Derek Papagianopoulos wrestled for Buckingham Browne and Nichols School (Cambridge, MA) under coaches Tom Randall and Adam Holland. He was a 3x Prep All American, 2x Junior Freestyle All American, ISL Wrestler of the Year, 3x Independent School League Champion, and 2x Prep New England Champion. He also played football where he was a 5x All League player, ISL MVP, New England Player of the Year, MVP of the Massachusetts All Star Game, and he was named New England Prep Athlete of the Year. Papagianopoulos accepted a wrestling scholarship to the University of Virginia, where he earned Freestyle All American honors at FILA Nationals, runner-up at FILA Junior World Team Trials, and ACC runner-up. Academically, Papagianopoulos is a 6x UVA Student-Athlete Honor Roll member and a 3x Atlantic Coast Conference All-Academic Honoree. He graduated in 2014 with a Bachelors degree in Psychology and is currently a graduate student with concentration in Higher Education Administration and Management.