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Minnesota Wrestling: Gable Steveson Named Big Ten Male Athlete of the Year
June 29, 2022He is just the 5th male Gopher to win the award
the Big Ten announced that Minnesota Gophers wrestler Gable Steveson was named the 2021-22 Big Ten Jesse Owens Male Athlete of the Year. He becomes just the fifth Gopher men’s athlete to win the honor in the 41 year history of the award.
Steveson was automatic in the 2022 season. He captured his third-straight undefeated season with an 18-0 record and won his second NCAA title. Steveson also became a three-time Big Ten champion this past season and was named the Dan Hodge Trophy winner for the second time in his career, becoming the first heavyweight in the history of collegiate wrestling to earn the prestigious honor multiple times.
Steveson now joins John Roethlisberger (gymnastics, 1993), Jordan Leopold (hockey, 2002), Damion Hahn (wrestling, 2004), and Cole Konrad (wrestling, 2007) as the other Gopher men to win the award. He is also the 13th wrestler to ever win the award, as Minnesota joins Iowa for the most Big Ten Male Athlete of the Year award recipients among conference wrestling programs with three (3).
Gable’s collegiate career was presumed over after his NCAA title, but rumors have abounded that he may try and come back and wrestle a shortened season concentrating on high profile matchups and tournaments for Minnesota in 2023 and taking advantage of the NIL deal he signed with the WWE last year. Nothing official has been announced as of yet, but if he did decide to come back for his final year of eligibility and a change to win a 3rd NCAA title, Minnesota fans would love it."
Other Gable Steveson Career Highlights:
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
- 2021 Tokyo Olympic gold medalist at 125-kilograms
- Program's sixth 2x NCAA Champion (2021, 2022)
- Program's eight 3x Big Ten Champion (2020, 2021, 2022)
- Only the fifth multiple-time Hodge Trophy winner in collegiate wrestling history, first heavyweight to win the award twice (2021, 2022)
- Best winning percentage in Gopher Wrestling history with an 85-2 career record (.977)
- Perfect 48-0 in dual competition, with a 36-0 mark against Big Ten opponents
- Went 18-0 as a senior for his third-straight undefeated season
- 2022 Dan Hodge Trophy winner, earning 49 of the 59 first-place votes
- 2022 NCAA heavyweight champion, defeating #2 Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) 6-2 in the finals
- Went 5-0 at the NCAA Championships, with two technical falls
- Carried a 100% bonus rate until the NCAA quarterfinals, where he defeated Northwestern's Lucas Davison 10-5
- Became the program's eighth 3x Big Ten Champion on March 6, going 3-0 on the tournament.
- Named Big Ten Wrestler of the Year following the conclusion of Big Ten Championships
- 16 of his 18 wins on the year came against ranked opponents
- Went a perfect 10-0 in dual competition on the season, with an 8-0 record versus the Big Ten
- Earned first pin of the year on Feb. 4, getting the fall in 1:16 over #16 Luke Luffman
- Earned a major decision victory over #4 Mason Parris on Jan. 28, earning eight takedowns in the 2021 NCAA finals rematch over Parris
- Defeated #8 Trent Hillger by 23-9 major decision on Jan. 16 against Wisconsin
- Beat No. 14 Lucas Davison at home on Jan. 9 against Northwestern
- Earned first conference win of the season on Jan. 7 against No. 6 Tony Cassioppi via 17-7 major decision, and received standing ovation from Carver-Hawkeye crowd following the win
- Won via 22-6 technical fall over No. 22 A.J. Nevills in South Dakota State dual on Nov. 28
- Defeated No. 28 Austin Surber via 20-7 decision in season debut vs. Oklahoma State
- Won the Olympic Gold Medal during the offseason, defeating Geno Petriashvili (Georgia) in the Olympic finals with a winning takedown as time expired.
Minnesota Wrestling: Gable Steveson Named Big Ten Male Athlete of the Year
He is just the 5th male Gopher to win the award
www.thedailygopher.com
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