The NCAA tournament is the pinnacle of the collegiate wrestling season, where a grueling season culminates with the crowning of 10 individual champions. 

But the flip side to glory is the bitter disappointment of unrealized dreams. All weekend long, the arena tunnels and lockers rooms are strewn with the shattered minds and bodies of defeated wrestlers.

The record books will always be a prominent place for champions, but here we'll carve out a special section for the best who never become champs. This is a place for the greats who never quite made it to the top of the NCAA podium, yet remain some of the most dominant and dynamic competitors of their era.

Previous Entries: 125 Pounds | 133 Pounds | 141 Pounds

To limit the size of our lists, and to lower the burden of research to a relatively sane amount, we very arbitrarily narrowed our time frame to the last 10 years. Due to creative redshirting, this rule proved difficulty to adhere to, but a general rule of thumb is anyone who used up his eligibility by 2009 was not included. Hence the absence of Mike Poeta, an incredible 157-pound wrestler for Illinois who thrice placed in the top three of NCAA.

It is possible we overlooked someone, however, so please feel free to call out your favorite unmentioned non-champion in the comments.

1) Dylan Ness, Minnesota - 2, 4, 2, 6

As someone who split his time equally between 149 and 157, Ness is a tricky guy to rank. That's not because the two-time finalist and four-time All-American lacks incredible credentials, but instead because you have to pick a weight class for him. The Minnesota native had slightly better finishes as a 149-pounder his freshman and sophomore years. Thus, he ends up at the top of our list of the best 149-pounders who never won a title. Ness dropped a 4-1 decision to Penn State's Frank Molinaro in the 149-pound final in 2012 and got majored 13-4 by Oklahoma State's Alex Dieringer in the 157-pound final in 2014. Ness entered the 2015 tournament as the No. 3 seed but injured his shoulder in the semifinals against Cornell's Brian Realbuto and defaulted out to sixth place. Despite the lack of championships, Ness had a brilliant career for the Gophers and never failed to entertain during his matches. 

2) Lavion Mayes, Missouri - R12, 7, 3, 2

Lavion Mayes also split his time evenly between two weight classes, but unlike Ness he started down at 141 and then moved up to 149 after his sophomore season. The St. Louis native had far greater success at the higher weight so picking 149 pounds for him was an easy call. Mayes' best finish came in front of his hometown crowd at the 2017 NCAA tournament in the Scottrade Center. Unfortunately, Mayes had to wrestle Penn State's Zain Retherford in the finals and was techfalled 18-2. Mayes also earned three No. 3 seeds, evidence of his strong regular-season results, which gives him the edge over the rest of the entries on our list.

3) Lance Palmer, Ohio State - 4, 8, 4, 2

Northeast Ohio's Lance Palmer has an argument for being ranked ahead of Mayes, with four All-American finishes to Mayes' three. However, Palmer only had one top three finish and one top three seed. Still, the margin is razor thin. Palmer placed in the Big Ten Tournament all four years, winning the 2010 title over the estimable Brent Metcalf 9-3. Metcalf would have his revenge in the NCAA finals that year, though, downing Palmer 3-2 and relegating him to the ranks of those who never claimed the ultimate NCAA prize.

4) Jason Chamberlain, Boise State - R24, R12, 3, 2

Chamberlain represented the lamentably departed Boise State Broncos from 2009 to 2013, taking a redshirt season in 2012. The three-time Pac-12 champ returned to the varsity lineup his senior year in rare form, earning a No. 2 seed at the NCAA tournament. Unfortunately, the Utah native was opposite Oklahoma State's Jordan Oliver, and Oliver denied Chamberlain a championship with a 3-2 win.

5) Dave Habat, Edinboro - R24, R16, 4, 2

Habat is the final member of the tremendous trio of Fighting Scots of the class of 2015 that helped earn Edinboro a third-place team finish. Unfortunately for AJ Schopp, Mitchell Port, and Dave Habat, all three of them are also on our lists of the best to have never won an NCAA title. Habat came closest his senior year, when the Cleveland native was felled in the finals by Missouri's Drake Houdashelt in sudden victory.

Honorable Mention

Scott Sakaguchi, Oregon State
Eric Grajales, Michigan
Anthony Collica, Oklahoma State

Like our time frame, our achievement cut-off point for inclusion on our list of best who never won is entirely arbitrary. There will never be an article large enough to mention every deserving All-American who fell short of his ultimate goal. So if you think we overlooked anyone, please don't hesitate to let us know!

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