COLLEGE: TROY GRAD SEYMOUR EXCITED TO BE ALL-AMERICAN, KNOWS THERE'S MORE WORK TO BE DONE (2025-03-27)

BY CHRIS MANNING
Northern Tier Sports Report
It’s finally sunk in for Troy graduate Sheldon Seymour that he’s an NCAA, Division-I wrestling All-American, less than a week after getting his medal on the podium.

“It’s just an awesome feeling,” he said.

Making his first NCAA appearance Lehigh’s Seymour liked where he was at on the bracket.

“I felt super confident, I actually liked my draw,” he said. “I thought I matched up well with the first couple guys, and we just went to work.”

The eighth seeded Seymour opened with a 7-0 win over Army’s Charlie Farmer, then picked up a 7-3 win over Nebraska’s Caleb Smith.

That set up his semifinal with overall number one seed Penn State’s Luke Lilledahl.

“I felt pretty confident going into that one just from wrestling him earlier in the year,” Seymour said. “I lost to him 4-1. A couple of times I didn’t finish my shot, and I was hoping to change that.”

He didn’t get the takedown he wanted, but still found a way as he rode him out in tie-breaker.

“I wanted to get a takedown, but that didn’t happen,” remarked Seymour. “But I was still scrapping pretty hard, and I had to gut it out.”

While it wasn’t quite how he dreamed it up, at that level a win is a win.

“You want to win with a takedown, but the next best thing is a ride out,” Seymour said.

In college, whoever has the more riding time gets a point, even if the score is tied, and that was the difference in the match.

Then came the celebration on the mat after getting the 3-2 win.

“It was crazy,” said Seymour, who said he blacked out. “I really don’t remember that much. I just remember screaming, and going over and hugging my coaches. It was a surreal moment, I finally clinched my dream. Getting that first step towards being an All-American was really surreal.”

The rest of the tournament didn’t go as well.

Seymour lost to the eventual champion, NC State’s Vincent Robinson, 4-2 in the semifinals. That dropped him down into the consolations, where he had losses of 9-2, and 11-4 to take sixth.

“I learned I still have to be gritty, even after a loss,” explained Seymour. “I was pretty heart broken, it was hard to come back after a loss like that. Just making weight another day was taking a toll on my body. I came here with a knee injury, and I’m proud of myself for finishing it out. The adrenaline wore off, and my knee was hurting, but finishing it out was a really big thing for me.”

Being in Philadelphia, the first thing Seymour did once he was done was eat a celebratory cheesesteak.

“That was the first real meal I had all weekend,” he said. “It tasted so good.”

He credits his time at the Summer Olympics with Darien Cruz for getting him this far.

“Being there, I think for me, was a really big game changer,” said Seymour. “It was really fun, and really opened my eyes because that’s where I want to be someday. Getting to the NCAA’s showed me that, no matter who you are, anybody can beat anybody on any given day.”

With one major goal down, Seymour will now tee up another one - NCAA Champion.

“I think there’s a lot of things that I have to work on, there’s still improvements I have to make, a lot of them,” he said. “I’m not going to be thing about being an All-American, my goal is to be an NCAA Champion, and if I’m going to get there I have to be better at wrestling.”

There was plenty of love back in Troy for Seymour this past weekend, with Building Number 9 putting his matches on all the televisions as patrons flocked to watch him wrestle.

“It’s a great feeling being able to represent Troy, even after graduating,” Seymour said. “It’s just a fun feeling to bring joy to everyone there. I just remember my phone blowing up with a whole bunch of congratulations. It’s fun to put on a show for them, and bring Troy some pride.”

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PHOTOS BY LEHIGH UNIVERSITY

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