Last Friday was an emotional affair for Gable Steveson as the Gophers faced off against Iowa. Since his departure to WWE and the NFL, Steveson has been back in Minnesota to have his final run in the NCAA. And while there is still time left for him to elevate the Gophers further, Friday was the last time Steveson came out to the homely cheers of the Maturi Pavilion. And he did not disappoint. Facing off against the No. 11-ranked Ben Kueter, Steveson made short work of his opponent.

Putting on an impressive show, the Olympic gold medalist secured a 19-3 technical fall victory. But his impressive time of 2:48 minutes to reach this victory was even more impressive. This was enough for Steveson to land seven near falls and four takedowns. Stretching his undefeated run to 63 games now, Steveson is looking like a true champion.

Thus, when the Gophers’ best prospect is in such phenomenal form, there is no doubt that they will be at the top. Right? Well, not really. As it turns out, apart from Gable Steveson, there have been no mentionable performances from his teammates. In fact, in the match against Iowa, Minnesota lost the game altogether despite such a great performance from the former Apple Valley High School star.

After the recent InterMat rankings were released, the sorry state of the Minnesota Golden Gophers became more evident. Aiming for the NCAA title, the rankings did not look promising at all. Gophers had representatives for all the 10 weight classes. However, none of them were in the top 3 at the moment. The only exception is, of course, Gable Steveson, who is sitting pretty at number 1 in the heavyweight division.

The likes of Cooper Flynn, Tyler Wells, Drew Roberts, and Clayton Whiting are all out of the top 10 ranks. Andrew Sparks, however, looks promising, as he is the closest to entering the top 10. Sparks, at 165lbs, is ranked at 11. Speaking about the wrestlers who have made it to the top 10, Vance Vombaur, Tommy Askey, and Isaiah Salazar are all ranked 8th in their respective divisions.

The second-best wrestler in terms of rankings remains Max McEnelly. Ranked 4th in the 184 lbs category, McEnelly has the potential to enter the top 3 and eventually try and secure first place. Thus, it is quite evident that, apart from Gable Steveson, the Minnesota Golden Gophers are lacking significantly in terms of quality talent.

Gable Steveson warns his opponents as he lays down plans

However, just like a true champion, Steveson is not ready to give up so soon. Instead, he is focusing on his next goals. With it, he also has a stern message for his opponents. Gable Steveson still has quite a lot of time left for his NCAA show. Next up on his radar will be the Big Ten Championships. Scheduled for March 8-9, Steveson will surely look to seal his fourth conference title in all. 

While he has not lost a single match since 2019, Steveson will face stiff competition from Penn State senior Greg Kerkvliet. Much like Steveson, Kerkvliet too has an undefeated record of 15-0 at the moment. Interestingly, Steveson had already met with him and had beaten him twice before. The duo initially faced off in 2021 and then in 2022, where on both occasions, Kirkvliet failed to make a mark. 

Speaking to the Star Tribune, Gable Steveson also had a stern warning for his upcoming opponents. “Just coming back was a great thing for the team, and I feel like they believed in it. I believed in it, too… I’ve got two more tournaments, and I’m going to bring the hammer.” Thus, it is quite evident that Gable Steveson is oozing confidence at the moment. Now it remains to be seen how he performs in the future.