09/14/2026
Travis Lee is a legendary former collegiate wrestler for Cornell University who made history as the first native-born Hawaiian to win an NCAA Division I wrestling national championship. Lee is widely credited with helping put Cornell Wrestling on the map and transforming the program into a national powerhouse in the early 2000s.Career Highlights and AchievementsTwo-Time NCAA Champion: Won the 125-pound national title in 2003 and the 133-pound national title in 2005. Four-Time All-American: Became the first wrestler in Ivy League history to earn All-American honors four times (finishing 7th, 1st, 5th, and 1st). Four-Time EIWA Champion: Dominated the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association, winning his conference tournament all four years. Historical Record: Amassed an incredible 143–13 career record, which ranks among the top career win totals in Cornell history. Hall of Fame Inductions: Inducted into the EIWA Hall of Fame in 2007 and the Cornell Athletics Hall of Fame in 2015. Lee grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii, where his primary combat sport background was in judo. He transitioned into wrestling at Saint Louis School, where he became a three-time Hawaii state champion and a 2001 Junior National Champion in both freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling. He was known for being exceptionally well-rounded, tough on top, and dynamic on his feet. Following a brief senior-level freestyle career that was cut short by injuries in 2007, Lee transitioned into academics and engineering. He graduated from Cornell with a degree in biological and environmental engineering and later earned his master's degree.
