI tournament. As we discussed previously, the rules for team scoring have changed over the years. We decided to standardize everyone’s performance based on current scoring rules so that everyone started on the same footing. That means adjusting all manner of scoring as every aspect has been different at times over the years. Despite our best efforts, we couldn’t account for every difference, though. The older guys, especially those who wrestled before the eight All-American era, which started in 1979, and those who were victimized by the repechage system that didn’t completely go away until 1996, get the short end a little bit. In addition, there was a time when running up big scores was not awarded with bonus. We scored those based on the current standards, but there is little question that some may have spent more time trying to pin their man or wrestling cautiously rather than pushing for the major or tech, since they didn’t exist.

The other major elephant in the room for this project was that freshmen didn’t always get a chance to wrestle at the DI championships. This project relies heavily on the incredible work of the late Jay Hammond and his site wrestlingstats.com. I found a fantastic message board post by Mr. Hammond that explains:

“The NCAA introduced Freshman eligibility during World War II since most of the male students were off fighting or working in the war effort. In the 1947 there were five freshman champs, although only two were straight from high school. In 1948 the rule was modified so that only wrestler who had been in the service were able to compete as freshmen. Freshmen eligibility was completely banned at large schools by the mid-50’s. However, smaller schools continued to use freshmen until the early 60’s. Both Gray Simons and Bucky Maughan wrestled as freshman. Simons was able to compete in the NCAAs his last three years, while Maughan was not allowed in the tournament as a senior. I am not sure why, but I think Lock Haven was just under the enrollment cut off and Moorehead just over. In January 1969 the NCAA immediately allowed freshmen eligibility for all D-I sports except football and basketball. ISU put freshman Carl Adams in its lineup and he became the first freshman AA of the new era. Some eastern schools were slow to follow and it was not until 1971 that the EIWA let them wrestle in its tournament. In 1969 Larry Owings was a freshman at Washington, but he did not wrestle in the duals or the PAC-10 tournament. This was pre qualification and Owings won two bouts at 130 at the NCAA tournament before losing 14-12 to Reed Lamphere of Minnesota in the quarters.”

This means some legends of the sport only got three cracks at putting up points, leaving them further down the list than they deserve. To help identify those, we’ve added the first and last NCAA tournament in which a wrestler scored points. This is, obviously, not a perfect metric as those who did not qualify or failed to win a match in one of their trips will show the same as not having wrestled in that year, though the examples of that are likely rare. Just two wrestlers with eligibility remaining make this list, Jason Nolf and Bo Nickal from Penn State. Obviously, freshman champions Spencer Lee (Iowa) and Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) have a chance to climb the charts if they continue to have that type of success.

#	Wrestler	Last School	Logo	1st NCAA	Last NCAA	Place	Adv	Bonus	Total
1	Cael Sanderson	Iowa State		1999	2002	64	16	27.5	107.5
2	Logan Stieber	Ohio State		2012	2015	64	16	23.5	103.5
3	Ed Banach	Iowa		1980	1983	60	16	26.5	102.5
4	Mark Churella	Michigan		1976	1979	58	16.5	25	99.5
5	David Taylor	Penn State		2011	2014	56	16	27	99
6	Pat Smith	Oklahoma State		1990	1994	64	17	17.5	98.5
7	Darryl Burley	Lehigh		1979	1983	56	18	21	95
8	Ed Ruth	Penn State		2011	2014	58	15.5	21	94.5
9	Zain Retherford	Penn State		2018	2014	55	15	23.5	93.5
10	Kyle Dake	Cornell		2010	2013	64	16	13	93
11	Alex Dieringer	Oklahoma State		2013	2016	58	15.5	19.5	93
12	Gene Mills	Syracuse		1977	1981	51	16	26	93
13	Stephen Neal	Cal State-Bakersfield		1996	1999	53	15.5	23.5	92
14	Lincoln McIlravy	Iowa		1993	1997	60	16	14	90
15	Jake Herbert	Northwestern		2005	2009	54	15.5	20.5	90
16	Jim Zalesky	Iowa		1981	1984	55	17	17.5	89.5
17	Kyle Snyder	Ohio State		2015	2018	60	16	13	89
18	Ben Askren	Missouri		2004	2007	56	16	17	89
19	Lee Kemp	Wisconsin		1975	1978	60	17	11	88
20	Tom Brands	Iowa		1989	1992	57	15.5	15.5	88
21	Mark Perry	Iowa		2005	2008	54	15.5	18	87.5
22	Cary Kolat	Lock Haven		1993	1997	54	16.5	15	85.5
23	Jake Rosholt	Oklahoma State		2003	2006	58	15.5	11.5	85
24	Steve Mocco	Oklahoma State		2002	2006	56	15	14	85
25	Joe Williams	Iowa		1994	1998	52	16.5	16.5	85
26	Dan Gable	Iowa State		1968	1970	44	14	27	85
27	Jordan Oliver	Oklahoma State		2010	2013	53	15.5	15	83.5
28	Isaiah Martinez	Illinois		2015	2018	56	16	10.5	82.5
29	Randy Lewis	Iowa		1978	1981	48	14.5	20	82.5
30	Dick Hutton	Oklahoma State		1947	1950	60	11	11	82
31	Stephen Abas	Fresno State		1998	2002	57	15.5	9.5	82
32	Johny Hendricks	Oklahoma State		2004	2007	51	15	16	82
33	Larry Bielenberg	Oregon State		1974	1977	45	14	22.5	81.5
34	Eric Guerrero	Oklahoma State		1996	1999	55	15	11	81
35	Barry Davis	Iowa		1981	1985	52	15	14	81
36	Jake Varner	Iowa State		2007	2010	56	16	8.5	80.5
37	J'den Cox	Missouri		2014	2017	55	15	10	80
38	Dan Hodge	Oklahoma		1955	1957	48	10	22	80
39	Tim Krieger	Iowa State		1986	1989	51	15	13.5	79.5
40	Pat Santoro	Pittsburgh		1986	1989	50	17	12.5	79.5
41	Larry Owings	Washington		1969	1972	40	15	24.5	79.5
42	Mark Branch	Oklahoma State		1994	1997	56	16	7	79
43	Andre Metzger	Oklahoma		1979	1982	51	15	13	79
44	Ricky Bonomo	Bloomsburg		1984	1987	48	14.5	16.5	79
45	Troy Nickerson	Cornell		2006	2010	47	15	17	79
46	Cole Konrad	Minnesota		2004	2007	53	15.5	10	78.5
47	Joe Heskett	Iowa State		1999	2002	50	15.5	13	78.5
48	Duane Goldman	Iowa		1983	1986	52	16	10	78
49	Eric Juergens	Iowa		1998	2001	52	15	11	78
50	Mark Ironside	Iowa		1995	1998	48	14.5	15.5	78
51	Ricky Stewart	Oklahoma State		1979	1982	46	15	17	78
52	Johnny Thompson	Oklahoma State		2001	2004	54	15.5	8	77.5
53	Gabe Dean	Cornell		2014	2017	54	15.5	8	77.5
54	Mike Sheets	Oklahoma State		1981	1984	48	14	15.5	77.5
55	Nathan Tomasello	Ohio State		2015	2018	46	14.5	17	77.5
56	Troy Steiner	Iowa		1990	1993	45	15.5	17	77.5
57	Kenny Monday	Oklahoma State		1981	1984	40	16	21.5	77.5
58	Pat Milkovich	Michigan State		1972	1976	56	16	5	77
59	Wayne Martin	Oklahoma		1934	1936	48	11	18	77
60	Jarrett Hubbard	Michigan		1971	1974	53	15.5	8	76.5
61	Tommy Rowlands	Ohio State		2001	2004	50	15	11	76
62	Al Nacin	Iowa State		1971	1975	45	14.5	16	75.5
63	Quentin Wright	Penn State		2009	2013	50	15	10	75
64	Eric Larkin	Arizona State		1999	2003	47	15	13	75
65	Jess Lewis	Oregon State		1968	1970	44	12	19	75
66	Dan Chaid	Oklahoma		1983	1986	43	14.5	17.5	75
67	Jim Heffernan	Iowa		1983	1987	49	16.5	9	74.5
68	Jayson Ness	Minnesota		2007	2010	45	14.5	15	74.5
69	John Smith	Oklahoma State		1984	1988	44	13	17.5	74.5
70	Joe Scarpello	Iowa		1947	1950	54	11	9	74
71	T.J. Jaworsky	North Carolina		1992	1995	48	13	13	74
72	Teyon Ware	Oklahoma		2003	2006	50	15	8.5	73.5
73	Anthony Nelson	Minnesota		2011	2014	48	14.5	11	73.5
74	Rick Sanders	Portland State		1966	1968	44	11	18.5	73.5
75	Bill Nelson	Northern Iowa		1947	1950	48	12	13	73
76	Mike Land	Iowa State		1975	1979	44	14.5	14	72.5
77	Carlton Haselrig	Pittsburgh-Johnstown		1987	1989	48	12	12	72
78	Ross Flood	Oklahoma State		1933	1935	48	8	16	72
79	Michael Lightner	Oklahoma		1998	2001	47	15	10	72
80	Mark Lieberman	Lehigh		1977	1979	44	13	15	72
81	Jason Nolf	Penn State		2016	2018	44	12	16	72
82	Travis Lee	Cornell		2002	2005	43	13.5	15.5	72
83	Chris Pendleton	Oklahoma State		2001	2005	42	11	19	72
84	Nico Megaludis	Penn State		2012	2016	50	15.5	6	71.5
85	Jim Martin	Penn State		1986	1989	47	15	9.5	71.5
86	Terry Brands	Iowa		1990	1992	44	12	15.5	71.5
87	Andrew Howe	Oklahoma		2009	2014	50	15.5	5.5	71
88	Nate Carr	Iowa State		1980	1983	48	14	9	71
89	Eddie Eichelberger	Lehigh		1954	1956	44	11	16	71
90	Sylvester Terkay	North Carolina State		1990	1993	38	13	20	71
91	Howard Harris	Oregon State		1977	1980	36	13	22	71
92	Ryan Bertin	Michigan		2002	2005	48	14.5	8	70.5
93	Sanshiro Abe	Penn State		1993	1996	47	15	8.5	70.5
94	Dwayne Keller	Oklahoma State		1968	1971	44	13	13.5	70.5
95	Rod Kilgore	Oklahoma		1973	1977	51	15	4	70
96	Jimmy Jackson	Oklahoma State		1976	1978	48	12	10	70
97	Lee Fullhart	Iowa		1996	1999	47	15	8	70
98	Nick Gwiazdowski	North Carolina State		2012	2016	47	14.5	8.5	70
99	Tommy Evans	Oklahoma		1951	1954	44	10	16	70
100	Sam Hazewinkel	Oklahoma		2004	2007	42	15.5	12.5	70
101	Lou Banach	Iowa		1981	1983	42	11.5	16.5	70
102	Mike DeAnna	Iowa		1977	1981	40	15.5	14.5	70
103	Greg Johnson	Michigan State		1970	1972	48	12	9.5	69.5
104	Don Pritzlaff	Wisconsin		1998	2001	45	14	10.5	69.5
105	Joe Gibbons	Iowa State		1982	1986	44	14.5	11	69.5
106	Matt McDonough	Iowa		2010	2012	44	12	13.5	69.5
107	Bill Koll	Northern Iowa		1946	1948	48	9	12	69
108	Bo Nickal	Penn State		2016	2018	44	12	12.5	68.5
109	Josh Koscheck	Edinboro		1999	2002	47	15	6	68
110	Jason Smith	Iowa State		1968	1970	42	13.5	12.5	68
111	Jordan Burroughs	Nebraska		2007	2011	42	12	14	68
112	Bruce Baumgartner	Indiana State		1980	1982	40	13	15	68
113	Roger Frizzell	Oklahoma		1980	1983	39	15	14	68
114	John Fisher	Michigan		1985	1989	37	16	15	68
115	Yojiro Uetake	Oklahoma State		1964	1966	48	11	8.5	67.5
116	Greg Jones	West Virginia		2002	2005	48	13	6	67
117	Mark Schultz	Oklahoma		1981	1983	48	12	7	67
118	Earl McCready	Oklahoma State		1928	1930	48	5	14	67
119	Dave Porter	Michigan		1966	1968	42	9	16	67
120	Chuck Yagla	Iowa		1974	1976	41	11.5	14.5	67
121	Bo Jordan	Ohio State		2015	2018	39	14	14	67
122	Nahshon Garrett	Cornell		2013	2016	45	12.5	9	66.5
123	Ben Peterson	Iowa State		1970	1972	41	10.5	15	66.5
124	Myron Roderick	Oklahoma State		1954	1956	48	9	9	66
125	Stanley Henson	Oklahoma State		1937	1939	48	8	10	66
126	Kevin Randleman	Ohio State		1991	1993	44	12	10	66
127	Brent Metcalf	Iowa		2008	2010	44	12	10	66
128	Dick Delgado	Oklahoma		1956	1958	42	8.5	15.5	66
129	Joe Melchiore	Iowa		1985	1989	35	13.5	17.5	66
130	Markus Mollica	Arizona State		1993	1996	48	14.5	3	65.5
131	Cory Clark	Iowa		2014	2017	47	15	3.5	65.5
132	Marty Kistler	Iowa		1984	1986	44	12	9.5	65.5
133	Tim Hartung	Minnesota		1996	1999	42	13	10.5	65.5
134	Kerry McCoy	Penn State		1993	1997	42	12.5	11	65.5
135	Jeff Prescott	Penn State		1990	1992	39	11	15.5	65.5
136	Doug Schwab	Iowa		1998	2001	38	12.5	15	65.5
137	Rex Peery	Oklahoma State		1933	1935	48	7	10	65
138	Gary Breece	Oklahoma		1971	1974	44	14	7	65
139	Chris Campbell	Iowa		1975	1977	44	12	9	65
140	Eric Voelker	Iowa State		1986	1989	42	13.5	9.5	65
141	Jared Lawrence	Minnesota		2000	2003	40	14	11	65
142	Tolly Thompson	Nebraska		1994	1997	36	12	17	65
143	Ray Miller	Arizona State		1990	1993	44	14.5	6	64.5
144	Michael McMullan	Northwestern		2012	2015	42	14.5	8	64.5
145	John Azevedo	Cal State-Bakersfield		1978	1980	40	14	10.5	64.5
146	Larry Hayes	Iowa State		1959	1961	48	11	5	64
147	David Arndt	Oklahoma State		1941	1946	48	8	8	64
148	Chris Barnes	Oklahoma State		1987	1990	41	12.5	10.5	64
149	Brad Penrith	Iowa		1986	1988	40	14	10	64
150	Kelly Ward	Iowa State		1977	1979	40	13	11	64
151	Dale Anderson	Michigan State		1966	1968	39	13	12	64
152	Corey Olson	Nebraska		1990	1993	34	11.5	18.5	64
153	Steve Barrett	Oklahoma State		1974	1977	33	13.5	17.5	64
154	Damion Hahn	Minnesota		2001	2004	46	13.5	4	63.5
155	Angel Escobedo	Indiana		2007	2010	42	14	7.5	63.5
156	Bryan Snyder	Nebraska		1999	2002	40	14.5	9	63.5
157	Royce Alger	Iowa		1986	1988	39	11	13.5	63.5
158	Zack Esposito	Oklahoma State		2003	2006	38	13.5	12	63.5
159	Joe McFarland	Michigan		1981	1985	37	16	10.5	63.5
160	Tyrone Lewis	Oklahoma State		2001	2004	36	13.5	14	63.5
161	Gregor Gillespie	Edinboro		2006	2009	36	13	14.5	63.5
162	Steve Williams	Oklahoma		1979	1982	35	14.5	14	63.5
163	Lowell Lange	Cornell (IA)		1947	1950	48	8	7	63
164	Alan Fried	Oklahoma State		1991	1994	40	12	11	63
165	Jeff McGinness	Iowa		1994	1998	39	15	9	63
166	Cam Simaz	Cornell		2009	2012	39	13.5	10.5	63
167	Rob Koll	North Carolina		1985	1988	39	13	11	63
168	Coleman Scott	Oklahoma State		2005	2008	38	13.5	11.5	63
169	Troy Letters	Lehigh		2003	2006	38	12.5	12.5	63
170	Gary Albright	Nebraska		1982	1986	26	11	26	63
171	Derek St. John	Iowa		2011	2014	44	14.5	4	62.5
172	Verne Gagne	Minnesota		1947	1949	42	8.5	12	62.5
173	Dan Holm	Iowa		1973	1975	36	11	15.5	62.5
174	Mike Grant	Oklahoma		1968	1970	44	13	5	62
175	Arnold Plaza	Purdue		1947	1950	44	11	7	62
176	Ralph Teague	Southwestern Oklahoma		1932	1934	44	8	10	62
177	Charles McDaniel	Indiana		1935	1938	44	8	10	62
178	Luke Becker	Minnesota		2000	2003	40	14	8	62
179	Carl Adams	Iowa State		1969	1972	39	13.5	9.5	62
180	Jack Cuvo	East Stroudsburg		1986	1989	39	13.5	9.5	62
181	Sam Henson	Clemson		1991	1994	39	12	11	62
182	Greg Strobel	Oregon State		1972	1974	39	11	12	62
183	Tony Ramos	Iowa		2011	2014	38	14.5	9.5	62
184	Mitchell Port	Edinboro		2012	2015	34	13.5	14.5	62
185	Nick Simmons	Michigan State		2003	2007	32	13	17	62
186	David McGuire	Oklahoma		1967	1969	44	12	5.5	61.5
187	Robert Hess	Iowa State		1931	1933	44	7.5	10	61.5
188	T.J. Williams	Iowa		1999	2001	42	11.5	8	61.5
189	Terry McCann	Iowa		1954	1956	42	7.5	12	61.5
190	Fred Fozzard	Oklahoma State		1966	1968	38	10.5	13	61.5
191	Chad Zaputil	Iowa		1991	1993	36	13	12.5	61.5
192	Bill Scherr	Nebraska		1982	1984	35	11	15.5	61.5
193	Jon Trenge	Lehigh		2002	2005	34	11.5	16	61.5
194	Mike Caruso	Lehigh		1965	1967	48	10	3	61
195	Hugh Peery	Pittsburgh		1952	1954	48	8	5	61
196	Matt Valenti	Pennsylvania		2003	2007	39	12	10	61
197	Brandon Sorensen	Iowa		2015	2018	38	14	9	61
198	Jason Powell	Nebraska		2002	2004	33	10.5	17.5	61
199	Devin Carter	Virginia Tech		2011	2015	29	12.5	19.5	61
200	John Kading	Oklahoma		1994	1997	41	13	6.5	60.5
201	Joel Sharratt	Iowa		1993	1995	40	12	8.5	60.5
202	Les Gutches	Oregon State		1994	1996	39	11	10.5	60.5
203	Adam Tirapelle	Illinois		1998	2001	38	14.5	8	60.5
204	Jake Percival	Ohio University		2002	2005	38	14	8.5	60.5
205	Cody Brewer	Oklahoma		2013	2016	33	12.5	15	60.5
206	John Reich	Navy		1980	1983	31	15	14.5	60.5