Gophers wrestler Gable Steveson makes his final home match his 63rd victory in a row

Gable Steveson, making the final home appearance of his Gophers wrestling career, fired up the Maturi Pavilion crowd Friday night, pacing around the mat with his arms outstretched during the introductions for the dual meet against Iowa.

The sellout crowd of 5,307 responded to the Olympic gold medalist and two-time NCAA heavyweight champion’s request for noise, bringing a roar and a festive atmosphere to the border rivalry.

And two hours later, when it was time for Steveson to step on the home mat for the final time, the former Apple Valley High School star didn’t disappoint.

Steveson ran his winning streak to 63 consecutive matches with a 19-3 technical fall over No. 11 Ben Kueter. Steveson needed only 2 minutes, 48 seconds to rack up four takedowns and seven near-fall points against the Hawkeyes heavyweight and football linebacker.

“It was just a great experience,” Steveson said. “I’m glad everybody showed up. … I’m glad I could go out with an undefeated home record and do my thing."

What Steveson couldn’t do was give the sixth-ranked Gophers a team win against the third-ranked Hawkeyes. By winning six of the first seven matches and seven of 10 overall, Iowa secured a 23-11 victory. In each of their wins, the Hawkeyes scored the first takedown.

“That was our message to the guys — we’ve got to get on the board earlier," Gophers coach Brandon Eggum said. “That’s what we’ve done a really good job of this year — is attacking early and scoring points.’’

The loss was the 11th in a row for the Gophers (10-2, 6-2 Big Ten) against the Hawkeyes (12-1, 6-1). Minnesota finished its regular season and now prepares for the Big Ten championships on March 8-9 at Northwestern, followed by the NCAA championships on March 20-22 in Philadelphia.

The Gophers’ path to victory in the dual would be to win the four matches in which they were favored, pull an upset and secure bonus points. Instead, Iowa pulled off an upset at 125 pounds when No. 26-ranked Joey Cruz edged No. 13 Cooper Flynn 7-4 on a takedown in sudden victory after Flynn had tied it late with a third-period takedown.

At 133, Iowa’s third-ranked Drake Ayala — an NCAA runner-up last year — stretched the Hawkeyes’ team lead to 6-0 with a 9-5 win over Minnesota’s 19th-ranked Tyler Wells.

Minnesota’s eighth-ranked Vance VomBaur at 141 ran his record to 20-3 with a 14-10 decision over unranked Cullan Schriever. But Iowa’s next three wrestlers — Kyle Parco at 149, Jacori Teemer at 157 and Michael Caliendo at 165 – were ranked third, third and second respectively, and each won to stretch the Hawkeyes’ lead to 17-3.

Iowa’s 11th-ranked 174-pounder Patrick Kennedy, a senior from Kasson-Mantorville, Minn., scored an 8-4 decision over No. 22 Clayton Whiting, bumping the Hawkeyes’ lead to 20-3.

The marquee matchup of the dual came at 184 with the Gophers’ fourth-ranked Max McEnelly facing No. 8 Gabe Arnold. It didn’t disappoint as McEnelly scored a takedown 37 seconds into the first sudden victory period to win 4-1 and stay unbeaten at 18-0. The win cut Iowa’s team lead to 20-6.

“It’s hard to open a guy like that when he’s super good defensively,” McEnelly said. “But you’ve just got to keep on it, keep on the attack.”

At 197, Iowa’s top-ranked Stephen Buchanan edged No. 8 Isaiah Salazar 5-1 with a late takedown.

Then came Steveson, who put an exclamation point on his evening.

“Just coming back was a great thing for the team, and I feel like they believed in it. I believed in it, too,” Steveson said. “But I’ve got two more tournaments, and I’m going to bring the hammer.”