Better Late Than Never for Cedeno

By Jeff White (jwhite@virginia.edu)
VirginiaSports.com

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — In March 2022, the University of Virginia hosted the ACC wrestling tournament at John Paul Jones Arena, and redshirt freshman Dylan Cedeno bounced back from a first-round loss to take third place at 141 pounds and qualify for the NCAA championships.

Among the opponents the fifth-seeded Cedeno defeated at ACCs, by a 5-0 decision, was second-seeded Kizhan Clarke (North Carolina), who would go on to be NCAA runner-up that season.

Leaving JPJ that day, Cedeno seemed destined for a stellar career at UVA. Alas, he would encounter multiple obstacles in the years that followed.

“Injuries kind of got in the way,” Cedeno recalled.

As a redshirt sophomore, he dealt with knee and ankle injuries, “and I just couldn’t really find my groove that year,” said Cedeno, whose record in 2022-23 was 10-9.

The story was similar in 2023-24. After bumping up two weight classes to 157 pounds, Cedeno shined when he was healthy, posting a 12-4 record. “I was on a good track,” he said. “Things were clicking well, and [making] weight wasn’t an obstacle, so that’s always a nice bonus.”

His good fortune didn’t last. Shoulder and knee injuries cut short his season, forcing him to miss last year’s ACC tournament.

“We knew what he was capable of,” Virginia head coach Steve Garland, “but if I’ve learned anything the last two years, it’s that durability is a gift, and you can’t earn a gift. It’s either a gift or it isn’t. And some guys get hurt and some guys stay healthy. Unfortunately, Dylan has been hurt.”

UVA’s medical staff hoped Cedeno would be able to avoid an operation on his shoulder, but his problems persisted into the summer, and he underwent surgery in August. Cedeno spent most of the fall rehabbing and missed the Wahoos’ first five dual meets of the season, as well as three open tournaments.

His long-awaited 2024-25 debut came early this month at the highly competitive Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga, Tenn., where Cedeno issued a reminder of how good he can be at full strength. He went 5-0 to capture the 141-pound title. Two of his victories came against ranked opponents.

“To take a step backwards and watch his tournament run, it was like, ‘Wow, this is what this young man looks like when he’s completely healthy,’ ” Garland said. “It’s pretty cool to see that.”

Cedeno’s performance in Chattanooga earned him ACC Wrestler of the Week honors. His breakthrough was “a long time coming,” Cedeno said. “It’s been one heck of a roller-coaster year, so a lot of highs, a lot of lows, but it felt real good.”

Coming off his shoulder surgery, Cedeno wasn’t sure how long he’d be sidelined.

“Being able to compete this year at all was huge for me,” he said. “I was really thankful to do that. Obviously, coming off such a hot start [as a redshirt freshman], you anticipate that it’s only gonna go up, but I think I’ve learned a lot about myself mentally, physically, emotionally through the highs and lows of the sport, which is something that I’ll be able to take with me to life after wrestling.

“Obviously, wish I could have stayed healthy. Who knows what I could have accomplished? But [staying] in the moment, we’re healthy right now and hope to accomplish everything we can at the moment.”

Next up for Virginia (4-1) is its ACC opener against No. 6 NC State (7-1, 1-0). They’ll meet Friday at 7 p.m. at the Aquatic and Fitness Center. Memorial Gymnasium recently closed for for major renovations, and UVA’s remaining home dual meets this season will be held at several locations: the AFC, John Paul Jones Arena and North Grounds Recreation Center.

“I honestly think it’s pretty cool,” Cedeno said. “I haven’t competed in any of them besides JPJ and Mem Gym. So I think getting different scenery, different atmosphere will be a good experience. Should be fun.”

Born and raised in Fair Lawn, N.J., in the northern part of the Garden State, Cedeno attended his local public high school for two years before transferring to Bergen Catholic, “just to kind of prepare myself for college wrestling,” he said. “They had a better schedule, better training partners, just better opportunities to get exposed. So I went that route, and that worked out great over there. I accomplished a lot and ended up here.”

Originally, he planned to wrestle in the Ivy League. But Cedeno decommitted from Cornell during his senior year at Bergen Catholic, after which Garland and UVA assistant coach Trent Paulson visited in Fair Lawn. Paulson’s twin, Travis, is the Cavaliers’ associate head coach.

“I immediately just loved what Coach Garland was preaching about making great young men on and off the mat, the opportunities that UVA had in terms of master’s and undergrad, and then how awesome the Paulsons were with technique and the opportunities that we had with guys in our room,” Cedeno said. “So it just felt really like home for me.”

Cedeno was introduced to wrestling during that “kind of that trial-and-error phase when you’re a kid,” he said. “You go and you play all those sports and see which one sticks. And for some reason, I liked wrestling. My dad was a football, basketball player, so he was pushing that route. I was a little small for football, a little too short for basketball. I gave wrestling a try, and I guess I really liked getting physical and being aggressive and stuff. So that stuck.”

His height? “So, I’m 5-7 on my license,” Cedeno said, smiling. “I could be a little shorter, depending on who’s measuring me, but I like to say 5-7.”

He moved up to 157 pounds in 2023-24 to make room for the Gioffre twins, Jack and Michael, who competed at 141 and 149, respectively, last season. “The idea was to get all of us in the lineup somehow,” Cedeno said.

With his shoulder hurt last summer, “I couldn’t really wrestle,” Cedeno said, “so I was just really focused on eating a clean diet, doing the workouts that I could, lifting, cardio, things like that to kind of keep myself in good shape. I ended up losing a lot of weight just from not stuffing my face. So then when it came time to make the decision of what the lineup would look like for [2024-25], I was on the smaller end.”

Virginia’s coaches suggested to Cedeno that he wrestle at 149 pounds, and he got down to that weight easily. “Then they were like, ‘How about ‘41? You’d be bigger, you’d be stronger, you’d be faster.’ ”

Getting back down to 141 hasn’t been a struggle, Cedeno said. “I feel real strong, feel real fast, feel real good.”

Don’t be fooled by Cedeno’s comments, Garland said. “He’s being humble. It’s a very difficult thing to do that he makes easy. Everyone talks about lifestyle and says, ‘Coach, I’m eating clean and I’m doing the right things.’ Well, most of them are probably full of baloney.”

Consistency is one of the UVA program’s pillars, said Garland, who noted that some wrestlers are able to do “something hard for four or five days, maybe a week, maybe even a month. And then there’s Dylan Cedeno, who does it every single day, seven days a week, four weeks out of the month, 12 months out of the year. Now, that’s the difference, that’s the consistency, and until everyone in that age group figures that out, they’re not going to get the gains they need. That’s why it’s a pillar of our program, and people don’t truly understand what that discipline means. Focus, discipline and intensity. Focus means there’s a plan in place that he has. When I say ‘plan,’ you should see the dude’s meals. He has his avocado portioned out to the exact ounce. He has his protein to the exact gram. We’re talking details. His workouts are the same thing. He gets up at the same time. He goes to sleep at the same time. So when you do it like that, he’s being humble, it’s not easy, but it can be accomplished and accomplished well if it’s done like that.”

Cedeno earned a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology last spring. He’s now pursuing a master’s in higher education from the School of Education and Human Development, and he’s on track to graduate in May.

He has a COVID year of eligibility left, so he could compete for the Cavaliers again in 2025-26. “That’s one’s up in the air,” said Cedeno, who’ll make that decision after this season ends.

If he’s uncertain about when exactly he’ll enter the working world, Cedeno knows which career path he plans to follow.

“Medical sales would be the goal,” he said. “I have my background in kinesiology, and I think I’m more of a people’s person than a sit-behind-a-desk-and-work-on-the-computer kind of guy. So I’d like to lean on my personality, get out there, talk to some people, and do that kind of stuff.”

Injuries might have slowed Cedeno’s ascent in wrestling, but his drive,  personality and intelligence will continue to enable him to excel off the mat, Garland said. “He’s going to do OK in life.”

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