Gable Steveson: Going for the Olympic wrestling gold and beyond

The University of Minnesota wrestler talks about his plans for the Tokyo Summer Games, and everything that might come after.

MINNEAPOLIS — It’s 100 days to the Olympic Summer Games and Gable Steveson, a 20-year-old student at the University of Minnesota is preparing to make the trip to Tokyo, Japan. The 260-pounder will represent Team USA as part of the wrestling squad.

Steveson is all smiles sitting in his dorm room, thinking ahead to what it will mean representing his country at the games, saying “It’s crazy that I qualified for the Olympics and I’m going to Tokyo.”

There’s good reason the Junior from the U of M is pumped. He’s the reigning NCAA Division 1 National Champion, a two-time Big Ten Conference champion, two-time All-American and was honored as a top college wrestler. But for him, the Olympics is the ultimate dream come true, “Not many 20 year olds make the Olympic team,” he said. “I think I’m the third or second youngest ever to touch the team and especially in my weight class.”

On the verge of becoming wrestling royalty, you could say his journey started at birth. He’s named after Iowa wrestling legend Dan Gabel. His dad was a wrestler, both his brothers spent time on the mat and Gable was introduced to the sport at a very young age. View/continue reading at kare11.com →

Steveson Dominates in the Big Apple

Augsburg wrestler Emily Shilson and former Apple Valley wrestler Seth Gross also wrestled

Competing for the first time since winning the 2020 Big Ten title last March, Golden Gopher heavyweight Gable Steveson defeated Wisconsin’s Trent Hillger by technical fall at the 2020 Beat the Streets virtual event on Thursday night.

Continue reading →

Steveson to Compete in Beat the Streets Event

Augsburg wrestler Emily Shilson and former Apple Valley wrestler Seth Gross will also wrestle

Golden Gopher heavyweight Gable Steveson will return to the mat on Thursday, September 17, as part of Beat the Streets of New York City’s annual fundraising event. Steveson will square off against Wisconsin All-American Trent Hillger.

Steveson owns a 50-2 career record in two season with the Golden Gophers and claimed the 2020 Big Ten title. He was seeded No. 1 before the NCAA Championships were canceled because of COVID-19 public health concerns. He owns a 3-0 record against Hillger, including a 10-4 decision in the semifinals of the 2019 Big Ten Championships.

Continue reading →

Apple Valley’s Sebas Swiggum unbreakable off the mat, too

Apple Valley wrestling coach Josh Barlage has a seemingly endless list of superlatives he uses when he talks about Sebas Swiggum, but Barlage prefers to illustrate the uber-focus and self-discipline of his senior captain with a story.

“We’re coming back from a tournament in Fargo and it was about 6 o’clock. The guys on the team asked if we could stop and get something to eat. So we stopped and everybody got off the bus. There were a couple of restaurants and the kids went in,” Barlage recalled.

“Sebas didn’t get off the bus. He didn’t go into any of the fast food restaurants. I said ‘Sebas, did you get something to eat?’ He pulled out a bag of almonds and held them up. He said ‘I’m not putting that junk in my body.’ That’s Sebas. I’ve got a hundred stories like that. You can’t break him.” Continue reading at www.startribune.com