Out of four wrestlers competing in the first two days of the NCAA Championships, Zeth Romney is the last man standing.
He led the way for Cal Poly, becoming its first All-American at 133-pounds in 15 years.
The last time the Mustangs had an All-American at the weight class was Boris Novachkov back in 2010.
No. 4 seeded Romney went 2-0 on Thursday, March 20 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. He then secured All-American honors and a spot in the semifinals with a Friday morning win.
In his second NCAA Championships, he’ll have a chance to clinch as high as third-place on day three. Medal round matches will be underway Saturday at 8 a.m. PST on ESPNU and ESPN+.
As for the other three Mustangs, No. 15 seed heavyweight Trevor Tinker went 2-2 across both days, No. 14 seed 149-pound Chance Lamer went 1-2 and No. 28-seed 125-pound Koda Holeman went 0-2 in his first ever NCAA Championship appearance.
Romney: Cal Poly’s first NCAA Championship semifinalist since 2022
Romney, a Simi Valley native, found himself in two close matches on day one.
He took care of business early against No. 29 seed Tyler Ferrara of Cornell, winning by a 7-3 decision in the opening round.
In another hard-fought, low-scoring battle in the second round, Romney came out on top 4-2 against No. 14 seed Tyler Knox, a familiar foe from Stanford.
“We’ve been very strategic with our volume and our intensity to make sure that guys are really, really feeling good going into Philly, so I feel like we’ve done a good job there,” Head Coach Jon Sioredas said.
Romney carried his momentum into Friday morning. He started his day by defeating No. 21 seed Angelo Rini 8-2 to secure a spot in the semifinals.
With the win, he became the program’s first NCAA semifinalist since 165-pound Evan Wick and 184-pound Bernie Truax.
He was pitted against the No. 1 seed Lucas Byrd of Illinois in the semifinals, falling 2-0 in a gritty battle. Byrd, the 2025 133-pound Big Ten Champion and a 3-time NCAA All-American, was unable to take Romney down across seven minutes of wrestling, but still came out with the win.
Romney will have a chance for as high as third-place Saturday morning in the medal round, starting with his match against No. 6-seed Connor McGonagle. He’s guaranteed to finish no lower than sixth.
Tinker, Holeman and Lamer fall before final day
Tinker started off day one on fire, beating No. 18 seed Lance Runyon in a 15-2 major decision.
It was a big moment for Tinker, who had lost to Runyon back in December at the Cliff Keen Invitationals in a 13-1 major decision.
Tinker’s powerful approach finally came up short in the second round, when Oklahoma State’s No. 2 seed Wyatt Hendrickson pinned Tinker.
It broke his streak of 13 straight match wins, dating back to the NWCA National Duals in January.
Tinker’s third straight NCAA appearance came to an end the following day, as he fell in his second match on Friday. He started the morning off with a 2-0 win over No. 17 seed Jake Andrews of Cal State Bakersfield, but was pinned in his second match.
The St. Louis, Missouri native, concludes an incredible year where he went 24-7 en route to the Pac-12 Heavyweight Championship.
Lamer also came up short early on in Thursday’s action, losing in a surprise 8-3 decision to Rutgers No. 19 seed Andrew Clark.
It was an early exit for him, as Lamer was making his third trip to the tournament while being a favorite in seeding coming into the match.
He bounced back from the early loss in the first round of consolation matches, taking an 11-3 major decision against No. 32 seed alternate Wynton Denkins from Campbell.
Lamer then fell in his first and only match of the second day, losing 12-2 to No. 29 seed Jack Gioffre of Virginia. He finishes his season with a 15-4 record, culminating with a 1-2 record at his third consecutive NCAA Championship appearance.
It was an up and down season for Lamer, who peaked as high as No. 6 in the 149-pound rankings, but also dealt with back injuries that had him out early on in the year.
Holeman was the only first timer making the trip, and despite close bouts, his first NCAA Championships ended early.
His season came to a close on day one, as he drew a tough first round matchup against the No. 5 seed Richard Figueroa – last year’s 125-pound NCAA champion.
He lost in a 12-7 decision to Figueroa, sending Holeman down to the consolation bracket.
Later that day, Holeman fell in a 8-0 major decision to No. 21 seed Antonio Lorenzo in the consolation bracket to end his tournament.
In just his second full season wrestling as a Mustang, Holeman had a breakout year, competing in every single dual meet over the season.
“Koda is definitely the Iron Man,” Sioredas said. “It’s part physical, but also part mental, too. He just refuses to find a way out.”
Next year, in his third year of eligibility at Cal Poly, he will likely continue his core role in the Mustangs’ tournament lineup.
Romney will look to bring home the third-place hardware with matches starting at 8 a.m. PST this morning on ESPNU and ESPN+.