NEW YORK — When the 2020-21 wrestling season went dark, Jason Geyer went to work.

The Seneca Valley graduate was coming off a 13-12 season at 141 pounds as a freshman wrestler at New York University. His sophomore season was wiped out — along with all of NCAA Division III athletics — by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I was luckier than most wrestlers on the team,” Geyer said. “Coming from Western Pennsylvania, I was able to go home and continue my training at OMP (in Evans City). I wasn’t getting collegiate competition, but I was staying on the mat. And I got better.”

He got stronger as well.

NYU wrestling coach Corey Luce said Geyer “loves lifting weights and spends a lot of time in the weight room. I know he did so that year.”

When NYU’s wrestling program resumed competition in 2021-22, Geyer found himself in the 184-pound weight class.

“Making that kind of a jump in weight, from 141 to184, usually isn’t promising,” Luce said. “But Jason made it work. That’s because of his work ethic. He’s a coach’s dream that way.”

Geyer put together a 23-7 record his junior year — 16-3 at 174 pounds, 7-4 at 184 — and placed second at 184 in the University Athletic Association (UAA) and NCAA Northeast Regional.

But he fell short of his goal.

NCAA Division III takes 18 wrestlers per weight class to its national championship meet. The top eight placers earn All-American.

“I wasn’t among the top eight,” Geyer said. “That’s fueled me this year. This is my last chance. I dropped down to 174 this season because I felt I’d have an advantage there.

“I’m 5-foot-8 and was up against taller guys at 184. At 174, that hasn’t been the case and it’s working out for me.”

And how.

Geyer is off to a 21-0 start this season. He has nine wins by pinfall and four others by technical fall. He was recently named UAA Athlete of the Week in wrestling after pinning three opponents inside of two minutes and winning his other match that week by an 18-0 technical fall.

He pinned Caleb Zimmerman of Mount Union in nine seconds.

“I actually think he had his shoulders to the mat faster than that,” Luce said. “The official was so surprised by the quickness of that move, he didn’t get in position to make the call right away.

“Jason’s biggest strength is wrestling on top. From that position, he just mauls people.”

Geyer hopes to maul opponents all the way to a national championship.

“I feel like I can do it,” he said. “I don’t think there’s anyone in the country I can’t beat.”

His physical strength has a lot to do with that.

“Jason believes he’s the strongest 174-pound wrestler in the country,” Luce said. “That gives him a big mental edge on the mat. Can he win the national championship? I believe he’s in position to make a run at it.”

Geyer is ranked No. 5 in all of Division III at 174 pounds. He is ranked No. 2 in the Northeast Region.

This will be his final wrestling season. Though he has a year of eligibility remaining, Geyer — a real estate major — plans to graduate later this year. He is looking to work in finance in New York City.

While his wrestling career will be over, he will remain grateful to the sport.

“I’ll be eternally grateful to this sport,” Geyer said. “Wrestling has molded me into the person I am. It’s impacted my life in every way possible. It’s taught me how to face adversity, manage my time, become a better person.

“The group of wrestlers I came through Seneca Valley with are still some of my friends today. Joe Montalbano taught us as youth wrestlers, in junior high, in high school and at OMP ... He molded an entire group of us.”

Though he won’t be wrestling anymore, Geyer will not forget about the sport.

“I’ll be a voluntreer assistant somewhere, help out when time permits,” he said. “I’ll give back, for sure.”