Zeth Romney is officially in Cal Poly Wrestling’s record books, placing third at the NCAA Championships.
The redshirt junior is now the highest-placing 133-pounder in program history, improving on Darrell Vasquez (fourth in 2004, fifth in 2007) and Boris Novachkov’s (seventh, 2010) past performances.
Romney also earned an All-American nod along the way, becoming Cal Poly’s first at his weight class since Novachkov 15 years ago and Cal Poly’s fourth all-time at 133 pounds.
Coming into day three, Romney needed wins to stay alive in the consolation bracket. He took his only loss on the previous day against No. 1 seed Lucas Byrd, who went on to win the national title.
Romney started off day three hot and wouldn’t slow down for the rest of Saturday’s action.
He first faced off against Virginia Tech’s No. 6 seed Connor McGonagle, jumping out to an early lead with two takedowns in the first period. He dominated the rest of the bout, securing a 7-2 decision.
Moving on to the third-place match, Romney didn’t waste his chance to make history. He took down No. 14 seed Zan Fugitt from Wisconsin 7-3, placing third overall and writing his name in the Cal Poly record books.
Romney ended his record-breaking season with a 19-5 record, an individual title from the Cliff Keen Invitationals and as the third best 133-pounder in the nation at the NCAA Championships.
13 of his victories this season were over ranked opponents, and Romney enters the 2025-26 season as one of the main contenders for the national title at 133 pounds.
He improves on an already stellar career at Cal Poly, in which he has qualified for the NCAA Championships in both of his full wrestling seasons and has a 38-14 overall record.
Romney and the Mustangs are finished for the 2024-25 season. However, with only one starter, graduate Legend Lamer, moving on from the team, Cal Poly Wrestling looks to carry plenty of momentum into next season.
