NCAA Championships
Romney Secures All-American Honors at NCAA Championships
3/21/2025 11:00:00 PM | Wrestling
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — Redshirt sophomore Zeth Romney locked up All-American honors to highlight action for Cal Poly wrestling during the second day of the NCAA Championships on Friday at the Wells Fargo Center.
During the opening day of the tournament Thursday, Romney posted a 2-0 record to advance to the quarterfinals at 133 pounds. In his quarterfinal bout Friday, the No. 4 seed earned an 8-2 decision over No. 21 seed Angelo Rini from Indiana to lock up All-American honors. With the result, Romney became Cal Poly’s fourth All-American in program history at 133 pounds and first since Boris Novachkov in 2010.
The quarterfinal win allowed the Simi Valley, Calif. native to advance to the NCAA semifinals where he squared off against No. 1 seed Lucas Byrd from Illinois on Friday night. Romney, Cal Poly’s first NCAA semifinalist since Evan Wick (165) and Bernie Truax (184) in 2022, fought incredibly hard in a tightly-contested battle with the two-time All-American, but came up short to Byrd by a 2-0 decision.
After nearly advancing to the NCAA Championship match at 133 pounds, Romney will still have a chance to place as high as third when he wrestles No. 6 seed Connor McGonagle on Saturday morning. Romney can finish no lower than sixth in his weight class.
Pac-12 heavyweight champion Trevor Tinker saw his run at his third straight NCAA tournament come to an end Friday. After going 1-1 on the opening day, the St. Louis, Missouri native started day two with a 2-0 decision over Cal State Bakersfield’s Jake Andrews, who he beat in the conference title match just over two weeks ago. In his second consolation match, Tinker was pinned by No. 10 seed Dayton Pitzer from Pitt, ending his season. Tinker finishes the year with an impressive 24-7 record.
No. 14 seed Chance Lamer saw his NCAA Championship come to a close Friday as well, dropping his first consolation match by a 12-2 major decision. Making his third consecutive NCAA appearance, Lamer finished the season with a 15-4 record.
Romney takes the mat again at 8 a.m. PDT Saturday during the medal round live on ESPN+ and ESPNU.
NCAA Championships Day 2
Cal Poly Results
133
No. 4 Zeth Romney (Cal Poly) d. No. 21 Angelo Rini (Indiana), 8-2
No. 1 Lucas Byrd (Illinois) d. No. 4 Zeth Romney (Cal Poly), 2-0
149
No. 29 Jack Gioffre (Virginia) md. No. 14 Chance Lamer (Cal Poly), 12-2
285
No. 15 Trevor Tinker (Cal Poly) d. No. 17 Jake Andrews (CSU Bakersfield), 2-0
No. 10 Dayton Pitzer (Pitt) fall No. 15 Trevor Tinker (Cal Poly), 3:51
