Steveson repeats as NCAA champ, retires
DETROIT – Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson of Minnesota successfully defended his heavyweight title in his final college match, Cornell’s Yianni Diakomihalis became a three-time champion and Penn State completed a dominating run through the NCAA tournament Saturday night.
Penn State wrapped up its ninth team title in 11 years hours before the finals, then had five of its wrestlers win individual championships. Michigan was second for its highest team finish in program history, and 2021 champion Iowa was third.
The top-seeded Steveson, who took gold in Tokyo last summer, won 6-2 over Arizona State’s second-seeded Cohlton Schultz. Steveson took control from the outset, scoring a takedown in the opening seconds.
After the match, he flexed to the crowd three times. Fans at Little Caesars Arena continued to cheer, urging him to do his trademark victory backflip. He executed it to perfection and flexed again.
Then he went to the center of the mat, sat down and took off his shoes and left them there, the time-honored practice of wrestlers signaling their retirement. Steveson won his last 54 matches.
“I’m done,” he said in a post-match ESPN interview. “I did what I came to do. I was going to win the Olympic gold and win the national tournament again.”
Steveson’s retirement from amateur wrestling was expected. He has said he’s interested in becoming a professional wrestler and that he will attend WrestleMania in April, though he would not say if he’ll be involved in any way.
“I hope I gain many WWE fans when I take the next step,” he said.
Diakomihalis was never seriously threatened over his five matches, winning the 149-pound title with an 11-5 decision over Nebraska’s 10th-seeded Ridge Lovett. He scored five takedowns against Lovett after beating him in sudden victory in their previous meeting this season.
“I’m feeling good, my feet are moving, and he didn’t get in a position where he could do anything,” Diakomihalis said. “Good execution by coaches, good execution by me, so I thank them for that.”
Diakomihalis won titles at 141 pounds in 2018 and ‘19 but was out of college wrestling the past two years. He took an Olympic redshirt in 2020 and couldn’t compete last year after the Ivy League shut down sports because of the pandemic.
Diakomihalis wrestled at the international level in the interim, then extended his college win streak to 75 matches after going 28-0. He is 94-1 as a collegian, including 15-0 in the NCAA Tournament.
The junior from Rochester, New York, said he planned to return next year to try to join Kyle Dake as Cornell’s only four-time champions.
Heavyweight Greg Kerkvliet wrapped up the Nittany Lions’ 10th NCAA team title with a 6-1 decision over Mason Parris of Michigan in the consolation semifinals.
The Nittany Lions finished with 131.5 points. Michigan had 95 and Iowa 74.