The regular season has ended and the postseason is upon us! That makes this the perfect time to re-live some of the biggest and most wild upsets of the regular season. Take a look below at some of the most surprising moments from the past year in NCAA D1 wrestling.

Madrigal’s Wild Week 1

Oklahoma’s Anthony Madrigal started the season off with an incredible tournament at the MSU Open. At the time Madrigal was ranked #23 and took out then #5 Lucas Byrd, #14 Rayvon Foley, and #18 Dylan Ragusin. Madrigal has had an up and down season since then but that tournament showed just how dangerous he can be when he’s wrestling his best. Don’t be surprised if Madrigal pulls an upset this post-season at Big 12s or NCAAs.

Madrigal’s overtime win over returning All-American Lucas Byrd (Byrd’s only loss of the season):

Week 3 Was Bananas

Two returning National Champions were upset in mid-november when Peyton Robb took out Austin O’Connor and Julian Ramirez upset Shane Griffith. If that wasn’t wild enough, Jack Del Garbino closed out the weekend by PINNING Anthony Cassioppi! What makes that upset even more remarkable is the fact that Del Garbino is currently Princeton’s backup heavyweight to unranked Matt Cover.

Greenwood Stuns McGee

With a 20-2 record and ranked #6 in the nation, Michael McGee has put together an outstanding season. All the way back in November however, McGee hit a bump in the road against Wyoming’s Job Greenwood. Since that match, both wrestlers have had very different seasons with McGee winning 16 of his next 17 matches and his only other loss coming against #1 Roman Bravo-Young. Meanwhile, Greenwood has struggled a bit and is only 7-9 since the win over McGee. 

Two Contenders Emerge In New Year

In the last week of 2021 and the first week of 2022, two All-American contenders emerged - Greg Bulsak (197) and Kyle Cochran (184). Greg Bulsak won the Matmen Open by defeating returning NCAA runner-up Nino Bonaccori. Then, at the Southern Scuffle, Kyle Cochran came away with the title by taking out three ranked wrestlers - Hunter Bolen, Jonathan Loew, and Jeremiah Kent. Both Greg Bulsak and Kyle Cochran are entering their final postseason and looked poised to earn their first All-American honors.

Cochran’s win in the finals of the Southern Scuffle:

Owen Pentz Is A Dangerous Man

Stephen Buchanan was 13-1, ranked #4 in the country, and a big favorite when he took the mat on January 16th against Owen Pentz. That mattered little to Pentz who secured the upset of the week when he pinned Buchanan in a cradle. Check out that match below.

Pentz’s pin over Buchanan:

Caffey’s Big Week

Cam Caffey had an up-and-down start to his season. Case in point, at the end of November Caffey was 6-3 with losses to HM Jake Koser, #6 Jake Woodley, and HM Matt Wroblewsksi. Caffey has clearly turned things around and made a major announcement to the rest of the country on January 21 and 23 when he defeated #10 Greg Bulsak and #1 Max Dean in back-to-back matches. Caffey is now ranked #4 in the country and has established himself as a clear title contender.

Grant Willits Ends Real Woods Undefeated Season

Real Woods was 12-0 heading into the last match of the season until he met Grant Willits in Stanford’s dual against Oregon State. Willits was able to catch Woods in a scramble and earn the unconventional fall, handing Woods his first loss of the season. Take a look at the pin below.

FALL!! Grant Willits sticks No. 4 Real Woods as we head into the break!!

OSU 18, Stanford 3#GoBeavs pic.twitter.com/qE3kra2oJP

— Oregon State Wrestling (@Beaverwrestling) February 20, 2022

Lautt Ends Season With A BANG

Did you predict Clay Lautt pinning Hayden Hidlay in his final match of the season? If you answered yes, you’re either lying or you’re related to Clay Lautt. Prior to the loss to Lautt, Hidlay was undefeated against ACC opponents and had never been pinned in his college career! That upset proved ANYTHING can happen in college wrestling and was a small taste of the madness we’re about to see unfold this postseason. 

Rise up and take a Bow! 💪#GoHeels | #TogetherWeWin pic.twitter.com/ZdJl5hMgwU

— UNC Wrestling (@UNCWrestling) February 19, 2022