The Ohio State wrestling team holds its first practice of the 2016-17 season Wednesday, and the team received a boost of confidence Tuesday morning (not that Tom Ryan's team needed it or anything).
The Wrestlebucks trail only Oklahoma State in the first team rankings of the season released by FloWrestling.
Ohio State has eight projected starters slotted in the top 16 of their respective weight classes, including five in the top eight. Snyder (285 lbs.) and Bo Jordan (174 lbs.) take the No. 1 spots while reigning NCAA champion Myles Martin, who won the title at 174 lbs. last year, is No. 2 at 184 lbs. Nathan Tomasello, also up a weight class this season, also starts No. 2 at 133 lbs. Redshirt sophomore Micah Jordan, who narrowly missed All-America honors last season, is No. 6 at 149, Jake Ryan is No. 11 at 157 lbs. while a pair of redshirt freshmen – Ke-Shawn Hayes (No. 14, 141 lbs.) and Kollin Moore (No. 16, 197 lbs.) – round out the list.
The team rankings Top 10:
| RANK | SCHOOL |
|---|---|
| 1 | OKLAHOMA STATE |
| 2 | OHIO STATE |
| 3 | IOWA |
| 4 | VIRGINIA TECH |
| 5 | MISSOURI |
| 6 | PENN STATE |
| 7 | CORNELL |
| 8 | MICHIGAN |
| 9 | NEBRASKA |
| 10 | ILLINOIS |
With six of the top 10 teams in the country, it should make an entertaining chase for the Big Ten championship.
Here is where the Wrestlebucks landed in the pound-for-pound rankings, led by the youngest Olympic wrestling champion in history, the indomitable Kyle Snyder.
| RANK | WRESTLER | CLASS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | KYLE SNYDER | 285 |
| 7 | NATHAN TOMASELLO | 133 |
| 14 | BO JORDAN | 174 |
| 15 | MYLES MARTIN | 184 |
The 2016-17 campaign starts Thursday with wrestle-offs in the French Fieldhouse at 7:45 p.m. ET.
