Gable Steveson

Last updated

Gable Steveson
Gable Steveson vs Cory Daniel 8913 (48068219253).jpg
Steveson (left) wrestling against Cory Daniel of North Carolina in December 2018
Personal information
Born (2000-05-31) May 31, 2000 (age 24)
Portage, Indiana, U.S.
Home town Apple Valley, Minnesota, U.S.
Alma mater University of Minnesota
Height6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight265 lb (120 kg)
Billed height6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Billed weight265 lb (120 kg)
Billed fromPortage, Indiana, U.S.
Trained by WWE Performance Center
Ken Anderson
Debut July 30, 2023
Sport
Country United States
Sport Wrestling
Event(s) Freestyle and Folkstyle
College teamGopher WC [1]
ClubMinnesota Storm [2]
Coached byBrandon Eggum, [3] Dustin Schlatter [2]

American football career
Personal information
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:280 lb (127 kg)
Career information
High school: Apple Valley (Minnesota)
College: Minnesota
Position: Defensive tackle
Undrafted: 2024
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Medal record
Men's freestyle wrestling
Representing the Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Olympic Games
Olympic rings.svg
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2020 Tokyo 125 kg
Pan American Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2021 Guatemala City 125 kg
U20 World Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2017 Tampere 120 kg
U17 World Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2015 Sarajevo 100 kg
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2016 Tbilisi 100 kg
Collegiate Wrestling
Representing the Minnesota Golden Gophers
NCAA Division I Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2021 St. Louis 285 lb
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2022 Detroit 285 lb
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2019 Pittsburgh 285 lb
Big Ten Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2020 Piscataway 285 lb
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2021 State College 285 lb
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2022 Lincoln 285 lb
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2019 Minneapolis 285 lb

Gable Dan Steveson (born May 31, 2000) is an American wrestler. In freestyle wrestling, Steveson was a 2020 Summer Olympic gold medalist, and was also a three-time age-group world champion. [4] [5] In folkstyle wrestling, Steveson was a two-time Dan Hodge Trophy winner, a two-time NCAA Division I national champion, and a three-time All-American out of the University of Minnesota. [6]

Contents

After a brief appearance at WWE's SummerSlam in August 2021, Steveson was signed by the promotion the following month, becoming the second Olympic gold medalist to be signed by the company after Kurt Angle; however, he was released in May 2024 after only one poorly-received televised match.

He signed with the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League in May 2024, but was released in August before the start of the regular season.

Early life

Steveson was born in Portage, Indiana, where he started wrestling as soon as he could walk, following his two older brother's footsteps. [7] His name Gable Dan was given by his mother after legendary wrestler Dan Gable. [8] He has an older brother, Bobby, who performed in WWE as Damon Kemp until his contract expired in July 2024. [9] [10]

After winning multiple youth-level national tournaments, the Steveson family moved to Apple Valley, Minnesota when Gable was in the seventh grade, so he and his brother Bobby could compete for powerhouse Apple Valley High School. [7] At 13 years old, Steveson entered the 2014 MSHSL state finals with a 39–2 record, but ultimately claimed second place, losing the last match of his high school career in eighth grade. [11]

After that season, Steveson racked up four state titles and a 171 match win-streak, with his last two state tournament championship matches lasting a combined 28 seconds. For his 2017 performance, he received the Junior Schalles Award for best high school pinner. [12] The next year, he was named the Junior Hodge Trophy winner. [13] In freestyle, Steveson claimed multiple age-group World Championships. [14] The top-recruit in the country, he chose to remain local and attend the University of Minnesota. [15]

Collegiate and freestyle wrestling career

2018–2019

Steveson, a high school senior, placed fourth at the 2018 US Open Nationals and the US World Team Trials in April and May respectively, beating the likes of NCAA Division I All-American Tanner Hall and fellow Junior World Champion Dom Bradley in the freestyle tournaments. [16] [17] Steveson started his collegiate wrestling freshman season using a redshirt, winning titles at the Daktronics and Bison Open tournaments. Since his redshirt was pulled in November, [18] he compiled an undefeated 14–0 record in dual meets and a Cliff Keen Invitational title during regular season, with multiple wins over high ranked opponents, most notably second-ranked Derek White in his collegiate debut. [19] Entering the B1G championships as the top-seed, he opened up with a technical fall and two decisions to make it to the finals, where he faced second-seeded Anthony Cassar from Penn State. He lost to Cassar by one point, marking his first defeat in folkstyle since eighth grade. [20] At the 2019 NCAA Division I National Championships, he made it to the semifinals, where he was once again defeated by Cassar by the same 4–3 score. [21] He then won two more matches to claim third place and All-American status. [22]

A recently crowned All-American, Steveson returned to freestyle in May 2019 and became a Final X contestant when he ran through the US World Team Trials Challenge, dismantling 2018 Greco-Roman World finalist Adam Coon, two-time NCAA National champion Tony Nelson, two-time All-American Dom Bradley, and two-time All-American Nick Nevills. [23] However, he lost to two-time World Medalist Nick Gwiazdowski twice by criteria and was unable to make the US World Team. [24]

Steveson then made his international senior debut at the Alexander Medved Prizes in August 2019, where he placed second to Khasanboy Rakhimov. [25] In his last freestyle competition of the year, Steveson added a gold medal to his credit from the Bill Farrell Memorial International in November 2019, after outscoring four opponents 32 points to 4, qualifying for the 2020 US Olympic Team Trials. [26]

2019–2020

Return

After his suspension was pulled and wrestling back to folkstyle, Steveson compiled 12 wins and no losses in duals during regular season, [27] becoming the top-ranked 285-pounder in the United States. [28] Despite being number one in the rankings, Steveson entered the B1G championships as the second seed. [29] At the tournament, he opened up with a fall over the tenth seed, and a decision over the third seed to make it to the finale, where he defeated the top-seeded Mason Parris from Michigan to claim the conference title. [30] Steveson was then scheduled to compete at the NCAA championships as the top-seed, [31] but the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [32] After the season ended, he was named a first team NCAA Division I All-American due to his performance through the season. [33] [34]

Steveson was slated to compete at the 2020 US Olympic Team Trials in early April 2020. [35] However, the event was postponed for 2021 along with the Summer Olympics due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving all the qualifiers unable to compete. [36]

After ten months out of freestyle competition, Steveson wrestled Trent Hillger at the annual Beat The Streets event on September 17, 2020, showing massive skill improvements and winning by technical fall in the first period. [37]

In October 2020, the NCAA granted an extra year of eligibility to winter athletes due to the last season being cut short, this led to Steveson getting an extra year of eligibility. [38]

Steveson represented the Gopher WC at 125 kilograms in the FloWrestling: RTC Cup from December 4 to 5, 2020, alongside graduated Gopher Tony Nelson. [39] After siting out in the dual against the Cliff Keen WC, Steveson faced the heavily accomplished Nick Gwiazdowski from the Wolfpack RTC in an anticipated rematch. He edged the two-time Pan American champion with a score of 4 to 1 points. [40] He then tech'd Jordan Wood to defeat him for the sixth time in freestyle competition and place sixth as a team. [41]

2020–2021

Competing as a junior during the regular season, he compiled a 9–0 record with a 100 percent bonus rate. [42] During the postseason, he continued his dominance, making his third consecutive Big Ten Championship final and winning his second title, dominating the second-ranked wrestler in the country and '19 Junior World Champion Mason Parris en route to a major decision. [43] At the NCAAs, Steveson compiled two bonus points victories en route to the quarterfinals, where he faced '17 Cadet World Champion from Penn State Greg Kerkvliet, whom he was able to shut down but fell short of bonus points. Later, he major'd the fourth seed from Iowa Tony Cassioppi for the second time in the season and advanced to the finals, where he once again shut down Mason Parris to claim the NCAA National Championship. [44] After the season, the dominant Steveson was awarded the prestigious Dan Hodge Trophy as the best college wrestler of the season, along with Spencer Lee from Iowa. [45]

The newly crowned NCAA champion and Dan Hodge Trophy winner, Steveson went back to freestyle and competed at the rescheduled US Olympic Team Trials from April 2 to 3 as the second seed, in an attempt to represent the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics. [46] Steveson made his way to the best-of-three with dominant technical falls over two-time US Junior World Team Member Tanner Hall and Cadet World Champion Greg Kerkvliet, before facing 2019 Pan American Games Gold medalist and top-seed Nick Gwiazdowski. [47] In the first match, he racked up another technical fall over the two-time World Championship medalist and NCAA champion and in the second match he once again shut him down, this time by points, winning the championship bouts. [48] This result qualified Steveson to represent the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games. [49] He also warmed up at the Pan American Continental Championships on May 30, dominating all five of his opponents and helping the team sweep all ten freestyle medals. [50]

On August 5, Steveson competed at the first date of the men's freestyle 125 kg event, where he outscored his three high-level opponents with a combined perfect score of 23–0 to secure himself a medal and advance to the finals, demolishing '15 Asian Champion Aiaal Lazarev from Kyrgyzstan, defending Olympic champion and multiple-time World Champion Taha Akgül from Turkey and '19 U23 World medalist Mönkhtöriin Lkhagvagerel from Mongolia. [51] After stunning the field on his way to the finale, he faced three-time and reigning World Champion Geno Petriashvili from Georgia. [51] Onto the second period, Steveson was up 4–0 with two takedowns, though the Georgian scored two points of his own to Steveson's one to make it 5–2, before truly turning the tables and scoring a takedown and two gut-wrenches for six points (5–8) with a minute and a half left. [52] With ten seconds left, Steveson scored a takedown to make it 7–8, and still trailing behind by a point, he rallied and got another takedown with half a second left to top the World Champion with a 9–8 score. [53] After a failed challenge by Petriashvili's corner, Steveson earned the 2020 Summer Olympic Games gold medal with a hard-fought 10–8 score over the Georgian. [54] With this new championship, Steveson became the first American super-heavyweight to win freestyle Olympic gold since Bruce Baumgartner in 1992. [55] [56] With his win, Gable Steveson became the youngest freestyle wrestler to win Olympic gold at super heavyweight (125 kg) at the age of 21 years, two months and six days. [57]

As an Olympic medalist, Steveson earned the right to automatically represent the United States at the 2021 World Championships without having to compete domestically to make the US World Team. [58] On August 15, 2021, Steveson notified USA Wrestling that he would reject the bid in order to pursue other ventures. [59]

2021–2023

In September 2021, it was announced that despite Steveson signing with WWE, he would return to college wrestling under an NIL deal. [60] Steveson ran through regular season and swept the B1G Championship not short of bonus points, earning his third and last conference title with a 13–0 record. [61] He was named the Big Ten Athlete of the Year for 2022. [62]

At the 2022 NCAA Division I National Championships, Steveson started off with two technical falls, before defeating Northwestern's Lucas Davison and Penn State's Greg Kerkvliet by decision to cruise to the finals. [63] In the finale, he defeated previously unbeaten in the season Cohlton Schultz from Arizona State University, six points to two. [64] After the win, Steveson gave his last signature backflip in a Minnesota singlet and, in an emotional moment, left his shoes on the center of the mat as a sign of respect for the sport and signaling retirement from amateur wrestling, followed by a standing ovation by the crowd. [64] After the tournament, Steveson was named the most outstanding wrestler. [65] [66] [67]

Steveson went out as one of the greatest and most dominant collegiate wrestlers in the history of the sport, as a Dan Hodge Trophy winner, two-time NCAA Division I National champion and three-time Big Ten Conference champion. [68] He is the first and only heavyweight wrestler to win the Dan Hodge Trophy multiple times. [69]

Steveson returned to freestyle competition at the 2023 US Open Wrestling Championships, since last wrestling at the Tokyo Olympics. He won the tournament, dominating the competition, going 44–1 against his opponents. [70] He was also named the outstanding wrestler of the tournament. [71] He won the 2023 Final X, earning the right to represent the United States at the 2023 World Wrestling Championships. [72] He later decided not to compete in the competition. [73] [74]

Professional wrestling career

In late 2020, Steveson said pursuing a career in WWE as a professional wrestler in order to become a superstar is "a dream I've had since I was a kid". [75] Prior to the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Steveson signed a Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) marketing deal with MMA manager Dave Martin. [76] After winning the Olympic gold medal, Steveson gained massive notoriety on social media, and teased the public on whether he would continue wrestling or pursue a career in mixed martial arts or professional wrestling next. [77]

Steveson then made a brief appearance at WWE's SummerSlam event on August 21, 2021, [78] and then on September 4, it was announced that Steveson had reportedly signed a contract with WWE. [79] Five days later, WWE confirmed they had signed Steveson to an NIL (Next In Line) deal. Steveson was only the second Olympic gold medalist to be signed by the company after Kurt Angle. [80]

As part of the 2021 WWE Draft, a storyline process in which the company assigns the wrestlers to exclusively appear on a certain show, Steveson was drafted to the Raw brand, [81] which became effective October 22, 2021. [82] He made his first appearance in April 2022 at WrestleMania 38 Night 1, being introduced by Stephanie McMahon and, during the second night of the event, he confronted and performed a suplex on Chad Gable. He later appeared on the December 9, 2022, episode of SmackDown for Kurt Angle's birthday celebration. On the June 20, 2023, NXT special, Gold Rush, Steveson appeared in a backstage segment alongside Eddy Thorpe, giving him advice on how to beat Damon Kemp (Steveson's real life older brother). [10] Following this, Steveson was quietly moved to the NXT brand full-time, where he had his first match at NXT The Great American Bash against Baron Corbin. The match ended in a no contest after Corbin and Steveson threw each other over the announcers' desk. The match and its finish received heavy criticism from fans, who booed Steveson while cheering for Corbin, the heel. In September, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that Steveson was removed from the NXT roster, leaving his future with the company in question. [83] [84] The following month, Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative Shawn Michaels mentioned that there had been a scheduling issue and Steveson would be back when it worked for both parties. [85]

Steveson made his return on January 5, 2024, defeating Cedric Alexander in a dark match at SmackDown: New Year's Revolution. [86] However, on May 3, Steveson was among several NXT wrestlers and WWE Performance Center trainees who were released from their contract. [87]

Professional football career

On May 31, 2024, it was reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter that Steveson had signed a three-year deal with the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League and will play defensive line despite never playing football before. His first time putting on a pair of cleats was during his workout for the Bills. [88] On August 27, 2024, he was released by the Bills. [89]

Sexual assault allegations

On June 15, 2019, Steveson and a Minnesota teammate were arrested on suspicion of criminal sexual misconduct, and were subsequently suspended from all team activities. [90] In December, it was determined that they would not face criminal charges due to a lack of adequate evidence. When explaining the decision not to pursue charges, the county attorney also pointed to a lack of a law in Minnesota that would broaden discretion in charging sexual assaults against intoxicated victims. [91]

Freestyle record

Senior Freestyle Matches
Res.RecordOpponentScoreDateEventLocation
2023 US World Team Trials Gold medal icon.svg at 125 kg
Win40–6 Flag of the United States.svg Mason Parris 5–0June 10, 20232023 Final X Newark

Flag of the United States.svg Newark, New Jersey

Win39–6 Flag of the United States.svg Mason Parris 6–2
2023 US Open Gold medal icon.svg at 125 kg
Win38–6 Flag of the United States.svg Nick Gwiazdowski TF 10–0April 27, 20232023 US Open National Championships

Flag of the United States.svg New York City, New York

Win37–6 Flag of the United States.svg Mason Parris TF 11–1
Win36–6 Flag of the United States.svg Wyatt HendricksonTF 12–0
Win35–6 Flag of the United States.svg Malcolm AllenTF 10–0
2020 Summer Olympics Gold medal icon.svg at 125 kg
Win34–6 Flag of Georgia.svg Geno Petriashvili 10–8August 5–6, 2021 2020 Summer Olympics

Flag of Japan.svg Tokyo, Japan

Win33–6 Flag of Mongolia.svg Mönkhtöriin Lkhagvagerel 5–0
Win32–6 Flag of Turkey.svg Taha Akgül 8–0
Win31–6 Flag of Kyrgyzstan.svg Aiaal Lazarev TF 10–0
2021 Pan American Championships Gold medal icon.svg at 125 kg
Win30–6 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Aly BarghoutTF 10–0May 30, 2021 2021 Pan American Continental Championships Flag of Guatemala.svg Guatemala City, Guatemala
Win29–6 Flag of Mexico.svg Eduardo GarciaTF 10–0
Win28–6 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Aly BarghoutTF 10–0
Win27–6 Flag of Colombia.svg Santiago RestrepoTF 10–0
Win26–6 Flag of Guatemala.svg Christian ChajónTF 10–0
2020 US Olympic Team Trials Gold medal icon.svg at 125 kg
Win25–6 Flag of the United States.svg Nick Gwiazdowski 10–4April 2–3, 2021 2020 US Olympic Team Trials Flag of the United States.svg Fort Worth, Texas
Win24–6 Flag of the United States.svg Nick Gwiazdowski TF 10–0
Win23–6 Flag of the United States.svg Greg KerkvlietTF 11–0
Win22–6 Flag of the United States.svg Tanner HallTF 11–0
FloWrestling RTC Cup 6th at 125 kg
Win21–6 Flag of the United States.svg Jordan WoodTF 10–0December 4–5, 2020 FloWrestling RTC Cup

Flag of the United States.svg Austin, Texas

Win20–6 Flag of the United States.svg Nick Gwiazdowski 4–1
Win19–6 Flag of the United States.svg Trent HillgerTF 11–0September 17, 20202020 Beat The Streets

Flag of the United States.svg New York City, New York

2019 Bill Farrell Memorial Gold medal icon.svg at 125 kg
Win18–6 Flag of the United States.svg Dom Bradley4–1November 15–16, 20192019 Bill Farrell Memorial International

Flag of the United States.svg New York City, New York

Win17–6 Flag of the United States.svg Youssif Hemida7–3
Win16–6 Flag of the United States.svg AJ NevillsTF 10–0
Win15–6 Flag of the United States.svg Jeremy BentonTF 11–0
2019 Medved International Silver medal icon.svg at 125 kg
Loss14–6 Flag of Uzbekistan.svg Khasanboy Rakhimov TF 0–12August 9–11, 20192019 Alexander Medved Prizes Ranking Series

Flag of Belarus.svg Minsk, Belarus

Win14–5 Flag of the United States.svg Jordan WoodTF 10–0
Win13–5 Flag of Belarus.svg Aleksander KosenkovTF 10–0
2019 US World Team Trials Silver medal icon.svg at 125 kg
Loss12–5 Flag of the United States.svg Nick Gwiazdowski 3–3June 7–8, 2019 2019 Final X: Rutgers

Flag of the United States.svg New Brunswick, New Jersey

Loss12–4 Flag of the United States.svg Nick Gwiazdowski 4–4
Win12–3 Flag of the United States.svg Adam Coon 8–1May 17–19, 20192019 US World Team Trials Challenge Tournament

Flag of the United States.svg Raleigh, North Carolina

Win11–3 Flag of the United States.svg Adam Coon TF 13–3
Win10–3 Flag of the United States.svg Tony Nelson5–1
Win9–3 Flag of the United States.svg Dom Bradley7–3
Win8–3 Flag of the United States.svg Nick NevillsTF 10–0
2018 US World Team Trials 4th at 125 kg
Loss7–3 Flag of the United States.svg Tony Nelson4–4May 18–20, 20182018 US World Team Trials Challenge

Flag of the United States.svg Rochester, Minnesota

Win7–2 Flag of the United States.svg Dom Bradley5–4
Win6–2 Flag of the United States.svg Tanner HallTF 15–2
2018 US Open 4th at 125 kg
Loss5–2 Flag of the United States.svg Dom Bradley2–2April 24–28, 20182018 US Open Championships

Flag of the United States.svg Las Vegas, Nevada

Win5–1 Flag of the United States.svg Tanner HallTF 11–0
Win4–1 Flag of the United States.svg Mike Kosoy9–0
Win3–1 Flag of the United States.svg Zachery RoseberryTF 11–0
Loss2–1 Flag of the United States.svg Adam Coon TF 0–11
Win2–0 Flag of the United States.svg Shawn StreckTF 14–0
Win1–0 Flag of the United States.svg Dominic BalmerTF 10–0

NCAA record

NCAA Division I Matches
Res.RecordOpponentScoreDateEvent
Start of 2021–2022 Season (senior year)
End of 2020–2021 Season (junior year)
2021 NCAA Championships Gold medal icon.svg at 285 lbs
Win67–2Mason Parris8–4March 18–20, 2021 2021 NCAA Division I National Championships
Win66–2Tony CassioppiMD 16–6
Win65–2Greg Kerkvliet9–4
Win64–2Wyatt HendricksonTF 17–2
Win63–2Taye GhadialiFall
2021 Big Ten Conference Gold medal icon.svg at 285 lbs
Win62–2Mason ParrisMD 12–4March 6–7, 20212021 Big Ten Conference Championships
Win61–2Christian LanceINJ
Win60–2Tate OrndorffTF 19–4
Win59–2Jack HeyobTF 16–1February 21, 2021Northwestern - Minnesota Dual
Win58–2Peter ChristensenFallFebruary 12, 2021Minnesota - Wisconsin Dual
Win57–2Luke LuffmanFallFebruary 5, 2021Illinois - Minnesota Dual
Win56–2Boone McDermottTF 17–2January 31, 2021Minnesota - Rutgers Dual
Win55–2Jamarcus GrantTF 24–8Minnesota - Purdue Dual
Win54–2Tony CassioppiMD 14–6January 22, 2021Iowa - Minnesota Dual
Win53–2Brad WiltonTF 23–8January 16, 2021Minnesota - Michigan State Dual
Win52–2Connor BowesFallMaryland - Minnesota Dual
Win51–2Christian LanceTF 23–8January 8, 2021Minnesota - Nebraska Dual
Start of 2020–2021 Season (junior year)
End of 2019–2020 Season (sophomore year)
2020 Big Ten Championships Gold medal icon.svg at 285 lbs
Win50–2Mason Parris8–6March 7–8, 20202020 Big Ten Conference Championships
Win49–2Tony Cassioppi9–4
Win48–2Alex EspositoFall
Win47–2Christian LanceMD 19–7February 21, 2020Nebraska - Minnesota Dual
Win46–2Tony Cassioppi7–5February 15, 2020Minnesota - Iowa Dual
Win45–2Seth NevillsMD 13–5February 9, 2020Penn State - Minnesota Dual
Win44–2Brandon StreckFallFebruary 2, 2020Minnesota - Indiana Dual
Win43–2Thomas PenolaTF 25–10January 31, 2020Minnesota - Purdue Dual
Win42–2Gary TraubMD 13–2January 26, 2020Ohio State - Minnesota Dual
Win41–2Trent Hillger10–5January 10, 2020Wisconsin - Minnesota Dual
Win40–2Brendan FurmanMD 12–3December 30, 2019Minnesota - Cornell Dual
Win39–2Jonah NiesenbaumFallDuke - Minnesota Dual
Win38–2Will HilliardFallDecember 29, 2019Old Dominion - Minnesota Dual
Win37–2Jordan WoodMD 8–0Lehigh - Minnesota Dual
Win36–2Blake WoltersMD 21–8December 20, 2019Minnesota - South Dakota State Dual
Start of 2019–2020 Season (sophomore year)
End of 2018–2019 Season (freshman year)
2019 NCAA Championships Bronze medal icon.svg at 285 lbs
Win35–2Jordan Wood4–0March 21–23, 2019 2019 NCAA Division I National Championships
Win34–2Youssif Hemida6–2
Loss33–2 Anthony Cassar 3–4
Win33–1 Amar Dhesi MD 11–1
Win32–1Brian AndrewsMD 21–8
Win31–1Zack ParkerTF 18–3
2019 Big Ten Championships Silver medal icon.svg at 285 lbs
Loss30–1 Anthony Cassar 3–4March 9–10, 20192019 Big Ten Conference Championships
Win30–0Trent Hillger10–4
Win29–0Sam Stoll5–3
Win28–0Christian ColucciTF 21–6
Win27–0Fletcher MillerTF 20–5February 17, 2019Indiana - Minnesota Dual
Win26–0Youssif Hemida7–4February 10, 2019Maryland - Minnesota Dual
Win25–0David JensenMD 13–5February 8, 2019Minnesota - Nebraska Dual
Win24–0Jacob AvenMD 16–6February 3, 2019Purdue - Minnesota Dual
Win23–0Trent HillgerMD 11–2January 25, 2019Minnesota - Wisconsin Dual
Win22–0Conan Jennings9–5January 20, 2019Minnesota - Northwestern Dual
Win21–0Deuce RachalFallJanuary 18, 2019Minnesota - Illinois Dual
Win20–0Connor CorbinMD 12–3January 13, 2019Iowa - Minnesota Dual
Win19–0Christian ColucciTF 17–2January 6, 2019Rutgers - Minnesota Dual
Win18–0FFFFDecember 30, 2018Utah Valley - Minnesota Dual
Win17–0Spencer BertholdFallKent State - Minnesota Dual
Win16–0Cory Gillilland-DanielFallDecember 29, 2018Minnesota - North Carolina Dual
Win15–0Jordan Wood9–4Lehigh - Minnesota Dual
Win14–0FFFFDecember 8, 2018Minnesota - Fresno State Dual
2018 Cliff Keen Invitational Gold medal icon.svg at 285 lbs
Win13–0Tate OrndorffMD 12–4November 30 - December 1, 20182018 Cliff Keen Invitational
Win12–0Cory Daniel9–3
Win11–0AJ NevillsMD 15–6
Win10–0John BorstTF 18–3
Win9–0Luke ReadyFall
Win8–0Blake WoltersTF 18–3November 25, 2018South Dakota State - Minnesota Dual
Win7–0Derek White8–2November 18, 2018Oklahoma State - Minnesota Dual
2018 Bison Open Gold medal icon.svg at 285 lbs
Win6–0Tanner HallSV–1 3–1November 10, 20182018 Bison Open
Win5–0Daniel Stibral11–6
Win4–0Samuel ErckenbrackTF 20–5
2018 Daktronics Open Gold medal icon.svg at 285 lbs
Win3–0Rylee Streifel8–4November 4, 20182018 Daktronics Open
Win2–0Christian Lance12–6
Win1–0Austin EmmersonMD 15–6
Start of 2018-2019 Season (freshman year)

Stats

SeasonYearSchoolRankRecordWeight ClassBonus Wins
2022Senior University of Minnesota #1 (1st)17–0100.00%82.4%
2021Junior#1 (1st)17–0100.00%87.5%
2020Sophomore#1 [92] 15–0100.00%73.33%
2019Freshman#3 (3rd)35–294.59%55.26%
Career85-296.88%72.03%

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The Penn State Nittany Lions wrestling program is an intercollegiate varsity sport at Pennsylvania State University. The wrestling team is a competing member of the Big Ten Conference and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Nittany Lions compete at Rec Hall in State College, Pennsylvania, on the campus of Pennsylvania State University. The Nittany Lions have claimed 13 team National Championship titles and 55 individual NCAA National Championship titles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Taylor (wrestler, born 1990)</span> American wrestler (born 1990)

David Morris Taylor III is an American former freestyle and folkstyle wrestler who competed in the 74, 86 and 92-kilogram categories. He is the current head coach of the Oklahoma State Cowboys.

Spencer Richard Lee (born October 14, 1998) is an American freestyle and former folkstyle wrestler who competes at 57 kilograms. In freestyle, he earned a silver medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics, and is a two-time US National champion and three-time age-group world champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yianni Diakomihalis</span> American wrestler (born 1999)

John Michael "Yianni" Diakomihalis is an American freestyle and folkstyle wrestler who competes at 65 kilograms and 149 pounds. In freestyle, he is the 2022 World silver medalist, a two-time US World Team member, the 2020 Pan American champion, the 2019 US Open national champion, and a two-time age-group World champion. As a collegiate wrestler, Diakomihalis was a four-time NCAA Division I champion and four-time EIWA champion out of Cornell University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tamyra Mensah-Stock</span> American wrestler (born 1992)

Tamyra Mariama Mensah-Stock is an American professional wrestler and former amateur wrestler. She is signed to WWE, where she wrestles on the NXT brand under the name Tyra Mae Steele.

Mark John Hall II is an American former freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler who competed at 86 kilograms. As a folkstyle wrestler, Hall was an NCAA Division I National champion and a three-time Big Ten Conference champion out of the Pennsylvania State University. As a freestyle wrestler, Hall was the 2021 US Open National champion, 2018 Pan American Continental champion, a two–time Junior World Champion and a Cadet World Champion.

Anthony Cassar is an American freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler. He was an NCAA Division I champion and a Big Ten Conference champion at Penn State University, and a NJSIAA title holder as a high schooler.

Vitali Arujau is an American freestyle and former folkstyle wrestler who competes at 61 kilograms. In freestyle, he was the 2023 World Champion, Pan American champion and US National champion.

Alec William Pantaleo is an American freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler who competes at 70 kilograms. In freestyle, he is the defending U.S. Open champion, was the 2021 Pan American Continental champion, claimed the 2021 Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series and the 2021 Poland Open titles, earned silver and bronze medals at the U.S. Open, and was a 2019 U23 U.S. team member. As a folkstyle wrestler, Pantaleo was a three-time NCAA DI All-American and a Big Ten Conference champion out of the University of Michigan.

Mason Mark Parris is an American freestyle and folkstyle wrestler who competes at 125 kilograms. Parris is a 2019 U20 World champion, and a 2023 Pan American Games gold medalist. He represented the United States at the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Robert Steveson Jr. is an American professional wrestler known in his time in the WWE under the ring name Damon Kemp. He is a former collegiate wrestler who competed at the University of Minnesota, where he is a former National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) qualifier. Steveson is the older brother of Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson.

Daniel Gregory Clifton Kerkvliet Jr. is an American freestyle and folkstyle wrestler who competes internationally at 125 kilograms and collegiately at 285 pounds. In folkstyle, Kerkvliet wrestles for the Penn State Nittany Lions and was the 2024 NCAA champion at 285 pounds. In freestyle, Kerkvliet is a Cadet World Champion at 100 kg.

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