Darkhorse Derby 2026

[Wrestleknownothing]

This is something I did for the last two tournaments on Intermat that a lot of people found interesting. It creates an incentive to think about and watch the guys who generally do not wind up on the podium. It acknowledges that their struggle is every bit as real even if their recognition generally is not.

• The idea is that everyone picks 1 wrestler per weight (10 total wrestlers) who is seeded in the 17 - 33 range. No wrestlers seeded 1 - 16 are eligible.

We will use regular tournament scoring to determine who has the strongest lineup of darkhorses at the conclusion of the tournament.

• If you would like to make my life more easy in your post use the following format for your entry:

Weight - Seed - Wrestler - School

For example, if you were interested in all #17 seeds it would look like this:

125 – 17 - Jett Strickenberger – WVU
133 – 17 - TK Davis – GW
141 – 17 - Caedyn Ricciardi – NAVY
149 – 17 - Lucas Kapusta – LH
157 – 17 - Luke Mechler – WIS
165 – 17 - Braeden Scoles – ILL
174 – 17 - Jared Simma – UNI
184 – 17 - Ian Bush – WVU
197 – 17 - Dillon Bechtold – BUCK
285 – 17 - Vincent Mueller - COL

One caveat. I will not be around as much this year during the tournament as I was in past years due to my own stupidity, so my scoring updates will be a little less frequent.

I will be posting this on all four on3 boards.

 

[Fan16801]

Even though I'm terrible at KYPSW, here goes:

125 - 18 - Spencer Moore - ILL (who am I to argue with the algorithm?)
133 - 24 - Blake Boarman - PUR (maybe he got lucky, maybe he is peaking)
141 - 28 - Pierson Manville - ASU (hometown boy, 2 degrees of separation)
149 - 21 - Gabe Willochell - WYO (good record despite the Van Ness pin)
157 - 21 - Charlie Millard - MINN (Big Ten, OK record)
165 - 18 - Gunner Filipowicz - ARMY (an Army guy named Gunner, cool)
174 - 20 - Daschle Lamer - ORST (his record is good)
184 - 20 - Brian Soldano - OKLA (almost picked Zack Ryder but I fear that shoulder will not stay in place
197 - 27 - Gabe Arnold - IOWA (I wish him well - points will be gained in consi)
285 - 18 - Christian Carroll - WYO (he once beat a PSU wrestler)

 

[Misalorales]

This is something I did for the last two tournaments on Intermat that a lot of people found interesting. It creates an incentive to think about and watch the guys who generally do not wind up on the podium. It acknowledges that their struggle is every bit as real even if their recognition generally is not.

• The idea is that everyone picks 1 wrestler per weight (10 total wrestlers) who is seeded in the 17 - 33 range. No wrestlers seeded 1 - 16 are eligible.

We will use regular tournament scoring to determine who has the strongest lineup of darkhorses at the conclusion of the tournament.

• If you would like to make my life more easy in your post use the following format for your entry:

Weight - Seed - Wrestler - School

For example, if you were interested in all #17 seeds it would look like this:

125 – 17 - Jett Strickenberger – WVU
133 – 17 - TK Davis – GW
141 – 17 - Caedyn Ricciardi – NAVY
149 – 17 - Lucas Kapusta – LH
157 – 17 - Luke Mechler – WIS
165 – 17 - Braeden Scoles – ILL
174 – 17 - Jared Simma – UNI
184 – 17 - Ian Bush – WVU
197 – 17 - Dillon Bechtold – BUCK
285 – 17 - Vincent Mueller - COL

One caveat. I will not be around as much this year during the tournament as I was in past years due to my own stupidity, so my scoring updates will be a little less frequent.

I will be posting this on all four on3 boards.

Hell ya.

 

[CTStall]

I'm just going 1 weight.
197-19- Zayne Lehman -Ohio

 

[SlipperyPete]

125: #18 Spencer Moore (ILL)
133: #28 Garrett Grice (ISU)
141: #20 Julian Tagg (SDSU)
149: #19 Brock Herman (UALR)
157: #21 Charlie Millard (MINN)
165: #19 Noah Mulvaney (BUCK)
174: #19 Logan Messer (GMU)
184: #24 Joe Curtis (COL)
197: #21 Rune Lawrence (WVU)
285: #18 Christian Carroll (WYO)

 

[District 4]

Even though I'm terrible at KYPSW, here goes:

125 - 18 - Spencer Moore - ILL (who am I to argue with the algorithm?)
133 - 24 - Blake Boarman - RUT (maybe he got lucky, maybe he is peaking)
141 - 28 - Pierson Manville - ASU (hometown boy, 2 degrees of separation)
149 - 21 - Gabe Willochell - WYO (good record despite the Van Ness pin)
157 - 21 - Charlie Millard - MINN (Big Ten, OK record)
165 - 18 - Gunner Filipowicz - ARMY (an Army guy named Gunner, cool)
174 - 20 - Daschle Lamer - ORST (his record is good)
184 - 20 - Brian Soldano - OKLA (almost picked Zack Ryder but I fear that shoulder will not stay in place
197 - 27 - Gabe Arnold - IOWA (I wish him well - points will be gained in consi)
285 - 18 - Christian Carroll - WYO (he once beat a PSU wrestler)

Isn't Boarman purdue?

 

[CarolinaFan1]

125: #23 Nicolar Rivera (WIS)
133: #20 Julian Farber (UNI)
141: #21 Tyler Wells (OKLA)
149: #19 Brock Herman (UALR)
157: #21 Charlie Millard (MINN)
165: #27 EJ Parco (STAN)
174: #21 Lenny Pinto (RUT)
184: #20 Brian Soldano (OKLA)
197: #27 Gabe Arnold (IOWA)
285: #18 Christian Carroll (WYO)

 

[Fan16801]

Isn't Boarman purdue?

Thanks, good catch. I confused Boarman upset with Barbosa upset.... Off to edit.

 

[Aardvark86]

This is something I did for the last two tournaments on Intermat that a lot of people found interesting. It creates an incentive to think about and watch the guys who generally do not wind up on the podium. It acknowledges that their struggle is every bit as real even if their recognition generally is not.

• The idea is that everyone picks 1 wrestler per weight (10 total wrestlers) who is seeded in the 17 - 33 range. No wrestlers seeded 1 - 16 are eligible.

We will use regular tournament scoring to determine who has the strongest lineup of darkhorses at the conclusion of the tournament.

• If you would like to make my life more easy in your post use the following format for your entry:

Weight - Seed - Wrestler - School

For example, if you were interested in all #17 seeds it would look like this:

125 – 17 - Jett Strickenberger – WVU
133 – 17 - TK Davis – GW
141 – 17 - Caedyn Ricciardi – NAVY
149 – 17 - Lucas Kapusta – LH
157 – 17 - Luke Mechler – WIS
165 – 17 - Braeden Scoles – ILL
174 – 17 - Jared Simma – UNI
184 – 17 - Ian Bush – WVU
197 – 17 - Dillon Bechtold – BUCK
285 – 17 - Vincent Mueller - COL

One caveat. I will not be around as much this year during the tournament as I was in past years due to my own stupidity, so my scoring updates will be a little less frequent.

I will be posting this on all four on3 boards.

I was expecting this to be something like “pick the wrestler for whom the quotient of seed/finish is the highest.”

 

[Wrestleknownothing]

I was expecting this to be something like “pick the wrestler for whom the quotient of seed/finish is the highest.”

I thought about that, but no one has come close by just picking 17 seeds, for example, so I thought - why over complicare it?

 

[a_mshaffer]

125 – 17 - Jett Strickenberger – WVU
133 – 23 - Braxton Brown - UMD
141 – 20 - Julian Tagg SDSU
149 – 20 - Chance Lamer - NEB
157 – 21 - Charlie Millard - Minn
165 – 22 - Mathew Olguin – ORst
174 – 31 - Cael Valencia - ASU
184 – 23 - Ceasar Garza – POLY
197 – 27 - Gabe Arnold - Iowa
285 – 18 - Christian Carroll - WYO

 

[tullfan68]

what happened to Pinto this yr?

 

[Wrestleknownothing]

what happened to Pinto this yr?

This guy?

I believe he became an editor for National Lampoon.

 

[Wrestleknownothing]

I'm just going 1 weight.
197-19- Zayne Lehman -Ohio

Man, he better score a lot of points. Last year's winner had 35.5

 

[SurgeOne bOne]

This is something I did for the last two tournaments on Intermat that a lot of people found interesting. It creates an incentive to think about and watch the guys who generally do not wind up on the podium. It acknowledges that their struggle is every bit as real even if their recognition generally is not.

• The idea is that everyone picks 1 wrestler per weight (10 total wrestlers) who is seeded in the 17 - 33 range. No wrestlers seeded 1 - 16 are eligible.

We will use regular tournament scoring to determine who has the strongest lineup of darkhorses at the conclusion of the tournament.

• If you would like to make my life more easy in your post use the following format for your entry:

Weight - Seed - Wrestler - School

For example, if you were interested in all #17 seeds it would look like this:

125 – 17 - Jett Strickenberger – WVU
133 – 17 - TK Davis – GW
141 – 17 - Caedyn Ricciardi – NAVY
149 – 17 - Lucas Kapusta – LH
157 – 17 - Luke Mechler – WIS
165 – 17 - Braeden Scoles – ILL
174 – 17 - Jared Simma – UNI
184 – 17 - Ian Bush – WVU
197 – 17 - Dillon Bechtold – BUCK
285 – 17 - Vincent Mueller - COL

One caveat. I will not be around as much this year during the tournament as I was in past years due to my own stupidity, so my scoring updates will be a little less frequent.

I will be posting this on all four on3 boards.

Smart question: how does one “win” - what are the criteria!

 

[Wrestleknownothing]

Smart question: how does one “win” - what are the criteria!

The lineup that scores the most team points.

Last year the winner picked nine wrestlers who scored points, led by Trevor Chumbley, who as a #20 seed finished fourth and scored 13.5 team points. Last year's winning total was 35.5

 

[The Pitchfork Rebel]

what happened to Pinto this yr?

Same thing that happened to Allred, Ayala, Catka and other guys that stick around one year too many.

 

[PUR158]

125: Nicolar Rivera #23 WIS
133: Zach Redding #22 NCST
141: Dylan Chappell #23 Bucknell
149: Gabe Willochell #21 WY
157: Gavin Drexler #28 NDST
165: Mac Church #25 VT
174: Sergio Desiante #25VT
184: Malachi Duvall #25 GMU
197: Zayne Lehman #19 OHIO
HWT: Dayton Pitzer #20 PITT

 

[Wrestleknownothing]

125: Nicolar Rivera #23 WIS
133: Zach Redding #22 NCST
141: Dylan Chappell #23 Bucknell
149: Gabe Willochell #21 WY
157: Gavin Drexler #28 NDST
165: Mac Church #25 VT
174: Sergio Desiante #25VT
184: Malachi Duvall #25 GMU
197: Zayne Lehman #18 OHIO
HWT: Dayton Pitzer #20 PITT

Andrew Real is the #18 at 197. Do you want him or Zayne Lehman?

 

[Wrestleknownothing]

125: #23 Nicolar Rivera (WIS)
133: #20 Julian Farber (UNI)
141: #21 Tyler Wells (OKLA)
149: #18 Brock Herman (UALR)
157: #21 Charlie Millard (MINN)
165: #27 EJ Parco (STAN)
174: #21 Lenny Pinto (RUT)
184: #20 Brian Soldano (OKLA)
197: #27 Gabe Arnold (IOWA)
285: #18 Christian Carroll (WYO)

Eugene Harney is the #18 seed at 149. Do you want him of Brock Herman?

 

[PUR158]

Andrew Real is the #18 at 197. Do you want him or Zayne Lehman?

Thanks. I updated, Lehman.

 

[CarolinaFan1]

Eugene Harney is the #18 seed at 149. Do you want him of Brock Herman?

Oops. Edited to update Herman at #19. Thanks!

 

[flyinorvi]

125: #17 Jett Strickenberger (WVU)
133: #17 TK Davis (GW)
141: #23 Dylan Chappell (BUCK)
149: #19 Brock Herman (UALR)
157: #21 Charlie Millard (MINN)
165: #18 Gunner Filipowicz (ARMY)
174: #21 Lenny Pinto (RUT)
184: #19 Jared McGill (EDIN)
197: #19 Zayne Lehman (OHIO)
285: #20 Dayton Pitzer (PITT)

 

[Maki]

125 - 22 - Davis Motkya - Penn
133 - 19 - Gage Walker - Mizz
141 - 20 - Julian Tagg - SDSU
149 - 19 - Brock Herman - UALR
156 - 17 - Luke Mechler - Wis
165 - 22 - Matthew Olguin - ORST
174 - 20 - Daschle Lamer - ORST
184 - 22 - Joe Curtis - Col
197 - 18 - Andrew Reall - Brwn
285 - 18 - Christian Carroll - Wyo

 

[IronLion]

125 #18 Spencer Moore Ill
133 #25 Will Betancourt Rider
141 #23 Dylan Chappell Bucknell
149 #19 Brock Herman Little Rock
157 #21 Charlie Millard Minnesota
165 #25 Mac Church Va Tech
174 #21 Lenny Pinto Rutgers
184 #22 Zach Ryder Okie St
197 #27 Gabe Arnold Iowa
HWT #20 Dayton Pitzer Pitt

 

[86PSUPaul]

@Wrestleknownothing do you happen to have a link to a spreadsheet showing just the seeds in order, not a bracket?
I am trying not to create something that already exists. Quick internet search just shows brackets and top seeds.

 

[jstross]

125 (19) Kysen Terukina (UNC) 15-6
133 (25) Will Betancourt (RID) 23-8
141 (24) Nash Singleton (ORST) 15-7
149 (19) Brock Herman (UALR) 13-3
157 (19) Kai Owen (COL) 18-7
165 (19) Noah Mulvaney (BUCK) 25-7
174 (25) Sergio Desiante (VT) 20-13
184 (23) Ceasar Garza (POLY) 18-2
197 (27) Gabe Arnold (IOWA) 18-7
285 (20) Dayton Pitzer (PITT) 16-6

 

[Wrestleknownothing]

@Wrestleknownothing do you happen to have a link to a spreadsheet showing just the seeds in order, not a bracket?
I am trying not to create something that already exists. Quick internet search just shows brackets and top seeds.

Let me know if you can access this:

2026 NCAA Wrestling Seeds

 

[Rock-man]

125 – 19 - Kysen Terukina – UNC
133 – 26 - Dylan Shawver – RUT
141 – 18 - Carter Nogle – AF
149 – 21 - Gabe Willochell – WYO
157 – 19 - Kai Owen – COL
165 – 19 - Noah Mulvaney – BUCK
174 – 20 - Daschle Lamer – ORST
184 – 22 - Zach Ryder – OKST
197 – 20 - Wyatt Ingham – BUCK
285 – 18 - Christian Carroll - WYO

 

[Wrestleknownothing]

125 - 22 - Davis Motkya - Penn
133 - 19 - Gage Walker - Mizz
141 - 20 - Julian Tagg - SDSU
149 - 19 - Brock Herman - UALR
156 - 17 - Luke Mechler - Wis
165 - 22 - Matthew Olguin - ORST
174 - 20 - Daschle Lamer - ORST
184 - 22 - Joe Curtis - Col
197 - 18 - Andrew Reall - Brwn
285 - 18 - Christian Carroll - Wyo

Zack Ryder is the #22 seed at 184. Do you want Ryder or Curtis?

 

[86PSUPaul]

Let me know if you can access this:

2026 NCAA Wrestling Seeds

Perfect! Thanks!!

 

[Maki]

Zack Ryder is the #22 seed at 184. Do you want Ryder or Curtis?

Ooops! Curtis, please.

 

[Wrestleknownothing]

Someone asked on HR so I will share here too.

AA's by seed, by year, #17 - #33


Note: no #24, #29, #30, #31, or #32 has AAed.

 

[Wrestleknownothing]

Time for my picks:

125 - 26 - Cooper Flynn - CHAT
133 -17 - T.K. Davis - GW
141 - 20 - Julian Tagg - SDSU
149 - 19 - Brock Herman - UALR
157 - 21 - Charlie Millard - MINN
165 - 18 - Noah Mulvaney - BUCK
174 - 25 -Sergio Desiante - VT
184 - 17 - Ian Bush - WVU
197 - 18 - Andrew Reall - BRWN
285 - 26 - Luke Luffman - ILL

Though I am having second thoughts about not having any Columbia wrestlers in the lineup.

Edit: I heard Braeden Scoles is hurt, but is going to attempt to wrestle regardless. So I changed that .

 

[mcpat]

125 - 18 - Spencer Moore - ILL
133 - 21 - Sean Spidle - NW
141 - 20 - Julian Tagg - SDSU
149 - 19 - Brock Herman - UALR
157 - 17 - Luke Mechler - WIS
165 - 22 - Matthew Olguin - ORST
174 - 21 - Lenny Pinto - RUT
184 - 27 - Aiden Brenot - NDSU
197 - 23 - Mikey Squires - BING
285 - 18 - Christian Carroll - WYO

 

[WyomingAreaWarriors]

125 - 19 - Kysen Terukina - UNC
133 - 24 - Blake Boarman - PUR
141 - 28 - Pierson Manville - ASU
149 - 20 - Chance Lamer - NEB
157 - 21 - Charlie Millard - MINN
165 - 18 - Gunner Filipowicz - ARMY
174 - 21 - Lenny Pinto - RUT
184 - 20 - Brian Soldano - OKLA
197 - 20 - Wyatt Ingham – WISC
285 - 26 - Luke Luffman - ILL

 

[Wrestleknownothing]

125 - 18 - Spencer Moore - ILL
133 - 21 - Sean Spidle - NW
141 - 20 - Julian Tagg - SDSU
149 - 19 - Brock Herman - UALR
157 - 17 - Luke Mechler - WIS
165 - 17 - Braeden Scoles - ILL
174 - 21 - Lenny Pinto - RUT
184 - 22 - Zack Ryder - OKST
197 - 23 - Mikey Squires - BING
285 - 18 - Christian Carroll - WYO

There is a rumor Scoles is hurt but will wrestle anyway. FYI.

 

[Corby2]

125 - 18 - Spencer Moore - ILL
133 - 21 - Sean Spidle - NW
141 - 20 - Julian Tagg - SDSU
149 - 19 - Brock Herman - UALR
157 - 17 - Luke Mechler - WIS
165 - 17 - Braeden Scoles - ILL
174 - 21 - Lenny Pinto - RUT
184 - 22 - Zack Ryder - OKST
197 - 23 - Mikey Squires - BING
285 - 18 - Christian Carroll - WYO

Ryder shoulder is messed up might want to pick someone else. I like the Carroll pick heard he was sick at big 12 so he should look better this week

 

[WexfordWarrior]

Someone asked on HR so I will share here too.

AA's by seed, by year, #17 - #33


Note: no #24, #29, #30, #31, or #32 has AAed.

 

[Wrestleknownothing]

I love all the people