CLEVELAND, OH – Maryland wrestling's Carter Young won two matches across Sessions I and II of the 2026 NCAA Championships on Thursday, advancing to the quarterfinals in the 149-pound bracket.
The No. 12 seed opened his tournament with a hard-fought 16–12 decision over No. 21 seed Gabe Willochell (Wyoming) in Session I. He followed that performance with an impressive 11–4 upset victory over No. 5 seed Koy Buesgens (NC State) in Session II.
Young will look to secure a spot in the semifinals during Friday's sessions, needing just one more win to earn All-American honors.
Braxton Brown will continue his final NCAA Championship run in the consolation bracket. He opened with a 4–2 decision over No. 10 seed Maximilian Leete (American) before falling 5–1 to No. 7 seed Lucas Byrd.
True sophomore Branson John will also continue his second NCAA Championship appearance at 197 pounds in the consolation bracket. The No. 16 seed dropped a 4–1 sudden victory decision to No. 17 Dillon Bechtold (Bucknell) but rebounded in the consolation preliminaries with a strong 5–0 decision over No. 32 Blake Schaffer (Kent State).
Dario Lemus dropped both of his matches in his first NCAA Championship appearance. The redshirt sophomore fell in the opening round to No. 3 seed Brock Hardy (Nebraska) via technical fall (18–1, 5:47), then suffered a narrow 4–1 sudden victory loss to No. 32 seed Matthew Martino (Princeton) in the consolation preliminaries.
Carter Young, Braxton Brown, and Branson John will return to action on Friday, March 20, as the NCAA Championships continue. Session III, featuring the quarterfinals and additional consolation matches, will begin at 12:00 p.m. ET and air on ESPNU. Later in the day, Session IV will start at 8:00 p.m. ET, showcasing the semifinals and more consolation bouts on ESPN2.
133 | No. 23 Braxton Brown:
Brown DEC (4-2) No. 10 Maximilian Leete (AMER)
No. 7 Lucas Byrd (ILL) DEC (5-1) Brown
141 | No. 30 Dario Lemus:
No. 3 Brock Hardy (NEB) T.F. (18-1, 5:47) Lemus
No. 32 Matthew Martino (PRIN) DEC SV (4-1) Lemus
149 | No. 12 Carter Young:
Young DEC (16-12) No. 21 Gabe Willochell (WYO)
Young DEC (11-4) No. 5 Koy Buesgens (NCST)
197 | No. 16 Branson John:
No 17 Dillon Bechtold (BUCK) DEC SV (4-1) John
John DEC (5-0) No. 32 Blake Schaffer (KENT)
