Best Wrestlers to Never Win an NCAA Title

[11986]

Didn’t Eiter coach McHenry in HS?

[WrestlingRecords.com]

5 hours ago, jross said:

Below is a list of wrestlers that won either a Free Style Worlds or Olympic Championship but did not win NCAAs in college.

 

 

I'm seeing some incredible spreadsheets in this thread. Why are these not online? Wrestling fans would love to see these.

[jross]

3 minutes ago, WrestlingRecords.com said:

I'm seeing some incredible spreadsheets in this thread. Why are these not online? Wrestling fans would love to see these.

I legit just built this spreadsheet yesterday and am working on it some on my spare time to pick up Greco now.  

The sources

• https://www.themat.com/team-usa/world-team-history
• https://www.themat.com/team-usa/olympic-team-history
• https://wrestling.guru/college-men/ncaa-d1/ncaa-d1-database/
• https://wrestling.guru/college-men/ncaa-d2/ncaa-d2-database/
• https://wrestling.guru/college-men/ncaa-d3/ncaa-d3-database/

Supplemental sources

• https://nwhof.org/hall_of_fame
• https://www.wrestlestat.com/
• Grok & Google

In the past, I've posted partial research...  

• All Americans by state (wanting to know where Kansas stands nowadays)
  • https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1vgX3g7u-2cCkdRIAlcP9VBNnmBWRrrrz/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=107168228938966863530&rtpof=true&sd=true
• NJCAA All Americans
  • https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1N1cHU5lg21PcVBMsiuj_2TMICIKlszCc/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=107168228938966863530&rtpof=true&sd=true
• D1 All Americans (was wanting to know who AA at multiple colleges, what place, when, how many times, etc.)
  • https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1zF6vzF3Czubz_Z9iTRIWSgLqxVJ58LCs/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=107168228938966863530&rtpof=true&sd=true
  • https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ok-YKwL3wKVuBEha9gXikjp_J5xvZQ1FT9JP6QYCwkE/edit?usp=sharing
• The previous wrestling forum content (some great content worth searching at times)
  • https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1xMzZx9S7jVncguxJZo7tNw0VdPgbbFKb?usp=sharing

[WrestlingRecords.com]

2 minutes ago, jross said:

I legit just built this spreadsheet yesterday and am working on it some on my spare time to pick up Greco now.  

The sources

• https://www.themat.com/team-usa/world-team-history
• https://www.themat.com/team-usa/olympic-team-history
• https://wrestling.guru/college-men/ncaa-d1/ncaa-d1-database/
• https://wrestling.guru/college-men/ncaa-d2/ncaa-d2-database/
• https://wrestling.guru/college-men/ncaa-d3/ncaa-d3-database/

Supplemental sources

• https://nwhof.org/hall_of_fame
• https://www.wrestlestat.com/
• Grok & Google

In the past, I've posted partial research...  

• All Americans by state (wanting to know where Kansas stands nowadays)
  • https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1vgX3g7u-2cCkdRIAlcP9VBNnmBWRrrrz/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=107168228938966863530&rtpof=true&sd=true
• NJCAA All Americans
  • https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1N1cHU5lg21PcVBMsiuj_2TMICIKlszCc/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=107168228938966863530&rtpof=true&sd=true
• D1 All Americans (was wanting to know who AA at multiple colleges, what place, when, how many times, etc.)
  • https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1zF6vzF3Czubz_Z9iTRIWSgLqxVJ58LCs/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=107168228938966863530&rtpof=true&sd=true
  • https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ok-YKwL3wKVuBEha9gXikjp_J5xvZQ1FT9JP6QYCwkE/edit?usp=sharing
• The previous wrestling forum content (some great content worth searching at times)
  • https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1xMzZx9S7jVncguxJZo7tNw0VdPgbbFKb?usp=sharing

Very cool

[jross]

5 hours ago, jross said:

Who played football in college, did not wrestle in college, and later won a Greco World championship?

Dremiel Byers

Quote

One of only two Americans to win three medals at the Greco-Roman World Championships, Dremiel Byers is considered one of the best Greco-Roman wrestlers in U.S. history.

Byers won a gold medal at the 2002 World Championships and is one of just five Americans to win a gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling. He added a bronze medal in 2007 and a silver medal in 2009 joining Distinguished Member Matt Ghaffari as the only Americans to medal three times. His 2007 bronze medal helped the United States win its first and only Greco-Roman World team title, by a single point over Russia.

Between 1999 and 2011, Byers made eight World Greco-Roman and two Olympic teams, finishing seventh in 2008 and ninth in 2012. He is the winningest wrestler, in any style, in Dave Schultz Memorial International history with six gold medals and 11 total medals. He was named USA Wrestling’s Greco-Roman Wrestler of the Year in 1999, 2002 and 2009.

Byers attended Kings Mountain High School in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, where he was an All-State wrestler and won the North Carolina state high school heavyweight championship in 1993. He attended North Carolina A&T on a football scholarship, but was forced to leave college to take care of family matters.

He enlisted in the U.S. Army and joined the Army’s World Class Athletes Program in 1996. He retired from the Army as a Sergeant First Class and currently serves as an assistant coach for the WCAP team.

Byers was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum’s Alan and Gloria Rice Greco-Roman Hall of Champions in 2015.

https://nwhof.org/hall_of_fame/bio_by_name/dremiel-byers

 

 

 

[Ragu]

1 hour ago, jross said:

Dremiel Byers

 

 

 

What happened the year after he won the gold medal?

[jross]

9 minutes ago, Ragu said:

What happened the year after he won the gold medal?

Rulon Gardner lost a toe in an accident… and came back to wrestle.  He knocked off Byers and the finished 10th at Worlds.  —- Byers had the takedowns but kept fleeing…

120 kg/264.5 lbs. 
1st Match: Dremiel Byers (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army) dec. Rulon Gardner (Cascade, Colo./Sunkist Kids), 3-2
First Period
At 1:10 Byers 3pt arm spin throw, 3-0
At 2:39 Byers passive, no scoring 

Second Period
At 3:54 Gardner takedown, 3-1
At 4:52 Byers passive, no scoring
At 5:31 Byers cautioned, 3-2


2nd Match: Rulon Gardner (Cascade, Colo./Sunkist Kids) dec. Dremiel Byers (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army), 3-2 OT
First Period
At 1:07 Byers passive, no scoring
At 2:27 Gardner passive, no scoring

Second Period
Begins in clinch, Byers takedown, 1-0
At 4:58 Byers takedown, 2-0
At 5:36 Byers passive

Overtime 
At 6:27 Gardner takedown, 2-1
At 6:58 1pt to Gardner on caution for fleeing, 2-2
At 7:01 1pt to Gardner on caution for fleeing, 3-2

Series is tied 1-1


3rd Match: Rulon Gardner (Cascade, Colo./Sunkist Kids) dec. Dremiel Byers (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army), 2-2 OT criteria
First Period
No Scoring

Second Period
Begins in clinch
At 3:52 Byers takedown, 1-0
At 4:15 1pt to Gardner on caution for fleeing, 1-1
At 4:45 Byers passive
At 5:45 1pt to Gardner on caution for fleeing, 2-1

Overtime
Begins in clinch, Byers takedown, 2-2
At 7:58 Byers passive

Decision goes to Gardner on criteria, cautions against Byers.

Gardner wins the series 2-1

https://content.usawmembership.com/results/16121

[scourge165]

On 3/27/2025 at 7:36 AM, Fadzaev2 said:

Chiparelli wasn't a 3 time champion...he finished 5-4-1.  (The Baltimore Butcher)

My bad...I just made a mistake. I meant Joe Scarpello. Got them confused. 

[jross]

Who was a runner-up at the senior level in both Greco-Roman and Freestyle wrestling at either the World Championships or the Olympics, and never won an NCAA Division I championship?

[11986]

4 minutes ago, jross said:

Who was a runner-up at the senior level in both Greco-Roman and Freestyle wrestling at either the World Championships or the Olympics, and never won an NCAA Division I championship?

think the answer is Greg Gibson.  

[Fadzaev2]

14 minutes ago, jross said:

Who was a runner-up at the senior level in both Greco-Roman and Freestyle wrestling at either the World Championships or the Olympics, and never won an NCAA Division I championship?

 

8 minutes ago, 11986 said:

think the answer is Greg Gibson.  

Greg was silver medalist in '84 GR, and has 2 silver and a bronze in freestyle.....will never forget his marathon OT match with Bill Scherr....no time limit that year and the match was almost 19 minutes long.   https://www.flowrestling.org/video/5098670-1987-us-nationals-bill-scherr-vs-greg-gibson

[Konquest]

17 minutes ago, 11986 said:

think the answer is Greg Gibson.  

An old-school coach that I had at a HS camp told me that Greg Gibson could explode a properly inflated basketball with his gut wrench lock, kind of like Danny Hodge and the apples.

[11986]

Gibson was also a Sambo world champ.

[jross]

Who is the most recent wrestler to have made the team at the senior level for both Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling at either the World Championships or the Olympics, without ever winning an NCAA Division I championship?

 

[11986]

1 minute ago, jross said:

Who is the most recent wrestler to have made the team at the senior level for both Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling at either the World Championships or the Olympics, without ever winning an NCAA Division I championship?

 

Sam Hazewinkel?

[Interviewed_at_Weehawken]

On 3/27/2025 at 3:12 PM, jackwebster said:

This is my answer all day, every day. It's more of an aesthetic appreciation than anything else: brutal with that bar arm-far half/blair ride on top and the cross ankle pick / shrug on his feet (in addition to the flashy inside trips from space and super ducks). All the tactics seemed a fluid realization of a single strategy (reminds me of Devin Carter running all his action through the bundle situation)

Edit: plus some former opponents confided that he was kinda a d!ck. This is a plus in my book. I reject the "wrestling is fun" mantra . . . even though it seems to work miracles. I'm waiting for the pendulum to swing back, and for the kids damaged by broken homes, poverty, and such to unleash their rage on the well-adjusted.

Let me share a little secret: the wrestling is fun crowd is filled with "dicks."  Nickal, Carter, Taylor, etc,.  even Nolf.  The whole crew enjoys inflicting pain and humiliation.  That is their fun. And that is the case with most good wrestlers. I'm not sure why there is any confusion on their motivations.

[jross]

Which wrestler has achieved multiple podium finishes in Greco-Roman at the senior-level World Championships or Olympics, yet never placed among the top finishers in NCAA Division I Folkstyle wrestling?

[Jim L]

1 hour ago, jross said:

Which wrestler has achieved multiple podium finishes in Greco-Roman at the senior-level World Championships or Olympics, yet never placed among the top finishers in NCAA Division I Folkstyle wrestling?

Ghafarri?

[OMW]

1 hour ago, jross said:

Which wrestler has achieved multiple podium finishes in Greco-Roman at the senior-level World Championships or Olympics, yet never placed among the top finishers in NCAA Division I Folkstyle wrestling?

Andy Bisek

[Wrestleknownothing]

1 hour ago, jross said:

Which wrestler has achieved multiple podium finishes in Greco-Roman at the senior-level World Championships or Olympics, yet never placed among the top finishers in NCAA Division I Folkstyle wrestling?

Hint, hint

[jross]

1 hour ago, OMW said:

Andy Bisek

Thats a great guess.  Andy attended Northern Michigan University, which does not compete in Folkstyle.

[jross]

2 hours ago, Jim L said:

Ghafarri?

Bingo.  

Matt Ghaffari (1980-84) qualified for the 1984 NCAA Championships after posting a single-season CSU record 14 pins ... Represented USA at the 1992 and 1996 Olympics in Greco-Roman, winning a silver medal in the latter event ... Three-time World Championship medalist ... Inducted into National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2013.

He holds three American records, the World and Olympic total medals, in addition to being a four-time World Cup Champion, and nine-time Pan-American Champion. He is a two-time US Olympian and Olympic team alternate, winning two World Silver medals, one World Bronze medal, and one Olympic Silver medal from the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. 

In 2003, he was inducted into the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame followed by an induction into the Cleveland State University Hall of Fame in 2006. Ten years laters in 2013, he became a distinguished member of the prestigious USA National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

https://csuvikings.com/honors/hall-of-fame/matt-ghaffari/54

[BloodRound]

On 3/28/2025 at 2:59 PM, Wrasslin said:

Chance definitely underperformed, which may be a separate thread altogether. But it got me thinking about other most-hyped wrestlers that underperformed and didn't win NCAAs. Zach Sanders probably belongs on that list? Sure, he's a 4 time AA so it's hard to be too critical, but as you mentioned, super hyped coming out of high school- #1 recruit, 5 time state champion, etc . . . We'll call this category "Studs to Duds: The Ryan Leaf/JaMarcus Russell Underachievement Award" Other award nominees (in no particular order, just limited to 5)

• Gavin Teasdale
• Kurt McHenry
• Andrew Camplotanno
• Alex Cisneros
• Marcus LeVasseur (sure, 4x D3 champ, but had D1 talent)

This is the category that always interests me.  I know life happens, but the cause of flame out is such a wild spectrum.  I would say with what happened to Chance, the fact that he got on the podium at all is a miracle.  Then you got someone like a Scott Winston who you can add here, who just never found the groove at Rutgers.  Then we turn our attention to the Teasdales & Campalottano's of the sport and... yeesh.

 

If you really want to add Chance to this list though, what about Mike Grey?  First 4x, undefeated state champ out of NJ; only AA's twice.  Feels sort of similar.

[jross]

4 hours ago, 11986 said:

Sam Hazewinkel?

Bingo.

The Hazewinkel legacy began with Dave and Jim, identical twin brothers from Coon Rapids, Minn. Both were members of the 1968 and 1972 U.S. Greco-Roman Olympic teams and both were on six consecutive World and Olympic teams together (1967 through 1972). Jim was also member of the 1966 World team while Dave was the first American to win two World medals in Greco-Roman wrestling (bronze in 1969 and silver in 1970).

Dave's son, Sam Hazewinkel, competed on the 2012 Olympic team in freestyle wrestling at 121 pounds. The competition was 40 years after Sam's father and uncle wrestled at the Olympics. Sam was also a U.S. national champion in Greco-Roman in 2005 and 2007.

Sam was a four-time All-American at the University of Oklahoma, including NCAA runner-up at 125 pounds.  He posted a 132-10 mark for the Sooners. 

Hazewinkel went unbeaten during his high school career at Pensacola Christian Academy (Fla.). He went 140-0 with three state championships.

https://www.themat.com/news/2012/september/07/hazewinkel-family-to-receive-l-25510

https://www.ocusports.com/sports/mens-wrestling/roster/coaches/sam-hazewinkel/772

[CHROMEBIRD]

Dunno about best, but I thought funkmaster Jason Welch would win a title his senior year. I think he lost to DSJ twice, Bubba, Fittery, Adam Hall, can't remember who else at NCAAs.