Which team had the greatest single-season performance of all time? We rank the top 10 in collegiate history. 

First a special shout out to Alex Steen and the Open Mat for rescoring every NCAA National Championship Tournament ever. It is a most invaluable resource for this purposes. 

10. 2001 Minnesota Golden Gophers

There is no rarer a feat in college wrestling than getting all 10 starters on the podium in March. The '01 Gophers are the only team to ever do it, placing 3, 8, 8, 6, 4, 4, 4, 5, 3, and 3 and scoring 138.5 points at the NCAAs.

9. 1985 Iowa Hawkeyes

Nine All-Americans but "only" two champs (Barry Davis at 126 pounds and Marty Kistler at 158 pounds). This team scored 145.25 points at NCAAs, the sixth-most of any Hawkeye squad. 

8. 1969 Iowa State Cyclones

It's difficult to compare teams in the past, even when you adjust the scores to the current rule set, as only the top six wrestlers per weight earned All-American status and the wrestlebacks used repechage instead of full consolation rounds. These Dan Gable-led Cyclones still managed to put eight on the podium with three champs: Gable at 137, Jason Smith at 167, and Chuck Jean at 177, scoring 104 team points in a much stingier environment. 

7. 1991 Iowa Hawkeyes

Dan Gable makes yet another appearance, this time once again as coach. The '91 Hawks had two champs (Tom Brands at 134 and Mark Reiland at 167) and eight All-Americans. They finished with 157 team points, or 170.5 using the current rules. 

6. 2017 Penn State Nittany Lions

Cael Sanderson's squad reeled off five individual titles in a row, as Zain Retherford, Jason Nolf, Vincenzo Joseph, Mark Hall, and Bo Nickal won 149 through 184 in dramatic fashion. One of the greatest "what ifs" was if Nick Suriano was healthy. He injury-defaulted out of the tournament but had a regular season win over eventual 125-pound champ Darian Cruz and the runnerup, Ethan Lizak. Despite this setback, the Nittany Lions scored 146.5 points with the five champs and a fifth-place finish from heavyweight Nick Nevills.

5. 2005 Oklahoma State Cowboys

The John Smith led Cowboys also had five champs in '05: Zack Esposito at 149, Johny Hendricks at 165, Chris Pendleton at 174, Jake Rosholt at 197, and Steve Mocco at 285. The team had seven All-Americans in total, with Daniel Frishkorn placing fourth at 141 and a freshman Coleman Scott placing eighth at 125. The Cowboys scored 153 points at the NCAA tournament and finished with an unblemished 21-0 dual meet record.

4. 1997 Iowa Hawkeyes

It's hair-splitting time, as the final four teams are all Gable-coached Hawkeye teams and all nearly flawless seasons. The 1997 team technically set the record for most points at an NCAA tournament at 170, but Gable's last team is only third when adjusted for current scoring. This team also lost a dual meet to Oklahoma State 21-13. The Hawkeyes got it done in March, however, with eight All-Americans and five champs (Jesse Whitmer at 118, Mark Ironside at 134, Lincoln McIlravy at 150, Joe Williams at 158, and Lee Fullhart at 190). 

3. 1986 Iowa Hawkeyes

The 1986 edition of the Gable era also had five titlists (Brad Penrith at 126, Kevin Dresser at 142, Jim Heffernan at 150, Marty Kistler at 167, and Duane Goldman at 190) and eight All-Americans. They scored 158 points at the NCAA tournament (or 169 rules-adjusted). Somehow this team lost their last dual of the year — 16-19 to Iowa State — but still won the NCAAs by 73.25 points over second-place Oklahoma. That 46.5-percent margin of victory is the highest since the 1950s.

2. 1983 Iowa Hawkeyes

At the 1983 NCAAs, the Hawkeyes scored 155 actual points, which translates to 177.5 using the current rules, which is the most in NCAA history. This squad, yet another coached by the legendary Dan Gable, placed nine wrestlers on the podium, none lower than fifth, and four on the top step. The champs were Barry Davis at 126, Jim Zalesky at 158, Ed Banach at 190, and Lou Banach at 285. Ed and Lou would win gold medals at the 1984 Summer Olympics and Barry Davis would win silver. The only blemish on this team is a 23-27 loss to Oklahoma State.

1. 1992 Iowa Hawkeyes

The 1992 Hawkeyes scored 149 points at the NCAA Tournament, which translates to 175 points, or second all-time. They also sported an unblemished dual meet record, going 16-0. The closest any team came to beating Iowa this season was a 32-13 beating of Iowa State and a 30-11 trouncing of Penn State. In March, nine Hawkeyes from this team climbed the podium; none finished worse than fifth. The only member of this team not to place in the top eight was Mark Reiland at 167. Reiland was seeded seventh and lost in the bloodround. Every member of this team was seeded seventh or higher to start the tournament. The three champs this year all received top seeds in their bracket: Terry Brands at 126, Tom Brands at 134, and Troy Steiner at 142.

Your mileage may vary depending on whether you value NCAA points, NCAA champs, NCAA All-Americans, or some other factor more. Of the top five Iowa teams based on adjusted NCAA points, the 1992 team is the only one that went untied and undefeated in regular season duals. As such, they are the top pick for this list.