Minnesota Golden Gophers heavyweight Gable Steveson capped off his victory tour on Saturday night, defending his NCAA heavyweight championship and leaving his shoes on the mat in his final collegiate match.
The Apple Valley native battled Arizona State’s Cohlton Schultz in the championship match. Despite giving up over 20 pounds, Steveson snapped Schultz down to the mat in the opening seconds for a lead he would not lose.
After Steveson scored another takedown late in the first period, he established a 4-1 advantage. With another takedown in the second, Steveson was able to cruise to a 6-2 victory and become the sixth wrestler in Gopher history to win two national championships.
Steveson celebrated the victory by hugging his coaches and giving the crowd his signature backflip. Once he was done, Steveson took his shoes off and left them in the center of the mat, signaling the end of his collegiate career.
One last flip for the fans.. pic.twitter.com/85bbqyOAPA
— Minnesota Wrestling (@GopherWrestling) March 20, 2022
— Minnesota Wrestling (@GopherWrestling) March 20, 2022
The 2020 Olympic gold medalist will now make his way to World Wrestling Entertainment. Steveson was drafted to Monday Night Raw in last October’s WWE Draft but has yet to make his debut on television.
When he does, Steveson will follow in the footsteps of former Gophers Vern Gagne, Shelton Benjamin and current WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar.
Congratulations to #WWERaw's @GableSteveson on winning the NCAA Wrestling Championship for a second year in a row!https://t.co/2iQ0etfKPe
— WWE (@WWE) March 20, 2022
Steveson finishes his career with an 89-2 record, including wins in his final 52 matches. With back-to-back-to-back undefeated seasons and two national titles, Steveson goes down as one of the greatest Gopher wrestlers of all-time.
