Day 1 of the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships has already come to an end and was a day full of surprises. Several underdogs stepped up and defeated top-ranked opponents. From breakout stars to shocking upsets, the opening day witnessed it all.
Some of the most shocking upsets were of No. 5 LaDarion Lockett and No. 2 Simon Ruiz. In addition to this, multiple other highly ranked wrestlers faced upsets against wrestlers who were far down the ranking. Let’s have a look at the 7 major losses on Day 1 of the NCAA Wrestling Championships.
Major upsets at the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships
- Nick Feldman suffers shocking loss
No. 21 seed Juan More from Oklahoma locked horns with No. 5 seed Nick Feldman from Ohio State in the 285-pound category in the Round of 16 of the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships. After an intense battle, Mora pulled off a huge upset over the Ohio wrestler, claiming a 4-2 win. This upset occurred during session II of the tournament on March 19, and with this win, the Oklahoma athlete has now advanced to the quarters.
2. No. 2 Rocky Elam succumbed in front of No. 15 Remy Cotton
Rutgers’ Remy Cotton showcased his dominance in the 197-pound bracket’s second round at the championship. No. 15 defeated Iowa State’s No. 2 Rocky Elam by a 12-4 major decision on March 19, 2026, progressing to the quarterfinals.
3. James Conway’s shocking upset against Brian Soldano
Another shocking upset of day 1 came at the Round of 16 of the 184 lbs, where Oklahoma’s No. 20 seed Brian Soldano took over the dominance in his clash against No. 4 James Conway. The audience witnessed a tough contention between the two, which eventually ended up with Soldano securing a last-second takedown and claiming a 4-1 win against the No. 4 to qualify for the quarterfinals.
4. Simon Ruiz unexpected upset
Another underdog that stunned a top seed on the opening day of the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships was Danny Wask. The No. 15 seed of Navy Wrestling cruised to victory by securing an upset over the fourth-seeded Conway. It was a tightly contested bout, where Soldano secured a late takedown to register the 4-1 victory and progressed to the quarterfinals.
5. LaDarion Lockett suffers a huge upset in the 165-pound second round
LaDarion Lockett, who entered the NCAA Wrestling Championships as one of the favorites for 165 pounds, suffered a shocking loss against No. 12 Columbia’s Ceasar Alvan. The latter defeated the 5th-seeded Lockett by fall in sudden victory, which occurred at 7:05. After securing this major upset against No. 5, the Columbia wrestler moved to the quarterfinals.
6. Downey dominates over No. 11 Ryder Downey
In the second round of the 165-pound on day 1 of the NCAA Wrestling Championships, No. 27 seed EJ Parco of Stanford produced a dominant performance over Northern Iowa’s No. 11 seed Ryder Downey. The latter struggled to recover from a first-period takedown and was behind 3-1 in the second period. Even though he executed a late rally, Parco maintained his dominance, winning 4-3 to advance to the quarterfinals.
7. Colton Hawks bests No. 13 Bennett Berge
After overpowering No. 4 seed Sonny Sasso in the first round on day 1 of the NCAA Wrestling Championships, Arizona’s Colton Hawks advanced to the second round, where he locked horns with South Dakota’s No. 13 seed All-American Bennett Berge and claimed victory by a 5-1 decision.
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