Romney Crowned Pac-12 Wrestler of the Year
4/1/2025 12:05:00 PM | Wrestling
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — After an extraordinary season, redshirt sophomore Zeth Romney has officially been crowned the Pac-12 Wrestler of the Year, the conference office announced Tuesday.
Romney is the second Mustang in program history to win the award and the first since Chad Mendes in 2008. He is also the first 133-pounder in conference history to be named Pac-12 Wrestler of the Year.
The distinction comes as no surprise for Romney, who became the highest finisher in program history in the 133-pound weight class at the NCAA Championships less than two weeks ago in Philadelphia.
The Simi Valley, Calif. native posted an impressive 5-1 record at NCAAs to capture third and become Cal Poly’s fourth All-American all-time at 133 pounds and first since Boris Novachkov in 2010. Romney was also Cal Poly’s first All-American overall since 2023 and the Mustangs’ highest finisher at NCAAs since Evan Wick took third at 165 pounds in 2022.
As the No. 4 seed, Romney secured three consecutive victories by decision to open his NCAA Championship run before coming up just short to No. 1 seed Lucas Byrd from Illinois — who went onto win the national title — in the semifinals by a hard-fought 2-0 decision. Romney bounced back on the final day in wrestlebacks, grabbing two dominant wins by decision to capture third.
Romney finished his impressive season with a 19-5 overall record. In December, Romney put the rest of the country on notice when he became the first Mustang in 15 years to capture a championship at 133 pounds at the prestigious Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, defeating four nationally ranked opponents en route to the title. He started the season 11-1 and rode the momentum of that Cliff Keen title all the way to All-American honors at NCAAs.
Romney placed second at the Pac-12 Championships this season and ended the year with 13 victories over ranked opponents.
