Matthew Kolodzik

Photo by: Beverly Schaefer

Photo by: Lisa Elfstrum

Photo by: Beverly Schaefer

Photo by: Beverly Schaefer

Photo by: Austin Mariasy

Photo by: Beverly Schaefer

Photo by: Lisa Elfstrum

Photo by: Beverly Schaefer

Photo by: Beverly Schaefer

Photo by: Beverly Schaefer

Weight:
149
Class:
Junior
Hometown:
Bellbrook, Ohio
High School:
Blair Academy

At Princeton — 2019-20 (9-0): All-American, earning first-team NWCA honors and becoming Princeton's first four-time All-America ... first-team All-Ivy, becoming Princeton's first four-time first-team All-Ivy since 1986 and fourth in program history ... 2020 EIWA champion ... NCAA qualifier, seeded sixth before the event was canceled by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 virus ... ranked fourth in the nation by Intermat from after his first two bouts through season's end ... returned to competition in February after initially taking the year off from competition for Princeton and won all nine of his matches through three Ivy League bouts, including a win over Cornell's Hunter Richard, two non-league bouts including a win over Rutgers' Gerard Angelo, and a four-match sweep through the EIWAs ... defeated Intermat 15th-ranked Kizhan Clarke of American in the semis and Richard again in the final ... 2018-19 (25-5): became Princeton's first three-time All-American in program history when he defeated fourth-seeded Brock Mauller in the NCAA quarterfinal; placed fifth overall to help Princeton finish in the Top 15 for the first time since 1978 … defeated ninth-ranked Max Thomsen 3-1 to become the first Midlands champion in program history; helped Princeton earn its first top-five team finish at Midlands … earned first-team All-Ivy League honors for the third straight year … defeated Duke's Mitch Finesilver in the main event of the NWCA All-Star Classic … spent majority of season ranked either #1 or #2 at weight … placed third at EIWA Championships … lone losses at NCAAs were by 2-0 scores to eventual champion Anthony Ashnault and Finesilver in consolation semifinal; was never taken down at NCAAs … defeated Austin O'Connor, who would place third at NCAAs, during team victory over #15 North Carolina; that win helped Princeton break into NWCA Top 20 for first time … junior co-captain. 2017-18 (29-6): posted Princeton's best NCAA Championships since 2002 when he placed 3rd at 149 in Cleveland after being seeded 11th; took out #2 Brandon Sorenson (Iowa), #3 Grant Leeth (Missouri), #4 Troy Heilmann (North Carolina), and #6 Justin Oliver (Central Michigan) on his way to 3rd-place finish … lone NCAA loss came by 5-3 score in NCAA semifinal … earned All-American honors for second straight season … repeated as EIWA champion with 13-6 win in final to help Princeton post second straight Top-3 finish; won his EIWA quarterfinal, semifinal and final by a combined 20 points … earned first-team All-Ivy League honors for second straight season … went 18-2 during 2018 portion of season; half of his six losses for the season came in one day at Midlands … competed at the NWCA All-Star Classic at Jadwin Gym … recipient of the Gifford Trophy for scoring the most points on the team. 2016-17 (30-4): became Princeton's first freshman All-American in program history when he defeated 16th-seeded Tyler Smith (Bucknell) in the Round of 12 at NCAAs; he is the 10th different Tiger to become an All-American … placed seventh at NCAA Championships when he won his 30th match of the season, a 3-1 decision over Thomas Thorn (Minnesota) … won the 141-pound EIWA championship with a 3-2 decision over Lehigh’s Randy Cruz … was not taken down throughout EIWAs … became the fifth wrestler in Princeton history to earn a Top-4 seed at NCAAs … became second Princeton wrestler (Jonathan Schleifer) to earn Ivy League Rookie of the Year honors; also named to the All-Ivy First Team … won the first 16 matches of his collegiate career … became second Princeton wrestler to reach the Midlands Championship final; fell 1-0 to second-ranked Kevin Jack for the first loss of his collegiate career … had six wins over wrestlers who were ranked in the Top 20 … never lost to a wrestler outside the Top 8 … went 5-0 against the Ivy League … opened his collegiate career by winning the Southeast Open … rallied with a takedown in the final ten seconds to defeat fifth-ranked Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers) in the “Battle at the Birthplace.”

Before Princeton — earned a spot at the 2016 World University Games by winning University Nationals in June, 2016 … nation's top-ranked wrestler by Intermat, FloWrestling at 138 … three-time National Prep champion … Iron Man champion … Beast of the East champion … Fargo Cadet Freestyle champion … Ohio state champion … Clinch Gear 2015 first-team All-American.

Personal — born July 15, 1996 … son of Paul and Joan Kolodzik … older brother Daniel Kolodzik '12 was the first nationally ranked recruit for Chris Ayres; Kolodzik was a Princeton captain who advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals his senior season … also has an older sister Sarah.