In the 2008 NCAA tournament at 141 pounds, Cal Poly’s Chad Mendes was the #1 seed.
In his senior season, he was undefeated, with 17 victories coming with bonus points, including five pins in under one minute. In a dual meet against Minnesota, Mendes pinned then #2 Manuel Rivera in 1:34.
Of course, he had his close matches. Sacramento Community College’s Juan Archuleta must have given Mendes’ coaches a scare by taking their star wrestler to the wire, Mendes prevailed only 7-5 outside in the match outside of Division 1 competition.
In the first round of the NCAA championships, Mendes pinned Rutgers’ Steve Adamcsik in 34 seconds.