2026 NCAA Wrestling: Upset Alert – Gardner-Webb’s Davis Shocks No. 1 Seed

March 19, 2026 Alex Carter - Sports Editor Sport

A significant upset occurred Thursday morning at the 2026 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships as T.K. Davis of Gardner-Webb defeated a higher-seeded opponent at 133 lbs.

Davis, a redshirt sophomore and two-time defending Southern Conference Champion, secured the victory, marking the first upset of the tournament, according to wrestling.snl. The Gardner-Webb wrestling team recently finished sixth overall at the Southern Conference Championship on March 7th, where Davis earned his second consecutive Southern Conference title.

The win sends Davis to the national stage, representing Gardner-Webb at the NCAA Championships. He was seeded No. 17 in the tournament, according to GWUSports.com. Davis previously defeated Ethan Uhorchuk of Chattanooga in the 2026 SoCon Wrestling Championships final at 133lbs, as shown in a recent YouTube video of the match.

An Instagram post from Gardner-Webb Athletics highlighted Davis’s achievement, celebrating him as both a Southern Conference Champion and Wrestler of the Year.

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