It was approaching 10 o'clock on a recent Wednesday night when Mack Lewnes' cell phone vibrated as he sat in the Cornell University library.

"I'm ready to go home," a weary Lewnes whispered into the phone.

There is little time for sleep when you are Mack Lewnes.

Lewnes had just completed a seven-hour laboratory for one of his hotel management classes and now he was buckling down to study for an exam the following day.

The time commitment Lewnes puts in academically at an Ivy League school like Cornell is enormous.

He's a full-time student in the prestigious hotel administration program at Cornell. It is widely regarded as the No. 1 program of its kind in the World. Students from more than 50 countries are enrolled alongside Lewnes in hotel management classes at Cornell.

"It's a great challenge," Lewnes said. "It's a very, very demanding program - it's tough. Fortunately, it's something I'm very interested in and something I really like."

Lewnes also is one of the best college wrestlers in the country. Fourth in the country as a freshman, the junior is ranked No. 1 nationally by InterMat at 174 pounds. He is a spotless 25-0 and has not allowed an offensive point this season.

Lewnes is 96-7 in his college career.

Undefeated and the No. 1 seed at the 2009 NCAA Championships, Lewnes went 0-2 and failed to place at 165 pounds.

He's bumped up a class to 174 this season.

Lewnes' interest in hotel and restaurant management stems from the environment he grew up in. His family owns the highly-regarded Lewnes' Steakhouse in Annapolis, Md.

"I would love to run the restaurant someday," Lewnes said.

Being around the family business makes it even more challenging to keep your weight down.

"Sometimes Mack comes back after being at home, and he looks like the official food taster," Cornell coach Rob Koll said with a laugh. "It's easy to gain a few pounds at their steakhouse. It's a great place to eat."

Lewnes can eat a little bit more this year with his move up to a higher weight class.

"It's definitely improved the quality of life," Lewnes said with a laugh. "Not having to make 165 has helped me a lot. I feel so much better and so much stronger this year."

Lewnes was a four-time Maryland state high school champion who was regarded as one of the top recruits in the country. He graduated from high school with a perfect grade-point average.

Ivy League schools do not have traditional redshirt opportunities, so Lewnes elected to spend his first year out of high school training and living at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. He also took college classes at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.

"It was a great situation," he said. "I trained with some of the top freestyle guys in the nation every day. Working out with guys like (World champion) Bill Zadick, and (U.S. National Team members) Jared Frayer, Lee Fullhart and Ramico Blackmon, that helped me a lot. It was a great atmosphere to train in. I learned a lot."

Lewnes then started his college career at Cornell during the 2007-08 season, and made an immediate impact as a freshman. He went 36-5 and placed fourth in the 2008 NCAA tournament.

Lewnes was 35-0 and ranked No. 1 in the country as a sophomore entering the 2009 NCAAs in St. Louis. But he didn't even make it past the first day of the tournament despite being the top seed.

Lewnes fell 5-3 to Hofstra's Ryan Patrovich in the first round and then lost 3-1 to Purdue's Luke Manuel in the wrestlebacks.

"I got sick the week of NCAAs. I didn't sleep much that week and it affected me," Lewnes said. "It was unfortunate. I never get tired in a match. Stamina is one of my best qualities, but in my first match I got tired in the first period. I couldn't move. I definitely wasn't myself out there.

"Going into last season, I wanted to be a three-time national champion so badly. It really sucked for that to happen last year at nationals. It was rough - really rough."

Lewnes bounced back from that setback by winning the University Nationals in freestyle at 84 kg/185 lbs., despite being undersized in that class.

"After I won that tournament, Coach Koll asked me to move up to 174 for this college season," Lewnes said. "He knew I could handle moving up a weight."

Lewnes hasn't lost a college match since. His biggest challenge at 174 likely will be Iowa senior Jay Borschel, who is ranked No. 1 by Amateur Wrestling News.

"Mack has great speed and great strength," Koll said. "He has great defense and great offense on his feet. And he's very good on top and bottom - you can't ride him and he can ride you. You can't beat him in any area because he's good everywhere. When you are as good as Mack is, you don't need to cut any weight."

Koll said Lewnes has looked much stronger at 174.

"Mack is a lot more dominant this year - he hasn't been pushed by anybody," Koll said. "He's continued to improve. He trained really hard over the summer, and it's really paid off for him. He's just a great worker."

Koll said Lewnes is the model student-athlete.

"Mack is such a sweet kid," Koll said. "He's a real outgoing, gregarious kid who is real popular on our campus. He busts his butt in the classroom and on the mat. He's been great to work with."

Lewnes is a top freestyle prospect who plans to compete internationally.

"I enjoy freestyle a lot," he said. "I certainly plan on jumping into it full-time after college."

Lewnes is a big part of a strong Cornell team that includes 2009 NCAA champion Troy Nickerson (125), top-ranked Kyle Dake (141), All-American Mike Grey (133) and fifth-ranked Cam Simaz (197).

The 2010 NCAA Championships are scheduled for March 18-20 in Omaha.

"We definitely have a shot at winning the team title at NCAAs," Lewnes said. "If we have a couple of national champions and some other high All-Americans, we can win the team title. We have a chance to do really well."

Lewnes said he's focused on reaching the top step of the podium at 174.

"I just have to keep everything in perspective," he said. "It doesn't matter if you go undefeated during the regular season or not. What matters is what happens at nationals. I obviously want to be at my peak for nationals, and finish on top this year."