Troy Seymour felt coming up short in his first two regional qualifiers was a big factor to him moving on and staying composed from losing the first match of the day.

The junior wrestler won two of his three matches in Sunday’s semifinal round. He had an uphill battle after dropping his first match to Ithaca College’s Jaison White in a 7-3 decision.

“I’ve been in that position before,” Seymour said. “The experience helped me because I kind of broke mentally in those positons before in years prior. I really wasn’t going to let much stop me from making the best chance I could of making nationals.”

At the NCAA Mideast Regionals hosted at Ithaca College, Seymour took third place in the 174-pound weight class to qualify for the NCAA Championship.

“[Seymour] did a good job rebounding from that opening loss,” head coach Mike Howard said. “It’s not an easy thing to do, but you got to do it. He was able to refocus and move forward in the bracket.” 

His third time at this stage went Seymour’s way after two lower finishes in years prior, crediting his frame of mind to keep him focused.

“Honestly, a lot better than I anticipated it to be,” said Seymour on his thought process after losing the first match.

In Seymour’s next match he would square off against Joshua Glantzman from Merchant Marine. In what Seymour referenced a “controversial” decision when the match went to review on a move Glantzman pulled in the end. Seymour, ultimately won by a close score of 3-2.

“I think I wrestled a real solid match strategically,” Seymour said. “We knew where [Glantzman] was good and where he wasn’t. We avoided letting the match fall into his hands, and it worked out for me in the end.”

Knowing his final match of the day would determine his fate for nationals, Seymour was prepared for this opportunity after losing that match his freshman season. Going up against Jordan Juliano of Cenetary University, Seymour earned his spot into nationals with a 2-0 decision.

“I just felt I had a lot of confidence and was going to leave it all out on the mat,” Seymour said.

With the win, Seymour got to stand up on the podium in third place, but more importantly in recognition of his trip to the NCAA Championship.

“It was a pretty great feeling,” Seymour said. “Pretty much my first goal I had as a kid was to compete for a national title in the NCAA Tournament. Would’ve been better if I was standing up on the top, but we got two weeks to work toward there.”

Having that time to prepare left to prepare for nationals in Cleveland, Ohio, Seymour will have plenty of support around him. Howard’s hope is Seymour does not feel like the last player left on the team and to continue the environment they had all season.

“We both want to keep things as normal as possible,” Howard said. “Just keep him calm and not get him to agitated and let him continue to work on the things he’s capable of doing.”

Outside of the support from coach Howard and his teammates, Seymour will treat the next two weeks in similar fashion as he faces the biggest event of his life.

“I’m just going to stick to my normal plan and keep working out, as I have,” Seymour said. “I think mentally I’m ready. I’m not nervous at all, I’m excited and ready to let it fly because it’s a great opportunity.”

Seymour is set to represent Oswego State at the Div. III Wrestling NCAA Championships March 9 in Cleveland, Ohio.

Photo Provided by Ithaca College Athletics