Just one year ago, Zeth Romney took the wrestling world by storm.
The 133-pounder for Cal Poly carved his way to an All-American award en route to a third place finish at the NCAA Championships in Philadelphia, Pa.
READ MORE: ‘Romney places, third, makes history on final day of NCAA Championships’
Romney’s lightning-fast strikes and athleticism were on display, as he went 5-1 and only lost in the semifinal match to top seed and eventual national champion Lucas Byrd of Illinois.
After moving up to the 141-pound weight class at the beginning of this season, Romney was in and out of the lineup until he suffered a UCL tear at the Ken Craft Midlands Championships in the final days of December.
The injury has held him out of competition since then.
“It’s pretty rough not being on the mat all the time, but I’ve just been focusing on doing everything else I can to keep getting better at wrestling,” Romney said in a live interview on Mustang Gameday.
Romney will take a medical redshirt for this season, meaning he will have two full years of collegiate wrestling left. He only wrestled in six matches this season, going 4-2.
The redshirt junior says he has still been able to lift, primarily focusing on strengthening his legs and maintaining his cardio.
Keeping NCAA’s in perspective: ‘It’s just a wrestling match’
Last year marked the second consecutive time Romney had qualified for the NCAA Championships. The first time, he went 0-2 as a redshirt freshman in 2024.
Most of the changes made that allowed him to find so much success in his second trip were mental.
“When the second time came around, I was like ‘We’ve been here before, and we’ve already had the worst thing happen,’ Romney said. “And it wasn’t that bad right? You still go on throughout your life. You go and keep wrestling, keep training.”
READ MORE: “‘I like to call this my art’: Zeth Romney’s mental transformation”
Pressure is at its highest at the NCAA Championships. But going winless in his first trip allowed him to just see it as any other competition.
“It really made me feel that no matter the tournament, I’m going to approach it the same and that’s when I wrestle my best,” he explained.
Romney’s 5-1 campaign in Philadelphia made him the highest finisher ever for Cal Poly at 133 pounds.
When he got to wrestle Illinois’s Lucas Byrd – a three-time NCAA All-American – he was “super excited.” And the match was narrow, as Byrd scraped by with a 2-0 win.
Romney explained there were a few things he wishes he could have done better, but learning from them is just the next step in the process.
“That’s what it’s all about, right?” he said. “Being able to look back and learn from those opportunities and not get frustrated.”
Romney also noted that he got to train with Byrd over the summer, wrestling together at the Pennsylvania Regional Training Center as he prepared for his first season back at 141 pounds.
Back at 141’s for next year
He originally started his collegiate career at the heavier weight, going 7-2 as he utilized a redshirt. Although he only wrestled in a handful of matches this year, Romney will stay at 141 pounds next year.
He says the heavier weight felt much more natural for him, as last year, there were moments he was too focused on cutting weight.
“I felt like I was able to just feel more free and just focus on wrestling rather than trying to get those pounds off,” Romney said.
When Romney returns to the mat next year, recent Pac-12 Championships in Koda Holeman (125 pounds) and Ceasar Garza (184 pounds) will also have a final year of eligibility for Cal Poly.