Best Campaign to Not End with a Title

[blueandgold]

What wrestlers had an incredible year that included anything from most ranked wins, most bonus point wins, most wins overall, and everything in between only for it to not end with a championship?

[jchapman]

Are we counting 2020?

[blueandgold]

3 minutes ago, jchapman said:

Are we counting 2020?

Yeah. I don’t see why we couldn’t. The 2020 season fits the question.

[Wrestleknownothing]

Pick any of 5 Alex Marinelli years.

 

[Scouts Honor]

matt lindland

[Winners Circle]

46 minutes ago, blueandgold said:

What wrestlers had an incredible year that included anything from most ranked wins, most bonus point wins, most wins overall, and everything in between only for it to not end with a championship?

David Carr 2022-2023 season comes to mind. Had 3 wins over NCAA Champs, 4 wins over guys that made an NCAA final, and 8 wins over guys that were All-Americans.

[Wrestleknownothing]

In the 10 weight era 1952-present - though in 1966-69 there were 11) there have been 44 #1 seeds who failed to AA. That is probably a good place to start.

1964 was the toughest year for #1 seeds. Three failed to AA. At 130 Pitts Mike Johnson lost in the first round and must have been injured because he MFF'd the consolation. At 157 Jumpin Jack Flasche lost in the quarters and did not make the consolation bracket. At heavyweight Jim Nance also lost in the quarters and decided to start his broadcasting career immediately.

[Wrestleknownothing]

In the full wrestleback era (1996 - present) only 8 of the #1 seeds failed to AA. That is a more fair list to pull from.

[Mr. PeanutButter]

Metcalf the year he lost to Caldwell. David Taylor's freshman year. Spencer Lee last year. Those are the ones that come to mind from recent memory

[Wrestleknownothing]

#1 seeds that did not AA 2001 - Present

2001 - 149 Reggie Wright, Oklahoma St - Lost in the blood round

2002 - 184 Scott Justus, Virginia Tech - L, W, L

2003 - 174 Greg Jones, West Virginia - Round of 16

2005 - 157 Alex Tirapelle, Illinois - Lost in the blood round

2007 - 197 Max Askren, Missouri - 0-2 BBQ

2009 - 165 Mack Lewnes, Cornell - 0-2 BBQ

2011 - 149 Darrion Caldwell, NC State - 1-2 injury default, MFF

2021 - 165 Alex Marinelli, Iowa - MFF in the blood round

[Wrestleknownothing]

Nick Gwiazdowski, 2016 after winning 82 straight loses the final in SV to a plucky undersized heavy who would never be heard from again.

[Elevator]

41 minutes ago, Mr. PeanutButter said:

Metcalf the year he lost to Caldwell. David Taylor's freshman year. Spencer Lee last year. Those are the ones that come to mind from recent memory

these and Dan Gable are good nominations.  Maybe Jon Trenge the year he lost in the last few seconds to Damion Hahn in the NCAA finals?  Was that the year before Trenge met Cael (bumping up a weight for his 4th NCAA title) in Albany?   

[Wrestleknownothing]

Gabe Dean, 2017 30-0 going into the final with a 40 match winning streak and an 83% bonus rate.

[Wrestleknownothing]

5 minutes ago, Elevator said:

these and Dan Gable are good nominations.  Maybe Jon Trenge the year he lost in the last few seconds to Damion Hahn in the NCAA finals?  Was that the year before Trenge met Cael (bumping up a weight for his 4th NCAA title) in Albany?   

Has to be Gable. Pinned 31 of 34. The other three were a 23-3 win, a 9-4 win, and a 13-11 loss.

[Hammerlock3]

Scott Moore was simply annihilating everyone

[ILLINIWrestlingBlog]

Mike Poeta. 

Gets to his second finals in 2009 only to run into the next World Champion. The semifinals at 157 were nuts.

 

[Fadzaev2]

A number of good answers here.....here's another one.....Steve Hunte Iowa 1976 and 1978 2 time Big Ten Champion 1977 and 1978.  Ranked #1 both years.  Seeded #1 in '77 and Seeded #2 in 1978.  He went 0-1 in '77  and 3 and 2 in '78, not placing either year.

Edited January 18 by Fadzaev2

[Ohio Elite]

2007 Dustin Schlatter massive win streak can't remember how many. Lost to Gregor Gillespie in the Semis.

[Caveira]

Mike mena?

[jdalu75]

1 hour ago, Fadzaev2 said:

A number of good answers here.....here's another one.....Steve Hunte Iowa 1976 and 1978 2 time Big Ten Champion 1977 and 1978.  Ranked #1 both years.  Seeded #1 in '77 and Seeded #2 in 1978.  He went 0-1 in '77  and 3 and 2 in '78, not placing either year.

Hunte drew Lehigh's Bob Sloand in the first round in '77.  Sloand had talent but was unseeded due to a roller coaster year.  He won 9-9, 3-2 against Hunte, won his second match, and then med forfeited the next day due to a knee injury.  Defeated wrestlers only wrestled back if they lost to semi-finalists back then, so Hunte was out.  Iowa finished 3rd, 11.5 points behind Iowa State; it probably cost Iowa the team title.

[jdalu75]

I'll go with Lehigh's Colin Kilrain in 1981 and 1982.  Kilrain was seeded 1st in the 1981 tournament, based on an undefeated season including a win over Ed Banach, the eventual champion.  Colin lost 5-3 in the semis to Clarion's Charlie Heller and wrestled back for 3rd place. 

In 1982 Kilrain was again undefeated and seeded 1st, this time at 190; the other top seeds were Mike Mann, Bill Scherr, and Pete Bush.  Colin had beaten Mann and Bush during the season.  This was the tournament when Harold Nichols threw a fit over the 190-lb seeding and the seeding committee re-seeded the weight; Mann and Bush were originally seeded 2nd and 3rd and would have met in the semis.  Instead Kilrain met Bush in the semis and walked into a 44-second fall.  Bush beat Mann 3-3, 2-2, criteria for the title; Kilrain wrestled back and beat Scherr for 3rd.  Bush said it was the only time he beat Mann in a lifetime of trying.

Kilrain made a career of the Navy, became a Seal, recently retired as a Vice Admiral.  His wife is a retired astronaut.  One of their children, Sean, is on the Lehigh roster now.

 

[MPhillips]

5 hours ago, jchapman said:

Are we counting 2020?

Pletcher and Moore...

[wrestle87]

David Taylor x2 and Jon Trenge x3 for me.  

I would also include Mocco’s freshman year.

Edited January 18 by wrestle87

[Fadzaev2]

1 hour ago, jdalu75 said:

Hunte drew Lehigh's Bob Sloand in the first round in '77.  Sloand had talent but was unseeded due to a roller coaster year.  He won 9-9, 3-2 against Hunte, won his second match, and then med forfeited the next day due to a knee injury.  Defeated wrestlers only wrestled back if they lost to semi-finalists back then, so Hunte was out.  Iowa finished 3rd, 11.5 points behind Iowa State; it probably cost Iowa the team title.

I remember it well, I was there ....Noble Arena, University of Oklahoma.  

[Fadzaev2]

I saw Mike Mann's name mentioned above....I have a number of his matches in my library.....he was a great one that never won it.  I just dug this up, because I knew had some great matches with Ed Banach (3 time NCAA Champion).......

Wrestling Mailbag: What's the deal with Iowa's lineup? Plus ...

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Nov 27, 2018 — Ed Banach vs. Mike Mann — These two four-time All-Americans met four times, and Mann won three of them. Banach won three NCAA titles and ...     The 3 losses were early season, but Ed won when it counted in the NCAA Finals.