Gable Steveson caps Gophers' wrestling career with 2nd straight national title
University of Minnesota wrestler Gable Steveson celebrates after beating Mason Parris of Michigan to win the NCAA title at 285 pounds Saturday night. ((credit: NCAA.com))
MINNEAPOLIS - Gable Steveson came back to the University of Minnesota for one more run at a national title, and Saturday night, he became the sixth Gophers’ wrestler to end his career with at least two national championships.
Steveson dominated the heavyweight field at the NCAA Championships, beating Arizona State’s Cohlton Schultz 6-2 in the title match. After it was over, Steveson went to the center of the mat, untied his shoes and left them there as a form of saying goodbye to college wrestling. He also did his customary back flip to celebrate his latest milestone.
"It means a lot, just going out there and enjoying myself and putting the time in, putting the effort in. I took my shoes off and did a backflip, it’s just what I do," Steveson said.
The only two points Schultz scored in the match were both on escapes that Steveson let him out of. Steveson led 4-1 after the first period and was never threatened.
Steveson will end his Minnesota wrestling career 85-2 overall, with 13 pins, 21 technical falls and 24 major decisions. He also finishes on a 52-match win streak, and has the highest winning percentage in the history of the program.
He’s a three-time Big Ten champion, now a two-time NCAA champion and was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the NCAA Tournament. The next step for Steveson is heading to the WWE full-time, though he didn’t completely shut the door on coming back to the Gophers. He technically still has one year of college eligibility left, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"For now, I'm done," Steveson said.