When an injury forced a sudden change to the lineup, sophomore wrestler Mason Ziegler knew he had to capitalize on the moment. He trained to shift from the 125-lb weight class to the starting 133-lb spot to fill in for his sidelined teammate.
A Quakertown native, Ziegler went 7-2 overall during the 2024-25 season at Lehigh as a first-year.
Coach Pat Santoro said when the opportunity arose, Ziegler didn’t just volunteer — he begged to wrestle at 133 lbs.
Ziegler said he gained experience at 133 earlier in the season, when he was placed there for several matches because of a separate injury earlier in the year.
He later moved back down to 125 for the Bloomsburg Open on Jan. 24, where he won his match.
Santoro reflected on Ziegler’s early success at 133 and said he was the difference between winning and losing a dual meet when Lehigh faced the University of Virginia on Nov. 9 during the Journeymen WrangleMania event.
Because of Ziegler’s determined attitude, Santoro gave him the opportunity.
In November, when Ziegler was just beginning to wrestle at 133, Santoro said another wrestler could’ve been pulled up, but the staff wanted to preserve that athlete’s redshirt.
From there, the spot belonged to Ziegler.
Santoro said he wanted Ziegler in the lineup because of his adaptability. After the decision, Ziegler said he began to prepare for the weight-class transition.
Ziegler said diet is the most important factor when switching weight classes.
“It’s the same discipline, you need to put on weight as it is to lose weight,” Santoro said. “It’s really just about holding yourself accountable, right?”
However, Ziegler nearly quit wrestling early in his career. He began wrestling in elementary school but considered stepping away after an argument with his father.
They agreed he could quit in middle school. By the time he reached that point, however, Ziegler said he’d developed a passion for the sport.
Sophomore wrestler Calvin Lachman, Ziegler’s roommate and longtime friend since age six, said Ziegler has always had an unmatched work ethic.
“(Ziegler) loves wrestling more than he loves breathing air,” Lachman said. “He’s already made the decision that he’s going to succeed at it, so he’s just trusting the process. And I’m not joking, he dedicates every second of his day to wrestling.”
Ziegler said his proudest accomplishment is winning at the U23 World Team Trials last summer in Geneva, Ohio.
He swept his best-of-three finals, defeating South Dakota State University’s Daniel Guanajuato 6-4 and 5-3.
Lachman said watching Ziegler compete almost brought him to tears.
“I don’t want to say that I cried, but I was definitely close because it was so awesome,” Lachman said. “He was so excited, and he really deserved it, and it just felt so good to watch him go out there and win such a big tournament.”
Santoro said winning at that level is significant for any wrestler especially a first-year.
He said Ziegler’s wrestling style will need to adjust as he moves up a weight class.
“He’s a very explosive and powerful wrestler, but now that he’s going up a weight class, he can’t just just go underneath people as much as he wants to,” Santoro said. “He has to hand fight a little bit better, a little smarter, maybe set up some more re-attacks.”
The men’s wrestling team is 4-0 in conference and 9-6 overall and is set to face the University of Pennsylvania on Friday at the Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall.
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