Gopher Wrestling Club

Steveson Punches Ticket to Tokyo with U.S. Olympic Team Trials Championship

FORT WORTH, TEXAS – A remarkable four-week span for Minnesota junior Gable Steveson was capped with a first-place finish at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials on Saturday night. Steveson defeated top-seed Nick Gwiazdowski twice to earn a spot on Team USA for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.

Steveson put on a clinic against the former two-time World Championship bronze medalist. He jumped ahead in match one of the best-of-three series with a takedown and leg lace to take a 4-0 lead. Leading 6-0 after the first period, he recorded back-to-back takedowns to secure his third straight technical fall by a 10-0 margin.

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Steveson Advances to U.S. Olympic Team Trials Final

FORT WORTH, TEXAS – NCAA Champion and Hodge Trophy winner Gable Steveson is one step away from qualifying for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics after reaching the finals of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. Steveson will face top seed Nick Gwiazdowski in a best-of-three championship series on Saturday night.

Steveson rolled into the finals with back-to-back technical falls. In the quarterfinals, he needed just 1:59 to dispatch No. 7 seed Tanner Hall, 11-0. Steveson recorded an identical 11-0 technical fall against Daniel Kerkvliet of Penn State in a rematch of their NCAA quarterfinal meeting in March.

This will be the fourth meeting between Steveson and Gwiazdowski, a two-time World Championship bronze medalist and two-time NCAA Champion at N.C. State (2014-15). Gwiazdowski won the first two meetings based on criteria at the Final X Rutgers in June 2019, but Steveson won the last matchup by a 4-1 decision at the 2020 RTC Cup this past December.

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Gophers’ NCAA heavyweight champs past and present could meet at U.S. Olympic wrestling trials

Tony Nelson and Gable Steveson have practiced and pounded on each other on the mat for years, making each other better. But this weekend, there’s only one heavyweight spot on the U.S. men’s freestyle team.

He wasn’t interested in an autograph or a photo, or any of the other tokens a kid might want from an idol. When Gable Steveson showed up at the wrestling room after school, looking to meet Gophers heavyweight Tony Nelson, he had something much bigger in mind.

Steveson was a seventh-grader then, an Apple Valley wrestling prodigy with grand plans. He remembers thinking Nelson — the 6-4, 250-pound reigning NCAA champion — looked “just huge.” But there was only one thing Steveson wanted that day: to get on the mat with the Gophers star and see how he measured up.

“Tony was the man,” said Steveson, who became the Gophers’ latest NCAA champion last month. “All the heavyweights looked up to him. He was one of those guys that just dominated everyone, and that’s how I wanted to be.” Continue reading at startribune.com →

Steveson Seeded Second; Six Alums Set for Olympic Trials

NCAA Champion and Hodge Trophy winner Gable Steveson will be the No. 2 seed at 125 kg for this weekend’s U.S. Olympic Team Trials. The two-day tournament will be held Friday and Saturday at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.

Steveson will join five Gopher Wrestling alums – Sean Russell, Zach Sanders, Mitch McKee, Brett Pfarr and Tony Nelson – in vying for a spot in men’s freestyle on Team USA for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. In addition, Pat Smith is the No. 3 seed at 77kg in Greco-Roman.

Steveson’s bracket features many familiar faces, including top seed Nick Gwiazdowski, a two-time bronze medalist at the World Championships and former two-time NCAA Champion at N.C. State. Gwiazdowski won the first two meetings at the Final X_Rutgers in June 2019, but Steveson won the last matchup by a 4-1 decision at the 2020 RTC Cup this past December. A two-time NCAA Champion and frequent training partner for Steveson, Nelson is the fifth seed at 125 kg.

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Seeds released for U.S. Olympic Team Trials Wrestling in Fort Worth, Texas, April 2-3

The seeds for the 2021 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Wrestling have been released. The Trials will take place April 2-3 at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.

There are four men’s freestyle athletes—Jordan Burroughs (74 kg), Kyle Dake (74 kg), Kyle Snyder (97 kg), J’den Cox (97 kg)—, who did not receive seeds as they are sitting until either the semifinals or the best-of-three finals based on their 2019 World Championships medal performances.

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