This is a topic I originally posted on the InterMat board and I wanted to bring it here. You can see the original post and responses in this link: https://intermatwrestle.com/forums/topic/4384-is-goat-talk-in-wrestling-only-centered-around-championships/#comment-147755
With all of the recent media coverage of Caitlin Clark in Women's Basketball and what she's done during her tenure at Iowa despite never winning an NCAA Championship, I am curious if the same kind of conversations can be held in wrestling even if they rarely are. As a Hawkeye, Caitlin Clark has been a three-time NCAA season scoring leader, named player of the year twice by three different publications, a Sullivan Award winner, Big Ten player of the year three times, first-team All-Big Ten four times, a three-time unanimous first-team All-American, and the NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer among other accolades. Despite her elite résumé, she is a two-time national runner-up. Now, I understand basketball is a team sport, but take a career like Daton Fix's into consideration; he is a five-time Big 12 champion, a four-time NCAA runner-up, a U.S. Open champion, Pan Am and Pan Am Games champion, and UWW world silver medalist while part of the Cowboys. Is he considered to be in GOAT/All-Time Great talks the same way athletes from other sports are, or is it negated due to his lack of NCAA championships? For a hypothetical, let's say a wrestler in the Big Ten won everything imaginable minus the Hodge and NCAA title (ex.: Fix), could he still be in contention with a résumé like this?
Fictional Career (For Post)
131-4 career record
Four-time NCAA Finalist
Four-time Big Ten Champion
Three-time Most Dominant Wrestler
Three-time Gorriaran Award
NCAA season takedowns leader
NCAA season escapes leader
NCAA Division I all-time takedowns leader
Three-time Big Ten Wrestler of the Year
Big Ten Freshman of the Year
NWCA All-Rookie Team
If this were an Indiana high school wrestler, take someone like Delaney Ruhlman, Vinny Corsaro, Tristen Tonte, or even Brandon James who are frequently mentioned amongst the greats or for a fictional example, say a wrestler won four semi-state, regional, sectional, conference, county, and holiday tournament titles but always got beat every season by the same person like a Jesse Mendez or Andrew Howe, can he still be in GOAT contention?