Gable Steveson wins fourth Big Ten wrestling title as Gophers finish fourth

Gophers heavyweight Gable Steveson became a four-time Big Ten wrestling champion Sunday, beating Penn State’s Greg Kerkvliet 10-3 in Evanston, Ill.

Steveson won his 66th consecutive match, handing Kerkvliet — a former Simley standout, the reigning NCAA champion and a four-time All-American — his first loss of the season. Steveson, who led 3-0 after the first period and 6-2 after the second, also beat Kerkvliet in the 2021 NCAA quarterfinals and in the 2022 NCAA semifinals en route to back-to-back championships.

Steveson became the first heavyweight in Big Ten history to win four titles, and he became just the 19th wrestler to accomplish the feat overall. The only other Gopher to do so was Verne Gagne (1944, 1947-49).

Steveson’s victory helped the Gophers finish in fourth place with 108½ points, their best Big Ten finish since 2019. Penn State, which had five individual champions, won its third consecutive title with 181½ points, followed by Nebraska at 137 and Iowa at 112.

Two other Gophers lost in the finals, Max McEnelly at 184 pounds and Vance VomBaur at 141.

McEnelly lost 8-5 to Penn State’s Carter Starocci in overtime, his first loss of the season. Starocci, a four-time NCAA champion who hasn’t lost since 2021, won his third Big Ten title.

VomBaur was pinned by third-seeded Brock Hardy of Nebraska in 1:59. On Saturday, the fourth-seeded VomBaur beat top-seeded Beau Bartlett of Penn State 5-3 in the semifinals, Bartlett’s first loss of the year.

For the Gophers, Andrew Sparks (165) and Isaiah Salazar (197) each took fourth place, Tommy Askey earned fifth at 157, Cooper Flynn (125) and Clayton Whiting (174) each placed seventh, and Drew Roberts (149) took ninth.

The NCAA championships are March 20-22 in Philadelphia.