The Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational shook up the national rankings something fierce this week and with the semester break coming up, some teams are thriving, some teams are banged up and some teams are ready for the rest.

Here's how we break down the first month of the season.

1. Iowa State:  The Cyclones are #1 heading into their much-anticipated match with cross-state rival Iowa. The win over Minnesota thrust Iowa State into the top spot, keyed by wins from Nick Fanthorpe and Cyler Sanderson. 

2. Minnesota:  The Gophers dropped a spot after the 18-13 loss to ISU on Sunday and still have a question mark at 197 with the revolving door of Brent Eidenschink, Yura Malamura and Justin Bronson. Jayson Ness, Manny Rivera and C.P. Schlatter have been very strong and the only thing that's stopped Roger Kish so far this year has been Jake Varner.

3. Oklahoma State:  Ranked third, the Cowboys, for some reason, don't strike fear into the hearts of the fans residing outside of Stillwater. The youngsters are progressing well and will be All-American contenders later in the year. Ben Ashmore, Quinten Fuentes, Cody Hill and now Clayton Foster are first-time starters and have done modestly well in the early going. Jake Dieffenbach could be the real x-factor if he continues his solid transition to Division I wrestling.

4. Iowa:  Without Mark Perry on Sunday, the Hawkeyes will be at a noted disadvantage, but they do match-up well with Iowa State. Losing Dan Dennis early has hurt, but Joey Slaton's filled in and is ranked. Hawkeye fans don't feel any drop-off with either wrestler. 197 is still a question mark, but as we saw last year, anything can happen when it's Iowa and Iowa State.

5. Penn State: Started off with two solid wins, but will be really tested when they travel to Stillwater this weekend. The Nittany Lions don't match-up well with the Cowboys, but Mark McKnight seems to be regaining his form, Jake Strayer had the big win over Charles Griffin, but the odd loss to teammate Garrett Scott. The rest of the Nittany Lion lineup is solid and hard to beat. Bubba Jenkins hasn't had the competition the rest of the field at 149 has as yet, but PSU needs him to live up to his billing. 

6. Central Michigan:  Five duals wrestled and only five individual losses. Tom Borrelli's team is just strong top to bottom. The Chippewas don't have the tournament points (on paper) that some of the big guns above them have, but they are a real problem matchup because their kids don't make mistakes and they are ready to wrestle each and every time. They're impressive.

7. Michigan:  Save the loss to Maryland early in the season, the Wolverines moved up after a victory at the Las Vegas Invitational. Joe McFarland's team is ranked seventh, the highest team ranked that competed in the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Kellen Russell has been a big plus early on.

8. Missouri:  It wasn't the best of performances from the Tigers, failing to win any titles in Las Vegas despite having more than its share of Top 10 wrestlers. Tony Pescaglia had a rough start to the season, but finished a strong second in Vegas. Nick Marable's becoming a go-to guy and Raymond Jordan's ready to carry the torch. Max Askren has been beaten twice already this year, something that didn't happen until March last season.

9. Northwestern:  Without a bucket of starters, the Wildcats dropped a loss to Northern Illinois. Brandon Precin's been real solid at 125, Eric Metzler's been nursing an injury, as have a few other starters. Ryan Lang still hasn't decided which weight he'll be wrestling. He's certified at 141 and won the Missouri Open at 149 a few weeks ago.

10. Wisconsin:  The Badgers are tough, but didn't wrestle well overall in Vegas. Collin Cudd, a two-time NCAA qualifier, didn't place; Zach Tanelli and Kyle Ruschell placed lower than expected, but Dallas Herbst was dominant in his title at 197 pounds. Craig Henning dropped to #3 after his loss to Mike Poeta of Illinois.

 Teams 11-15 
UT-Chattanooga's ranked 11th, the highest in its history. Matt Koz was named SoCon Wrestler of the Month and the Mocs are a problem dual team to face … Nebraska has seen the benefits of having Kenny Jordan and Vince Jones back in the lineup. The Huskers could have been a threat to win Vegas had Paul Donahoe not defaulted. … Ohio State finished third in Vegas and has seen noticeable progress from Nikko Triggas at 125. Mike Pucillo and J.D. Bergman's titles in Vegas give the Buckeyes two very troublesome upper weights during the dual season. … Hofstra left a few starters at home before heading to Vegas and didn't get the expected performances from Charles Griffin and Lou Ruggirello, both top-seeded in the tournament. The Pride have wrestled an aggressive early-season schedule and could need a short rest. … Edinboro has only lost one dual in the past three years. The tiny PSAC school finished eighth in Vegas and saw defending national champion Gregor Gillespie fall in the finals. Jarrod King, while starting a tad slow this season, wrestled well, picking up a win over Patrick Pitsch. When Joe Fendone's back in the line-up, the Fighting Scots will be that much stronger.

Teams 16-20 
Cornell's got some issues, but still remain a very solid team. Troy Nickerson's done for the year, Adam Frey's performance so far has been a complete 180 from the way he started out last season - although that was in late December. … Indiana has some good depth in some weights, while some question marks in others. Down low, the Hoosiers have a great 1-2 punch and in the middle with Brandon Becker and Matt Coughlin, who is adjusting well after moving up two weights. … Illinois, at 18, has a #1 at 157 with the exciting Mike Poeta, but the rest of the squad performed modestly well, but picked off few wrestlers that were seeded ahead of them. … Pitt, to many, is an unknown quantity. The Panthers were pushed earlier this year by Bloomsburg but do have Keith Gavin at 174, the top-ranked wrestler and CKLV champion. The Panthers seem like a better tournament team, and will be much better off when Drew Headlee regains his form. … People have also been sleeping on Oklahoma, but the Sooners have a formidable dual lineup but it's devoid of the superstar names you're used to seeing in the Sooner singlet. Max Dean, Josh Weitzel and Joel Flaggert are tough to tangle with, while Zack Bailey is coming on.

Teams 21-25
Navy's in at 21, but the biggest question has been who's going heavy. Ed Prendergast was the man in Vegas for the Mids, but Scott Steele's picked up more than one win over Prendergast. Matt Stolpinski finished fifth in Vegas. … Penn, ranked 22nd, finished 14th in Vegas and opened its year with a dual win over Virginia Tech. Rollie Peterkin's thriving under Zeke Jones and Rob Eiter, while the rest of the Quakers are solid, but don't have that "superstar" feel, which makes them that much more dangerous. … 23rd ranked Maryland is rolling and fresh off a big win over Lehigh, Pat Santoro's former digs. The Terps took a huge step with the win over Michigan at the Northeast Duals and Santoro likes the dual meet track to built his team's confidence. … Old Dominion jumped into the rankings for the first time in 16 years two weeks ago and the Monarchs have four wrestlers ranked for the first time in school history. Steve Martin's team has a solid line-up, but has hit four tournaments in the opening month and need some rest before heading to the Scuffle. … Harvard finished 20th in Vegas and hung on to their spot in the Top 25, but when the Crimson hit the second semester, they'll be bolstered by the return of Rob Preston and Andrew Flanagan, making them a threat in the EIWA.