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 | 149 Pounds | 157 Pounds | 165 Pounds | 174 Pounds | 184 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) Craig Brester, Nebraska - R12, 4, 2, 2

Craig Brester's remarkable career for the Cornhuskers is best defined by his rivalry with Iowa State's Jake Varner. Unfortunately for the Nebraska native Brester, the rivalry is best defined by his two losses to the Olympic champ in the 2009 and 2010 NCAA finals. Brester entered the tournament his junior year as the No. 1 seed, with Varner on the opposite side with the No. 2 seed. The next year, the seeds were reversed but the results was the same. Brester beat just about everybody else in his weight class, however, and likely would have been a two-time national champ and a legend in his own right had he not had a legend like Varner standing in his way.

2) Hudson Taylor, Maryland - R12, 3, 3, 4

Hudson Taylor's credentials match up virtually identically to Brester's, except for two third places instead of runner-up finishes. Their four years of eligibility line up perfectly as well. Brester also owns a head-to-head win in the 2010 NCAA semifinals over Taylor, so these rankings fall into place easily. Taylor, a New Jersey native, was never seeded higher than he was during his senior year, when he entered the tournament No. 3 and finished fourth. Taylor outperformed his seed the previous two seasons and finished his career as one of the best Maryland Terrapins in school history. 

3) Nick Heflin, Ohio State - R12, 5, 5, 2

Nick Heflin only spent one season at 197 pounds, so there are arguments to be made for ranking him with the 174-pounders, where he spent his first three years of eligibility. However, Heflin's best year was his senior year at 197, and best year is the criteria being used to determine which weight class we refer to in these rankings. Thus, Nick gets our No. 3 ranking among 197-pounders to have never won a national title. Heflin was the No. 1 seed in 2014 when he was stopped 2-1 by true freshman J'den Cox in the NCAA finals. The native Ohioan Heflin added two fifth-place finishes down at 174 to become one of only nine three- or four-time NCAA All-Americans for the Buckeyes since the 1990s. 

4) Morgan McIntosh, Penn State - R24, 7, 3, 2

Morgan McIntosh came to Penn State via Orange County, California, as one of the top recruits in the nation. McIntosh preformed admirably and was an anchor at 197 for the Nittany Lions lineup for four years. McIntosh never quite got over the NCAA title hump, though. The closest he got to the lofty expectations he carried with him when he arrived in Happy Valley was in his senior year, when he entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed and lost to J'den Cox in the finals in 2016.

5) Scott Schiller, Minnesota - DNQ, 5, 3, 4

Scott Schiller is the leader of the next tier, after McIntosh, of 197-pound wrestlers who never claimed the top NCAA prize. The North Dakota native Schiller sat behind another Golden Gophers great, Sonny Yohn, in his first year of college eligibility. Schiller made his next three years count, never placing below fifth and never finishing worse than his seed. 

6) Brett Pfarr, Minnesota - DNQ, R32, 3, 2

Brett Pfarr took over for Scott Schiller when he graduated and continued the Golden Gopher tradition of excellence at 197 pounds. Schiller also forced Pfarr to cut down to 184 pounds to find a spot in the lineup his sophomore year, where he could only muster a round of 32 finish. Pfarr fared much better up at 197 pounds, where he followed up a third place finish his junior year with a finals loss to the great J'Den Cox to close out his excellent career.  

7) Chris Honeycutt, Edinboro - R24, R12, 5, 2

Chris Honeycutt came to Edinboro by way of nearby Cleveland. Honeycutt -- who just this week ran his pro MMA career record up to 10-1 -- started three years at 184 but had his best year as a senior at 197. In 2012, Honeycutt was stopped in the NCAA finals by Cornell's Cam Simaz. 

8) Matt Wilps, Pittsburgh - DNQ, R16, 4, 3

Matt Wilps just sneaks on to our list on the strength of his two top-four finishes. The Pittsburgh native stayed at home and matriculated at Pitt and rewarded the Panther faithful with three strong years at 197 pounds. 

Honorable Mention

Nathan Burak, Iowa
Conner Hartmann, Duke
Sonny Yohn, Minnesota

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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