There's never a shortage of surprises at the NCAA Championships each year, and last week's tournament in Cleveland was no exception.

Things started with a bang Thursday at Quicken Loans Arena when Maryland's Ryan Diehl pinned Penn State's Nick Lee just moments after Pitt's Dom Forys pinned PSU's Corey Keener, who had the slight lead at that point. 

But while those two matches immediately grabbed everyone’s attention, there were plenty more astonishing performances that quickly turned some underdogs into fan favorites over the weekend.

133: Tariq Wilson, NC State

Right out the gate, the redshirt freshman turned heads when he handled #5 seed John Erneste of Missouri to the tune of an 8-3 decision. After another decision in round two, he got a rematch with #4 seed Kaid Brock of Oklahoma State, who teched him earlier in the year. And Wilson won just about every 50/50 position, putting Brock on his back a few times to get the 13-5 major decision and head to the semifinals. 

If fans weren’t already on the edge of their seats from his earlier upsets, then this match sent them there quickly. While it was a surprise that the unseeded Wilson had made it past Erneste in the first round, he proved that he belonged as he pushed top seed-and eventual NCAA champion Seth Gross of South Dakota State to the brink with his "shoot first, ask questions last" offense on his feet. Ultimately, Gross came out on top in a wild finish; however, the loss didn’t stop Wilson. On the back side, he collected major decisions over Scott Delvecchio of Rutgers and #3 seed Luke Pletcher of Ohio State to place third.

Quarterfinals | Tariq Wilson, NC St. vs. Kaid Brock, OK St.:

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133: Scott DelVecchio, Rutgers

The defining bout for DelVecchio was when he came back from being down 6-2 in the third period to beat Drexel's Austin DeSanto and become an All-American. Thanks to four straight stalling calls and a riding time point, which all came in the third period of the match, the score was tied at 6-6, giving Delvecchio a second chance that he took advantage of and secured the winning takedown. 

He followed it up with a 5-2 win over returning All-American Scott Parker of Lehigh before falling to Wilson in the consolation semis and Kaid Brock in the fifth-place bout to come in sixth.

141: Sa'Derian Perry, Eastern Michigan

Just like Wilson, Perry started out hot with huge wins over #9 seed Josh Alber of UNI and Maryland’s Diehl, who was fresh off that big fall over Lee, to make the quarters. Perry's title run came to a close when he was pinned by eventual runner-up Bryce Meredith of Wyoming.

To solidify himself as an All-American, Perry took out #11 seed Michael Carr of Illinois on the back side before dropping back-to-back matches to finish eighth.

141: Chad Red, Nebraska

When you come in unseeded, the odds are obviously against you making the podium. Things start to look even darker when you drop your first match of the tournament. But for Red, it was the beginning of an impressive run that included pinning the returning two-time NCAA champion with a mixer in the blood round to claim All-American status. 

Red’s run to become an AA after dropping his first match included wins over Ryan Diehl, Vince Turk, returning All-American Tommy Thorn, and two-time champ Dean Heil before losing 2-1 to three-time AA Kevin Jack to fall into the seventh-place bout. That’s where Red pinned Perry late in the match.

149: Ronnie Perry, Lock Haven

Major props to the first 15th-seeded wrestler to ever make the NCAA finals. Perry set the bracket on a tilt early when he took out #2 Brandon Sorensen, whom most had pegged as a finalist, in the round of 16. It was all momentum from there for Perry as he knocked off two more All-Americans in the quarters and semis to make the finals. 

In the quarters, he beat Jason Tsirtsis 7-4, then claimed a 5-3 win over Matt Kolodzik in the semis. In the finals against now three-time champ Zain Retherford, who is a bonus-point machine, Perry kept it close and nearly took down Retherford late. Ultimately, Perry fell 6-2 and was the runner-up.

Round 2 | Ronnie Perry, LHU vs. Brandon Sorensen, Iowa:

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184: Chip Ness, UNC

First, Ness beat #10 seed Emery Parker in the first round. Then he added an 11-6 win over 11th-seeded Taylor Venz before falling to eventual runner-up Myles Martin the quarters. Ness solidified his AA status with a win over Navy’s Michael Coleman before Parker exacted some revenge on the back side. 

In the end, Ness finished seventh with a 6-3 win over #9 seed Max Dean.

197: Jacob Holschlag, UNI

Five straight wins with a little revenge are what it took for Holschlag to make the podium. He took a first-round loss to Willie Miklus, then rattled off four straight wins and earned a rematch against Miklus. In workmanlike fashion, Holschlag won matches against Randall Diane, Danny Chaid, Eric Schultz, Chris Weiler, and Miklus before being pinned by Kyle Conel. 

But Holschlag bounced back to pin #2 seed Ben Darmstadt to place fifth.

197: Kyle Conel, Kent State

Mr. Unfinished Business. The entire arena exploded when he locked up top-seeded Kollin Moore and tossed him to his back getting the fall in 1:30. Conel had already taken out #9 seed Preston Weigel and #8 seed Nate Rotert, but nothing was like the throw and pin on Moore that shook the entire city of Cleveland. 

Conel’s title run came to an end in the semis when newly crowned champ Michael Macchiavello pinned him in the second period, but it was the last time he would end up with a loss. Conel pinned Holschlag, then claimed another win over Moore to finish third. 

Quarterfinals | Kollin Moore, Ohio St. vs Kyle Conel, Kent St.:

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