Lehigh men’s wrestling places 15th at NCAA Championships

As the crowd erupted in Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center at the NCAA Men’s Wrestling National Championships, two Lehigh men’s wrestlers stood in the spotlight. 

Graduate student Owen Trephan and fifth-year Sheldon Seymour lined up in their respective weight classes during the All-American Parade of Champions, as each captured a spot on the coveted podium by finishing fifth and sixth respectively. 

After dominating the EIWA Wrestling Championships on their home turf, the expectations the Mountain Hawks set for themselves were fulfilled.

Six Lehigh wrestlers qualified for the NCAA championships, which were held between Thursday and Saturday. There, Lehigh finished in 15th place out of 60 participating universities.

Among Trephan and Seymour were redshirt sophomore Caden Rogers and true first-year Logan Rozynski, who made their first appearances at the tournament this year. Fifth-years Malyke Hines and Michael Beard also competed as seasoned veterans.

Trephan said heading into his third and final NCAA tournament, he was very focused. He attributed his preparation to his coaches and said he knew there was nothing he would face that he wouldn’t be able to withstand.

Even when previewing his bracket, which included two prior NCAA champions and other world wrestling medalists, Trephan said he battled his anxiety by relying on his preparation and rationale. 

“There’s nerves going into every match, but knowing this was it, I had to get it done,” he said. “Either way, win or lose, it’s just a sport. It’s wrestling, not life or death.”

Trephan said he felt somewhat relieved going into his semifinal match, as it solidified his All-American status. During this match, he competed against Gable Steveson of the University of Minnesota, the No. 1 Seed and the 2020 Olympic Champion. 

“It felt like I was more dialed in than I’ve ever been in every one of my matches,” Trephan said. “I felt the most clear mind (and) headspace. It was amazing.” 

While he fell short in the semifinals, Trephan said he was blessed to make it that far and decided to let loose. 

He also battled on the backside against one of his best friends and former teammate from North Carolina State University, Issac Trumble. 

“Wrestling is a different sport, where you just have a lot of respect for your opponents,” Trephan said. “You always want to win, but sometimes that’s just not how things work out, so you just keep moving forward while respecting everybody.”

Transferring to Lehigh for his final collegiate season, Trephan said he’s thankful for his time as a Mountain Hawk, even if it was short-lived.

Comparatively, Seymour is a veteran at Lehigh, but this was his first NCAA appearance. 

Seymour said he took a similar approach to Trephan, imagining it as just another tournament, but he has a special way of not letting the bright lights and big crowd faze him. 

“I’m pretty blind when I don’t have my glasses on, so when I take those off and look around, I can’t see anything,” Seymour said. “I’m starting to embrace it a lot more. Looking up, it’s all a blur to me, so I don’t get to have that pressure on me.”

Seymour echoed Trephan in crediting his coaches for his preparation, which led him to the quarterfinals match, where he wrestled the No. 1 seed, Luke Lilledahl of Penn State University. 

A five-second riding time sealed the win for Seymour, advancing him to the semifinals with a guaranteed All-American label. He said the close match electrified the crowd, sending emotions through the arena. 

He went on to lose his next two matches — one of which was against the eventual 125-lb national champion, North Carolina State’s Vince Robinson — before ending the championship in sixth-place. 

Seymour said he felt unmotivated after having his dream of becoming an NCAA champion shattered, but he continued to battle after extensive support from his teammates.

“It was still the fact that a lot of my teammates were just telling me, ‘No matter what, you’re an All-American,’” Seymour said. “No one can take that away from me.”

Rozynski, one of a few true first-years at the tournament, said his focus was to capitalize during finishing sequences, but he struggled with that. He fell by a 2-0 decision to Oklahoma State University’s Caleb Fish in the first round and later lost to the University of Northern Iowa’s Ryder Downey in the second round of consolations.

“It kind of stung a little bit, knowing that I’m on the same level as those kids and can beat those kids,” Rozynski said. “I think I just got to use it for fuel and do extra every practice for 364 more days.” 

He also said he’s looking forward to competing at future national tournaments with even more of his teammates, and he enjoyed watching his older teammates compete for the last time.

“We are more than just teammates here,” Rozynski said. “We are family. We feel every one of each other’s wins and every one of each other’s losses.” 

Hines and Beard lost in the blood round, finishing one win away from an All-American status. For these two wrestlers, this was their last collegiate competition, like Trephan. 

“Hopefully, I can later on pour into a lot of kids … and just do some of the things that a lot of coaches were able to do for me and help the next generation reach their goals,” Trephan said.