Lee, the only wrestler from Hawai'i to win an NCAA title, won his second one after capturing the 133-pound weight class at the NCAA Championships at St. Louis.

The 2001 Saint Louis School graduate from Liliha plans on taking a much-needed rest this week at home, hanging out with two friends from Cornell who came to Hawai'i with him, going to the beach, eating at L & L Drive-Inn and Rainbow Drive-In, and doing "nothing."

"I won't have to worry about school or wrestling for a week, which is nice," Lee said. "Because it's such a long season, when it's over, it's like a huge weight is lifted off your shoulders. There is so much (free) time (now)."

Cornell is on spring break this week, but once Lee returns to the school in Ithaca, N.Y., where he won the national championship at 125 pounds as a sophomore, compiled a 143-13 record over four years, and earned four All-America honors, he will take another week or two off before starting training again.

Lee said he was worried about his opponent in Saturday's championship match. Shawn Bunch of Edinboro (Pa.) University handed Lee his only loss of the season Dec. 30.

"I was nervous because I lost to him, but I thought I could definitely beat him if I stuck to my game plan and wrestled smart," said Lee, who won, 6-3. "I felt like I controlled the match."

The victory qualified Lee for the U.S. World Team trials, June 17 to 19.

To prepare for that, he will compete in a regional tournament next month to practice freestyle wrestling, which is similar to the collegiate-style wrestling that Hawai'i high schools and U.S. universities compete in, the difference being in the points system. Olympic wrestlers compete in freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling.

Lee said he has competed in freestyle since he was a junior in high school and competes in it every summer, so he is comfortable with it.

Next summer, Lee might move to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. His goal is to represent the United States at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

For now, his focus is on school as he is scheduled to graduate in May. Lee was admitted to Cornell's Masters of Engineering program, and needs to weigh his options for graduate school: to stay at Cornell, or go to another school such as Arizona State or West Virginia, both of which have shown interest in Lee as a coach. He said he would like to pursue a master's degree in business administration.

"It's like the recruiting process, but I'm on the opposite end this time," said Lee, who had to send out videotapes to college coaches because he wasn't being recruited out of high school. "I'm definitely keeping my options open and seeing what other schools are offering me so I can take that back to Cornell."

Either way, he will continue training for a spot on the World Team and wants to continue his education in biological engineering.

In the months leading to last weekend's national championships, Lee was balancing school and interviewing for internships.

"It's a totally different world," he said of the companies where he interviewed. "I don't think most of them know what wrestling is or that it's a sport."

Even after he won the national title, he still carried a hectic schedule.

After his match, he fielded questions from reporters, including one from Sports Illustrated, and then "celebrated" with his teammates.

His flight to Ithaca from St. Louis was delayed several times, and the team chose to fly into Syracuse instead and make the drive back to the campus. In the process, his luggage was lost. His clothes were misplaced, but not his championship trophy, which he carried with him.

He arrived in Syracuse at around 4 a.m., made the drive to Ithaca, and turned around to catch his afternoon flight to Honolulu.

"It was one of the most miserable experiences," he said.

Yesterday, Lee was able to watch Saturday's match on a rebroadcast on ESPN2.

"I find myself analyzing myself when I shouldn't be," he said. "I should be relaxing and enjoying myself."

His fourth trophy — he received one for seventh place at 125 pounds as a freshman, one for his championship at 125 as a sophomore, and the other for a fifth-place finish at 133 as a junior — joins the others he won through the years, including three Hawai'i high school state titles, and the freestyle and Greco-Roman titles at the Asics/USA Wrestling Junior Nationals in Fargo, N.D., in 2001.

He said of all of his championships, this year's is his most precious.

"It's my most recent, and it was my last year," Lee said. "I felt there was so much pressure because it was my last year. It feels great to have ended my year in that fashion."

For now, the trophy is in New York, leaving an empty spot in his Liliha home where all the other trophies are.

"I don't want to call it a shrine, but yeah, it is," Lee said.