Ohio State wrestler Fritz Schierl competes against Northwestern. Credit: Courtesy of Ohio State Athletics Credit: Courtesy of Ohio State Athletics
It’s one thing to be a master on the mat. It’s another to hold a degree to prove the title.
Ohio State wrestlers Kaleb Romero, Fritz Schierl and Zach Steiner entered graduate school this semester so they can do both. The three have a combined 10 Ohio State Scholar Athlete and seven Academic All-Big Ten recognitions.
“With wrestling being one of these sports that there’s not a lot of professional development after you’re done competing, it’s hard to really start up a career,” Romero said. “It’s nice to know that having all of these academic accomplishments will jumpstart us after we’re done wrestling.”
The trio have been teammates for the past three seasons. Schierl is a redshirt senior, while Romero and Steiner are redshirt juniors.
Head coach Tom Ryan said the basis of their academic success roots back to their discipline.
“They have an aerial view of their life, so they’re focusing on the now, but they’re also aware that their decisions now can actually control their future,” Ryan said. “Ohio State wrestling can further that.”
Instilling a winning culture on the mat stems from a winning mindset off of it, and Romero, Schierl and Steiner contribute to that culture, Ryan said.
“I think examples are [our] greatest teacher,” Ryan said. “When you have young people come into your program and they see you’ve got a handful of guys that have already graduated and pursuing their masters, it sets the stage for the aim and the goal that everyone coming in should have.”
Romero earned Ohio State Scholar Athlete recognition — meaning he maintained at least a 3.0 grade point average for the year — all three years as a Buckeye. He is in the Master of Human Resource Management program after he earned his undergraduate degree in marketing this spring, and he said he would like to intern with a pharmaceutical or medical sales company.
The redshirt junior holds a 30-13 career record after going 19-7 last season and was an NCAA qualifier as the No. 6 seed for the 174-pound weight class.
Schierl achieved Ohio State Scholar Athlete recognition each year as an undergraduate student in addition to three Academic All-Big Ten distinctions going back to 2018. He entered the Master of Sports Coaching program after he earned his undergraduate degree in family and consumer financial services and said he plans to work for his family’s retail business.
On the mat, Schierl holds a 54-19 record and went 16-7 last season.
In July, Steiner was one of 1,526 Big Ten student-athletes who earned the Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award — awarded to student-athletes who maintain a 3.7 or higher GPA during the academic year. He started the graduate program in the agricultural communication, education, and leadership department after he earned his agricultural communication undergraduate degree, and is contemplating going into the industry or returning to his family farm.
He wrestled to a 3-1 record before a lower-body injury at the Storm Open Nov. 24 at Lake Erie College prevented him from advancing.
“It’s cool to be a part of a university that takes their off-the-mat development a whole lot more serious than a lot of other schools and programs do,” Steiner said.
The Big Ten Championships concluded at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in the cancellation of the 2020 NCAA Championships.
Since the abrupt end of the season, the three wrestlers have taken a step back from wrestling and have come to understand the motives behind much of their passions.
“For me, what quarantine did was refine my view of chosen sufferings,” Romero said. “Obviously, we chose to come to Ohio State, we chose to wrestle. In quarantine, we couldn’t wrestle, we couldn’t do anything.
All three wrestlers said they and the rest of the roster have been taking initiative and working toward bettering their bodies for once the opening whistle signals go-time.
In the meantime, the “masters” are expressing gratitude for their academic achievements and passion for wrestling until they get back on the mat and do what they love.
“We’re not in the perfect situation, but we’re making the most of what we have,” Romero said. “Everyone’s coming in and working really hard every day, that’s all you can really ask for.”
