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NC United Wrestling
NHSCA Nationals 2026 Recap
Virginia Beach, Va. | March 2026 | By NC United Wrestling
North Carolina NHSCA All Americans (partial group). North Carolina athletes at the 2026 NHSCA Nationals in Virginia Beach.
North Carolina left the 2026 NHSCA High School Nationals with 18 All-Americans across four divisions — a performance that ranks eighth nationally and fourth in state history.
The result validates something that has been quietly building for years. A state that once sent a handful of wrestlers to Virginia Beach and hoped for the best now arrives as a real national program, one capable of producing champions, multi-time placers, and college-bound wrestlers at every level of competition. At NHSCA, that matters more than anywhere else. This is the event where college coaches look for the next class, and this year they found North Carolina athletes everywhere they looked.
One national title. One runner-up. Two third-place finishes. Five fourth-place finishes. Nine more wrestlers grinding their way to 5th through 8th place. Eighteen names on a list that grows more impressive every year. And seven of those eighteen arrived in Virginia Beach without a seed.
That detail matters. Seeds exist to reward proven national performers. Going unseeded and still placing top eight means beating wrestlers the bracket expected to finish ahead of you. North Carolina did that seven times.
Inside the 2026 NHSCA Nationals in Virginia Beach, where North Carolina produced 18 All-Americans across four divisions.
“Eighteen All-Americans and eighth in the country — that does not happen without years of work from a lot of people. What makes this class special is the depth across every division. The seniors who came back and delivered, the freshmen who showed up to Virginia Beach for the first time and placed. This is what NC wrestling looks like when the pipeline is working.”
“Being in that corner all weekend, you see things the scoreboard does not show. These kids competed. They did not flinch in tough moments, they did not back down from hard draws, and they represented North Carolina the right way. I am proud of every one of them — the All-Americans and the ones who walked away with something to prove next year.”
The Champion
No NC wrestler had a more dominant weekend than Braylen Yates of East Rowan. The freshman, seeded No. 4, went 5-0 at 170 pounds to claim the Freshman national title without dropping a match. A clean run at this level sets a new benchmark for what North Carolina's developmental pipeline can produce at the freshman level.
The Senior Class Carries the Load
If one division defined NC's 2026 showing, it was the Senior class. North Carolina placed fifth nationally with seven Senior All-Americans, the most of any NC division. The context makes it even more impressive: this same class produced just two All-Americans as juniors in 2025. From two to seven in one year. That kind of jump comes from national experience, unfinished business, and a class arriving at its final season ready to deliver.
Bentley Sly of Stuart Cramer authored one of the most important weekends of any NC wrestler. The 152-pound senior went 6-1, reached the national final, finished runner-up, and cemented himself as a 3x All-American (2024, 2025, 2026). His path included a win over the No. 3 seed N. Bull, and he leaves for Appalachian State as one of the most accomplished NHSCA competitors in state history.
At 160 pounds, Dominic Blue of Union Pines finished 3rd, going 5-1 with three wins over seeded opponents. A 2x All-American (2023, 2026), Blue turned one of the best weekends of his career into a result that will command attention from college programs.
Dominic Blue celebrates his run to a 3rd-place finish at 160 pounds.
Cael Dunn of South Davidson placed 7th at 195 with a 6-2 record and wins over the No. 4 and No. 8 seeds. Heading to Campbell, Dunn exits as a 2x All-American and one of the state's most tenacious upper-weight wrestlers. Andrew Meadows of Mount Airy added another Senior podium finish by taking 7th at 170 before heading to The Citadel.
Samuel Gantt of Pine Forest placed 8th at 138 with a win over a seeded opponent and heads to Roanoke College. Jacob Reigel of Uwharrie Charter placed 8th at 182 after going 4-3 with one seeded win and continues to Lynchburg. Avery Rhymer of St. Stephens capped his NHSCA career with an 8th-place finish at 285, going 5-3 with three wins over seeded opponents before joining Sly at Appalachian State.
The Junior Class: Four AAs, Two at 160
The Junior division told a story of unusual depth at a single weight class. North Carolina put two All-Americans on the podium at 160 pounds.
Carson Worrick of Davie entered unseeded and finished 4th after going 7-2 with four wins over seeded opponents, including victories over the No. 3, No. 4, No. 5, and No. 9 seeds. It was one of the most impressive unseeded runs of the entire tournament.
Alongside him, Tobin McNair of Wakefield, seeded No. 5, placed 5th at the same weight and earned his second All-American finish. Two NC wrestlers, same weight, same national event, both on the podium.
Aiden White of Weddington went 9-2 and placed 4th at 132 despite entering unseeded. He beat the No. 3 and No. 5 seeds in one of the deepest brackets in the tournament. Gavin Lopez of Green Hope finished 4th at 220 as the No. 6 seed, capping a 3x All-American career (2024, 2025, 2026) that puts him among the most accomplished NC juniors in NHSCA history.
North Carolina's first NC United NHSCA MOWs; pictured from left to right: Carson Worrick, Aiden White, and Drew Teeter. Missing: senior Bentley Sly and freshman Braylen Yates.
The Sophomore Class: Pipeline on Display
Three Sophomore All-Americans show that NC's national depth does not start and stop with upperclassmen.
Garrett Young of Franklin placed 3rd at 220. Entering as the No. 2 seed, Young went 5-1 with wins over the No. 5 seed M. Garno and the No. 10 seed. Drew Teeter of Mooresville placed 4th at 182 with a win over the No. 2 seed D. Deshotels, and Ryan Thompson of Cardinal Gibbons earned 7th at 170, securing his second All-American finish.
The Freshman Class: A Foundation Built in Real Time
Four Freshman All-Americans, including a national champion, is the kind of class that shifts expectations for a state program.
Carson Raper of South Rowan went 8-2 to place 4th at 106, the most wins of any NC freshman in the tournament. Isaac Young of Pisgah placed 6th at 152, and Landon Gallagher of Charlotte Catholic finished 7th at 195. All three, along with Yates, return next year with national podium experience most of their peers will not have.
What It Means
Eighteen All-Americans. Eighth in the country. Fourth in state history.
The headline numbers tell only part of the story. Six of NC's 18 All-Americans are multi-time honorees, building the kind of long-term national reputations that elevate an entire state. Five seniors now move on to college programs including Appalachian State, Campbell, Roanoke, The Citadel, and Lynchburg. And seven freshmen and sophomores who placed top eight now know what it takes to succeed on the biggest stage in high school wrestling.
North Carolina is not arriving. It has arrived. And it is not finished.
Explore the full dashboard
Full 2026 results, historical data, wrestler profiles, bracket results, and state rankings are live at app.ncwrestlingunited.com/nhsca/2026.
Inaugural NC United Most Outstanding Wrestler Awards
In recognition of NHSCA's place as the most influential tournament on NC athlete futures, NC United Wrestling is introducing the inaugural Most Outstanding Wrestler Award for the top performer in each division at NHSCA Nationals.
We'll break down the inaugural winners, why they were selected, and what made each run stand out in a separate feature focused entirely on the NC United NHSCA MOW honors.
Full MOW article: NC United Launches the NHSCA Most Outstanding Wrestler Award