NCAA Wrestling Championships: Dylan Shawver, Bryce Hepner grateful to be finishing college careers close to home

CLEVELAND — It was homecoming day for a pair of local wrestlers Thursday in the opening round of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at Rocket Arena. Rutgers' Dylan Shawver, an Elyria alum, and North Carolina's Bryce Hepner (St. Edward/Avon) took the mat in front of family and friends. Hepner won his opening 165-pound match against Penn's Sean Seefeldt, also a St. Edward grad, 11-4. Hepner came back in the evening session and beat Little Rock All-American Marty Binachi 3-0 to reach the quarterfinals. Hepner is the No. 9 seed and Binachi No. 5. Shawver was tied with 11 seconds to go in his 133-pound opening match against Illinois' Lucas Byrd, but Byrd executed a late takedown and earned a point for accumulated riding time to win 11-7. Shawver was eliminated in the second session, falling 4-1 to American's Maximillian Leete. Prior to their matches Shawver and Hepner talked about growing up in the hotbed of wrestling that is Northeast Ohio and coming home to wrap up their collegiate careers. "I grew up 10 minutes from here and spent a lot of time in Cleveland. My family had season tickets for all the Cavs games so I'm familiar with the arena and all the restaurants around it," Hepner said. "It just feels like home for me. There's not that feeling of being on opposing turf like when you're going to away matches." Hepner went 25-14 in five injury-plagued seasons at Ohio State before transferring to North Carolina as a graduate student for his final year of eligibility. "I couldn't have mapped out how the journey would have went," Hepner said. "Coming out of high school I wanted to wrestle for (North Carolina coach) Rob Kohl, he was at Cornell at the time and that wasn't exactly the right place for me. (Assistant coach) Ben Darmstadt is an Elyria guy, that's another key part of why I went to UNC." When Hepner first got involved with wrestling 18 years ago, the NCAA Championships weren't exactly what he had in mind. "I got into it first because I liked WWE," Hepner said. "My dad said, 'Hey, we're going to put you in wrestling.' I said, 'OK, when can I drop the People's Elbow on somebody?' "When I got started in wrestling it was something I fell in love with. It turned into something where me and my dad were driving out to the middle of nowhere, in Ohio or in Michigan, every single weekend so I could compete. I am super grateful that my dad always supported me and always put me in a position to succeed. He's done very well for himself and that gave him the ability to take good care of me and spoil me and be able to take me out to all of these tournaments." There's a chance Hepner could face another St. Edward alum, Ohio State's Paddy Gallagher, later in the tournament. "It's a testament to what we do at Ed's and the depth we have," Hepner said of the Eagles having four wrestlers at the meet, including three in the 165-pound bracket. "There's so many good wrestlers that go to the school and they go there for a good reason. They go to be trained by the best. "Growing up so close to St. Ed's and being able to go there was nothing short of a blessing for me. Always being surrounded by solid competition and always finding people who were better than me so they could beat me up, then eventually I got tired of it and I was beating up on them. That's how you grow as a kid, you have to challenge yourself and put yourself around better people that can show you what to do." In the quarterfinals Friday, Hepner will face the No. 1 seed, Penn State's Mitchell Mesenbrink, who beat Ohio State's Paddy Gallagher. Shawver is wrapping up a successful college career that has included four NCAA Tournament appearances. He earned All-American honors for finishing seventh in 2024. He was also Big Ten champion at 133 in 2024 and came into the nationals with a 108-48 record. Shawver has fond memories of his time at Elyria, where he was a three-time state placer. His bid to make the podium a fourth time in 2020 was denied when the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "Sophomore year I realized I was better than what I thought and that's when I saw a future for myself in college wrestling," Shawver said. "The thing I remember most is the people I met during my high school career, especially my coaches Erik Burnett and Jack Gillespie. I cherish those two guys and look up to them because if it wasn't for them I wouldn't be who I am today and where I'm at." When Shawver, a graduate student, realized he'd have a sixth year of eligibility, he started focusing on ending his college career at Rocket Arena. "It means a lot to be in Cleveland because this is my last-ever college tournament, last time ever being able to compete in front of my friends and family at the college level," Shawver said. "I have to take it all in and be grateful and be blessed to be where I'm at." In addition to competing at Rutgers, Shawver has wrestled for Team Puerto Rico on the international level. "I represented Puerto Rico at U-23 Worlds in Albania three years ago and last year I went to Senior Worlds," Shawver said. "That's the best competition outside of the Olympics. To be with all of the best wrestlers in the world was just amazing." Shawver isn't sure what's next after this weekend but knows he'll stay involved in the sport. "I've been thinking about this quite a bit," Shawver said. "I'd like to continue to wrestle internationally. I'd also like to coach. I'll follow whatever opportunity presents the best path for myself moving forward but I don't know yet exactly what I want to do." Shawver was teammates with Elyria Catholic coach Mick Burnett and has tracked the Panthers' recent success. Freshman Grady Moos won the state title at 106 pounds Sunday. "I've been able to follow what his guys are doing," Shawver said. "Big shoutout to Grady Moos, that's my guy. I've known that guy since he was little." Shawver and Hepner were scheduled to wrestle again Thursday night. Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.