Epic Eight NCAA Wrestling Finals Matches

1996: Williams (Iowa) over Benion (Illinois), 9-8

A year before this historic matchup between Illinois natives, Benion shocked the field in 1995 by winning the national title as the No. 7 seed at 158 pounds. Williams, who like Benion was from the Land of Lincoln, would win the first of his three championships knocking off Benion in the finals. With Williams leading 6-5, he countered a Benion shot to extend the lead to 8-5 with 50 seconds remaining. The defending champ Benion got free and tied the match with 14 seconds left with a takedown. An escape by Williams with six seconds to go proved to be the winning point.

2009: Caldwell (NC State) over Metcalf (Iowa), 11-6

Entering the match, Brent Metcalf was considered to be the best collegiate wrestler regardless of weight. He was the returning NCAA Champion and was considered a sure lock to win his second title at 149 pounds. He had an early season win technical fall over Caldwell in the All-Star Classic but the match was an exhibition and was not an official victory. Metcalf’s only collegiate loss entering the match was a loss to Caldwell by fall in his sophomore season. Caldwell struck first with a pair of first period takedowns, one with a left-handed headlock. After a second-period escape, would go up 9-3 after earning a takedowns after a pair of scrambles. Metcalf would close the gap in the third period after the two traded takedowns, but Caldwell would give the fans in St. Louis one of the biggest shockers in NCAA wrestling history with an 11-6 win.