Heading into Saturday’s NCAA Wrestling Championship, it was widely assumed that Minnesota collegiate wrestler Gable Stevenson would walk through the competition at the Heavyweight division. But instead, we got perhaps the biggest upset in the history of the sport, which will be remembered for years to come.
Stevenson came into the tournament with perhaps the greatest resume of any collegiate wrestler in recent memory In folkstyle wrestling, Steveson has won a Division 1 National Championship two times, along with being named a Big Ten Conference champion four times and being named an All-American five times.
In freestyle wrestling, his accolades are perhaps even more impressive, walking away with a gold medal in the event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Naturally, Stevenson was largely assumed to be a shoo-in to come away with his third National Championship. However, Oklahoma State’s Wyatt Hendrickson had different plans.
Hendrickson, the No. 2 seed in the Heavyweight bracket, was able to reach the National Championship match with Stevenson and was shockingly able to pull off the upset to claim his first National Championship.
It’s obviously a crushing way for Stevenson, a senior in his final year of eligibility, to end what was truly a legendary collegiate wrestling career. In his career, he recorded a career record of 102-3 over the course of his time in college.
As for what is potentially next for Stevenson, that is certainly in question, considering on top of being an elite-level collegiate wrestler, he has also previously pursued a career in both the WWE and in the NFL as a defensive lineman.
Regardless, this moment will certainly be something that wrestling fans will remember for quite some time.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.