Maryland wrestler Carter Young advanced to the quarterfinals in the 149-pound bracket at the 2026 NCAA Championships after winning two matches on March 19. Young, seeded No. 12, began his tournament with a close 16–12 decision over No. 21 seed Gabe Willochell from Wyoming and followed up with an upset victory, defeating No. 5 seed Koy Buesgens of North Carolina State by an 11–4 margin.
Young now needs one more win during Friday’s sessions to secure All-American honors and a spot in the semifinals. The continued progress of Maryland wrestlers at this national event highlights their competitive performance on a major stage.
Other Maryland competitors also saw action on Thursday. Braxton Brown started strong with a 4–2 decision over Maximilian Leete of American University but was later defeated by Lucas Byrd of Illinois, sending him into the consolation bracket for his final NCAA Championship run. Branson John, competing at 197 pounds as a true sophomore, lost his opening match in sudden victory to Dillon Bechtold of Bucknell but rebounded with a decisive win against Blake Schaffer from Kent State in the consolation preliminaries.
Dario Lemus made his first appearance at the NCAA Championships but dropped both matches: first to Brock Hardy of Nebraska via technical fall and then narrowly losing in sudden victory to Matthew Martino from Princeton during consolation rounds.
Young, Brown, and John are set to return for further competition on Friday, March 20. Session III will begin at noon Eastern Time and be broadcast on ESPNU, featuring quarterfinals and additional consolation matches. Session IV is scheduled for later that evening at 8:00 p.m., airing semifinals and more consolation bouts on ESPN2.