Staff file photo / Preston Byers South Range’s Tyson Seesholtz smiles after competing in the EOWL Wrestling Tournament at Austintown Fitch.

Tyson Seesholtz feels a lot better now than he did a year ago.

He has mostly dominated his competition as a junior at South Range and now heads into the final day of the Division III Independence district tournament as one of the favorites to win and, most importantly, clinch a spot at the OHSAA state wrestling tournament next weekend.

Neither Seesholtz’s 29-1 record nor his recent form – he either tech-falled or pinned each of his four opponents en route to the 150-pound Berkshire sectional title – tells the whole story, though.

This version of Seesholtz, if you paid attention to just his record or recent results, would look awfully similar to last year’s version, which similarly cruised through sectionals and won all but three matches entering the district tournament.

However, mentally and physically, Seesholtz is sure he is much different in 2025.

“I did a lot of work in the summer,” Seesholtz said after winning the Eastern Ohio Wrestling League championship last month. “I quit football, focused solely on wrestling and I grew a lot over the summer.”

The most significant change from last year, though, may be his health.

At the 2024 Top Gun tournament in Alliance in January 2024, Seesholtz was wrestling Minerva’s Hunter Dietrich when Seesholtz injured his right knee. He tried to tough it out, but the pain was overwhelming and forced him out of the event. Then, after the diagnosis of a torn PCL, it forced him out of action entirely for eight weeks.

“There was a point in time when I was like, do I quit?” Seesholtz said of his mentality during his recovery. “As an athlete, I think a lot of people can attest to the fact that there are times when you just think ‘Man, should I just stop?'”.

Seesholtz consulted with his father, J.T. Seesholtz, an assistant coach for South Range, but ultimately decided not to stop.

“I had a lot of talks with my dad. My dad is one of my biggest supporters. I would not be anywhere near the man, the boyfriend, the son, the brother, the friend that I am without my father in my life.”

After nearly two months, Seesholtz was cleared just before sectionals, which he won with two first-period pinfall victories and a 12-1 win in the finals. A week later, he crushed his first three opponents before falling in the final to Dalton’s Greyson Siders in overtime.

At states, while Seesholtz performed admirably, he came up short against eventual 165-pound state champion Kohen Horvath in the quarterfinals before being knocked out of the tournament by Westfall’s Gage Bolt.

T.J. Seesholtz shrugged off his son’s second state appearance – Tyson previously placed fourth as a freshman at 150 pounds – which he chalked up to the knee injury preventing Seesholtz’s potential that weekend. Still, Tyson Seesholtz said going toe-to-toe with Horvath in Columbus a year ago did a lot for his confidence.

Now, confidence is second nature, and the nerves that used to make him vomit before matches have evolved and harnessed into joy.

“I didn’t know how to channel that energy into a more positive thing,” Tyson Seesholtz said. “And I think that that’s the biggest thing this year that I’ve turned around, not only in my training, but when I compete, it just overwhelms me so much to the point where you can see me smiling before my matches, because I’m just thinking to myself how excited I am to go out there and compete against the best competition.”

As the end of the season draws near, seemingly everyone narrows their focus on wins, losses and final placings. But Seesholtz, who needs to finish in the top four of his 150-pound weight class at the Berkshire districts today to advance to the grand finale next weekend in Columbus, is focused on something more abstract but, to him, much more meaningful.

“I’m doing the right things, I’m making the right adjustments, I’m progressing. And that’s the biggest achievement for me,” Seesholtz said. “I don’t care about wins and losses. I just achieved my 100th win. I didn’t get a banner. I don’t care. I know a lot of people care, and that’s fantastic, and I love the fact that people celebrate 100 wins. That’s not my goal.

“My goal was to be the best version of myself I can be out there and to continue to progress on the mat. That’s how I view success.”