The college wrestlers at the N.C.A.A. championships, which took place last weekend at Madison Square Garden, tend to compete year-round. Most qualified for this year's tournament by placing in an earlier conference meet, while others were voted in by committee, based on their performance during the collegiate season, which runs from fall to early spring. This is followed by Greco-Roman and freestyle tournaments, including nationals, world championships, and Olympic-team trials. Many spend the off-season coaching at summer camps.

This constant training causes young wrestlers to look haggard but phenomenally fit, a contradiction that the photographer Ben Lowy captures in his post-match portraits from the weekend's events.