Every high school championship for which he competed, he won. The same was true in college, riding a dominant unbeaten streak through his final year, the inevitability of his final conquest just a forgone conclusion. He had no particular sense that anyone could derail his run until he opened a Chicago newspaper to see the headline, “I Came Here to Beat Dan Gable.”

That was Gable’s first sense that someone was on the hunt specifically for him, and he marveled at, and was unnerved by, the audacity. Successful, at 30-1, though relatively obscure, Larry Owings of the University of Washington had dropped two weight classes for the 1970 NCAA Championships. His only goal–to run down the most successful wrestler in history (go here, for a great re-visit of the event by Albert Chen).

Gable is still angry at himself 45 years later that he never saw it coming until it was too late, that the only loss of his career was one he didn’t guard against.

Does Gable have any words of wisdom for Ohio State’s Logan Stieber who this year attempts a similar journey? (Gable was not allowed to compete for high school and collegiate championships as a freshman, and Stieber has lost a few regular season matches, but otherwise their championship distinctions are identical.) “I would tell Logan to just keep working, and grinding. Don’t get distracted, prepare for every match as if it is the biggest match you have ever had. I let myself get distracted for the biggest match of my life. The loss made me a better wrestler, but I beat myself up every day that I did not go into that match free of doubt and ready to win.”

There is a wrestler out there who hopes to end Stieber’s historic run and they meet this Sunday in the dual meet national championship tourney in Pennsylvania. This match could be a preview of a potential St. Louis showdown in March for the NCAA individual title (though Devin Carter of Virginia Tech could have something to say about that). Mitchell Port of tiny in size, though large in wrestling stature Edinboro State. One difference between Gable/Owings and Stieber/Port is that Logan Stieber and the entire wrestling world is aware of the dangerous potential of second ranked Port. Port lost in somewhat of a surprise in the 2014 NCAA Championships, rallying to finish third behind Stieber and runner-up Carter.

Stieber and Port have met once before but never in a collegiate match. Still, there is some meaningful history between the two. In Des Moines, both Logan and brother Hunter seemed headed to 2013 NCAA title bout in their respective weight classes. Logan had just won his semi-final match at 133 pounds and Hunter was up 6-2 over Port in their semi-final match at 141. Port rallied to win, thanks in part to what Hunter thinks might have been a mistake in “cutting” Port, allowing him to earn a fateful one point escape. Port went on to place second to Kendric Maple of Oklahoma.

Logan Stieber does not strike one as a revenge minded person, but that little bit of personal history cannot help but add to the flavor of this upcoming gem.

There is another side note that has to be taken into account. Stieber has been coping with illness–he sat out a trip to Rutgers after a surprisingly narrow win at home over unranked Nick Lawrence of Purdue. It had been the only match to that point during this season in which Stieber did not win by at least a major decision (i.e., a margin of victory of at least 8 points). The next week Stieber was methodically taking apart highly regarded Minnesota’s Nick Dardanes before fading badly in the third period. Stieber hung on for a razor thin 10-9 win. While it is true Dardanes has a history of hanging tough against Stieber after strong Stieber starts, still for a guy who can go wire to wire with a full tank, it was obvious Stieber’s conditioning was badly lagging, due most certainly from illness. While he seems completely healthy now, there is some question as to whether his conditioning can be up to peak level in just one week.

Mitchell Port, much like Stieber, is a disciplined, invested, hardworking planner who takes each match as it comes and who respects his opponent every time out. There is no real sense Port is actually chasing Stieber–it is doubtful he would change weight classes if he needed just to match up with Stieber. Different from Owings, Port is chasing his own dream not a man in search of history. If Logan Stieber is standing in the way, so be it. But regardless of who and what is being chased, their meet-up on Sunday has all the drama and potential one could want in a marquee match-up.

My post on OSU Athletics about Ammon Butcher’s triumph over tragedy.

USA Wrestling conducted its World Team Trials (“WTT”) in Madison, WI May 31 and June 1, 2014. It may help to point out a few things about what was at stake and what is still at stake:
• The WTT is conducted each year to determine the US Wrestling Team to compete in that year’s World Championship. The US team is comprised of its best men’s and women’s freestyle wrestlers and the men’s greco roman wrestlers;
• Sometime prior to the WTT, USA Wrestling conducts its national championship, the US Open, which was held in Las Vegas in April. At the WTT the top eight or nine challengers, mostly as determined from the US Open finish, vie in a “challenge tournament”. The Open winner does not participate in the challenge tournament but instead meets its winner in a best of three round in the evening. That winner then becomes the WTT representative;
• The top three finishers at the WTT become members of the National Team which provides training and global competition opportunities, as well as a stipend—so a top three placement at the WTT is a very coveted spot;
• When wrestling was reinstated in the Olympics, the number of freestyle weight classes was reduced from eight to six. However, eight weight classes (slightly reconfigured from previous years) are still contested in non-Olympic events. The two weight classes omitted from the Olympics are 61 kilos (134.2 pounds) and 70 kilos (154 pounds). For 2014, a non-Olympic year, USA Wrestling decided to conduct the WTT in two phases. Phase I in Madison, contested the men’s and women’s Olympic freestyle weights. Phase II will contest the two non-Olympic freestyle weights in Fargo, ND in late July.

With that as background, let’s take a look at the competition in Madison, starting with the two former Buckeyes who competed. JD Bergman, who trains at the Ohio RTC is a two time and defending 2013 WTT member. JD ended up finishing third, which kept him a spot on the National Team, but more importantly, there seems to be little separation at the top. As he approaches his 30s, JD seems is at the top of his game. Although injuries have plagued JD most of his career, in the last two years he has completely revamped his dietary and training regimen (he now writes a health blog called TRUEhealth at socialcolumbus.com). He has not had a serious injury for a few years now, so his hopes of making the 2016 Olympic team remain high.

JD is one of the strongest and most athletic competitors at 97 kilos (213.4 pounds). He tends to get in trouble mainly when the momentum of his own aggression is used against him, as we saw most spectacularly in last year’s World Championships when he got pinned on a failed double leg in a match he had been dominating. Dramatic swings in fortune are part of the danger at the heavier weights where moves tend to be higher risk, higher reward. Attention to the exposure JD creates for himself from his own initiative, and how to avoid or counter the response would seem to be among the most important things for JD to work on. The pressure of not competing in the World Championships may be the best thing that could happen as JD works out the kinks to prepare for his ultimate goal as an Olympic team member in 2016.

Reece Humphrey is a very interesting story. Like Bergman, Humphrey is a two time and 2013 defending WTT member. Reece is a wrestler caught in the middle as a result of the cutback in weight classes. For years he competed in the prior 60 kilos, which has been abandoned altogether. Of course the non-Olympic weight of 61 kilos would be a natural for Reece, but like Bergman, his sights are set on Rio de Janeiro in 2016. In preparation, Humphrey decided to jump up the almost nine pounds to compete in the US Open at the Olympic 65 kilo (143 pounds) class. Nine pounds may not sound like a lot, but at the national level, those nine extra pounds are packed with solid muscle, so typically there is a meaningful difference in size that can only be overcome by a massive weight training program above and beyond the crazy lifting these guys already do.

In the US Open that showed a bit. Humphrey competed very well but was beaten fairly easily by current WTT member Brent Metcalf. While Humphrey placed a disappointing fourth in Madison, it seemed as if he has closed the gap very quickly on his new larger adversaries. He crushed, really, his nemesis from 2012, Coleman Scott, and took WTT runner-up Jordan Oliver to the very end (actually seemed to have it won)—the result could have gone either way. He was also victimized by a very last second surprise throw in the third place match.

Reece Humphrey faces a difficult choice. It really takes time to grow a larger body packed with muscle. If 2016 is his only goal, then perhaps he should abandon 61 kilos forever and use the extra three months to concentrate on closing the remaining gap with thee bigger 143 pounders. On the other hand, Reece is genuinely among the world’s very elite wrestlers at 61 kilos. He has the ability to make a World Finals and indeed to win a World gold, even if not an Olympic gold. Also approaching his thirties, although he is still an amazing wrestler who still completes some of the most dramatic throws anywhere—just ask Coleman Scott (see below)—2014 might be his very best opportunity to climb a World podium. And there is the issue of the stipend—if he competes at 61 kilos and places third or better, he gets a salary—right now as a fourth place finisher at 65 kilos, he does not—that last second flip by Frank Molinaro for third cost Reece–literally.

What you should expect is to see Reece Humphrey competing in late July in Fargo for a spot on the team at 61 kilos. That will somewhat shorten his time to get up to a true 65 kilos, but it would earn him a paid spot on the National Team, National Team training and competition and a chance to continue to work out with the elite 65 kilo wrestlers.

Now to ORTC as a whole. Last year, the ORTC claimed FIVE of the eight team spots: Angel Escobedo, Humphrey, Keith Gavin, Bergman and Tervel Dlagnev. This year only Dlagnev prevailed. While that must be disappointing, it should be noted that Escobedo was simply too hurt from an Open ankle injury to give it a realistic shot, Humphrey made the courageous decision to move up in class and Gavin and Bergman remained on the National Team. Also, presumably, after 2014, the team will include future stars Logan Stieber (who is now on international sabbatical as he attempts to walk into history if he can become only the fourth collegian to win four NCAA titles), Nate Tomasello, a red-shirt Buckeye freshman who won the US Open Jr. title (he lost to Iowa sophomore Thomas Gilman in the WTT Jr. finals), defending Junior World Champion and incoming Buckeye freshman Kyle Snyder, heavies Nick Tavanello, and incoming Buckeye Thomas Haines, Buckeye redshirt junior Josh Demas, and of course the incomparable Bo Jordan, Buckeye redshirt freshman. So don’t cry on ORTC.

Keith Gavin has to be the most concerned ORTC wrestler coming out of Madison. Not for any drop in Keith’s performance—he looked great. The problem is the meteoric, but not particularly surprising rise of Ed Ruth who has turned his attention to freestlye after winning three NCAA titles at Penn State. Aside from being a freakish athlete or maybe because of it, Ed Ruth is simply one of the smoothest, most skilled wrestlers on the planet. Assuming he stays healthy it is hard to see anyone catching Ruth after his breakaway in Madison.

On the other hand, the Bulgarian Texan Tervel Dlagnev was dominant, yet again at 125 kilos (275 lbs). D Lag is one of the top wrestlers in the world and it is really hard to see anyone challenging him for awhile. 2016 glory is a real possibility—it’s hard to find anyone better anywhere than the Tervelnator.

Some thoughts on some of the classes. The Iowa express that is Tony Ramos thundered into Madison trash talking and taking no prisoners at 57 kilos (125.4 lbs). While some expressed shock that Ramos walked away with the title, once one concedes that Escobedo simply was not healthy enough to defend, there was no reason not to expect Ramos to be in the mix. If Ramos can maintain himself at that weight (he won an NCAA title at 133), once Escobedo regains his health, these two could battle for years. Ramos is a bit of a ham and egger in that he doesn’t strike one as the most athletic wrestler, but that’s only a knock at the margin. He may be a bit of a Jack Russell terrier—strong, fierce, attacking and fearless, but he is also technically fantastic. Perhaps pugnacious and at times insufferable (some would say a lot like coach Tom Brands) he is still (also like his coach) great fun to watch. If wrestling had a dozen of him competing at the top levels it would be much more interesting to the general sports fan. So let’s hope for a long Ramos run to ignite a more general fire.

At 65 kilos, Brent Metcalf maintained his mastery, though by a less dominating measure than at the US Open. Jordan Oliver extended him in the finals and seemingly had him beat in match one of the best of three. But Metcalf is like Ramos—strong, tough and technically superior (without the bellicosity). Metcalf also has something else you actually rarely see. When Metcalf gets in trouble he hits this “crazy gear” that always seems to vault him out of trouble. Oliver, who is about as advanced and athletic as a wrestler can be, had Metcalf dead to rights only to see Metcalf spin out of trouble and earn a push out point himself. As Reece Humphrey reflects on 2016, he has to figure out Metcalf or there will be no 2016 to dream of.

74 kilos (162.8 lbs) has been a no man’s land recently for ORTC but on the horizon are guys like Demas and Jordan. But frankly, right now the weight class is a no-man’s land for anyone not named Kyle Dake, David Taylor (Ohio’s Paris St. Graham) or Jordan Burroughs. And frankly it is hard now to see Taylor catching Burroughs for the foreseeable future. Dake is out with a foot injury but when healthy he is the most likely guy to push Burroughs off his exalted podium. Olympic gold medalist Burroughs now is 84-1, the only blemish being a 4-4 loss on criteria earlier this year to American Nick Marable (who won the US Open at the non-Olympic 70 kilo weight).

The margin between Taylor and Burroughs would appear razor thin but in reality it is substantial. I am not saying David Taylor is not one of the very best wrestlers on the planet–he clearly is. But he has the bad fortune of competing at the same time that Kyle Dake, and especially Jordan Burroughs do. Burroughs and Taylor are technically very, very good. I even think Taylor has a noticeable edge—he really is the mad professor of technique. But scrambling does you little good in international freestyle if you are on the losing side of the takedown war—and against Burroughs, Taylor really is. Whether it is a direct shot or a deadly reshot to counter any adversary’s failed shot, there is not a living being better at getting the double leg than Jordan Burroughs is—a cobra might be just as fast and look pretty much the same—but I am guessing a cobra (which doesn’t have arms, you see), is good for no more than a single leg.

Taylor is no slouch himself at getting an ankle (including Burroughs ankles) but the fact is, Taylor cannot get takedown points on Burroughs yet Burroughs can get to Taylor regularly. So all Taylor’s scrambling superiority really gets him is a close score. He could stay on the defensive—by shooting actually—but even if he avoids the reshot on the unsuccessful attempt, he has not shown much ability to dominate the takedown. Until he does he will be confined to watching Dake and Burroughs duel it out for supremacy.

Keith Gavin is not going away at 86 kilos (189.2 lbs) and OSU Cowboy Clayton Foster had an amazingly successful World Cup in LA this past March, but I see Ed Ruth putting the same dominating finishing touches to his freestyle game that he did in college. I do not know if Vegas is taking odds on 2016 Olympic wrestling gold medalists, but I’ll be checking that out—hit me up if you know. Two years into the future is a long way to look in sports—but if I had to pick an emergent winner—and thus a dark horse—Big Ed is my man.

Speaking of dark horse, right now 197 seems pretty wide open. Bergman has lost nothing—he just needs to take his own advice and study more closely how he is losing matches he should be winning. Newly re-crowned WTT member Jake Varner is an Olympic gold medalist, but he is 0-4 against Bergman. There are newcomers, especially 2013 NCAA runner-up, Kent State’s Dustin Kilgore, newly minted NCAA champ J/Den Cox of Missouri, and more menacingly, current Jr. World champ Kyle Snyder, the Buckeye incoming freshman.

But I am disappointed not to see graduating Buckeye Nick Heflin (twitter handle @Thedarkhorse197) competing. Nick had jumped two weight classes to lose somewhat flukily to Cox in the 2014 NCAA 197 pound final (he lost by a fairly dubious stall call and then threw Cox for the winning takedown—unfortunately Nick got completely around Cox a small fraction of a second after time expired). One had the sense Nick was just hitting his stride. On the one hand, Nick’s defensive style on his feet does not translate well to international rules which are hard on stalling and which really require dominance from the feet. On the other hand—Nick is such a stud of an athlete, if he would just continue his development and shoot at will, he would win almost all of the resulting struggles (in fact, one could say that really is the reason for the seeming inconsistency for Bergman who goes for it—it is high risk/high stakes from your feet at 97 kilos, so you are going to win some and lose some—they all do at 97 kilos). The international game is one played out over a career. A loss is not nearly so big a deal as it is in college. Freed from the fear of a big loss which I think paralyzed Heflin from time to time in college, the international arena could actually be the perfect lab for Nick to grow and add the offensive piece he needs to become the champion he can be. I am hoping after the healing which NCAA runner-ups all seem to need and a little soul searching, Nick will realize that now is the moment to cherish the wrestling gift that will soon enough expire forever.

My wife–a Sooner by birth, but a San Diegan nearly all her life has cooked up these observations as good sport following me around to Buckeye events. Now she has gone to quite a few OSU football and basketball games with me, but hey, the glamour of wresting is hard to deny. I have not edited her draft one bit–except to correct the spelling of Stieber. So without further ado, here is Ms. Buffy:

The wife of a wrestler + the wife of a sports writer + the wife of an Ohio State University fan = me. For forty years, I danced along through life without being any of those things. Then fate bounced the love of my life, Garth, into the middle of my very feminine world. He promised to fulfill all of my dreams at an old, iconic romantic hotel right in the San Francisco Bay Area where he was living at the time. In our room without a view, which he reserved with his AAA discount, he announced, “Only the best for you, Honey!!”

It was cute. The little tongue-in-cheek humor for which he is infamous. The romantic getaway was a trick; as was the Ritz in Lake Tahoe. So were the VIP Seats at the Warriors games and that cool trip to the only NFL championship game that I have ever attended. Little did I know that he was a man with skeletons in his closet. He stole my heart before I knew that he flirted insatiately with a sport that would take me to the tundra of the upper Midwest at least a couple of times each winter.

Yes, Big 10 Wrestling and Fan Numero Uno have provided me many nights in hotels with indoor pools and free breakfasts; places with whole milk, unlimited waffles and canned peaches. I now know that I am capable of judging a hotel by whether the free parking is also close enough to a satellite entrance so I don’t freeze my fanny off getting to and from the car at 3:00 in the afternoon. Since not one of these luxurious homes away from home has ever had room service, I am especially partial to the ones with a sundry shop; also incredibly surprised that there is no cashier in there – it’s sort of on one’s honor to take their items to the front desk to pay for them.

Fan Numero Uno brought me love and happiness. He also brought me wine tastings at Applebees. Sometimes, on a super stroke of good karma, earned for going without complaining, I get upgraded to The Outback Steakhouse. That’s only if my lucky stars align, though, and we end up staying at a fancier-than-usual Hampton Inn that shares its parking lot with The Outback. I have learned to order just “red wine.” Sometimes they’ll say they have a Merlot. I have learned to order club soda instead of Perrier, and not fret over the replacement of my little lime slice with a big, fat, seedy lemon chunk.

Fan Numero Uno showed me what it meant to be swept off my feet, then recently schlepped my fanny right into Hooters at NCAA Championships because that was the best late night dining that Oklahoma City had to offer. The romance of the evening is memorialized on Twitter – me standing right between two Hooters girls.

Fan Numero Uno has made me work out in multiple college gyms across the country. Now, they are always one of the highlights of our trips because there is nothing more fun than being a 43-year old woman lifting weights with cute little college co-eds. However, I always feel like the poor little boys are literally thanking God that I’m not their cougar mom, wearing lululemon shorts and a sports bra in the gym. I keep forgetting where I am going, and never bring (actually, don’t own) Midwestern workout attire.

Despite the trickery, and even though I thought I’d have a life of kissing my husband on a beach or going to the ballet, I love my wrestling life with my G. I wish the sport made it a little more wife- or fan-friendly. I certainly appreciate the physical and mental limitations that these young men and women overcome to achieve their dreams, but good God could someone please invoke a little FUN for the spectators? As a sport it’s the most dramatic event I have ever seen but it is almost devoid of personal connection and entertainment. I literally have to appreciate wrestling for how hard I know it is; and I’ve come to know that by my G putting me into a Chicken Wing every now and then just for the heck of it.

My good marriage-sportsmanship has tested my endurance. I have watched so many wrestlebacks that I actually have favorite wrestlers. I hug them when I see them and call them “sweetie,” and tell their parents how well they did (even when they lose). I wear special OSU outfits and have my finals gray dress and scarlet heels. I namedrop at parties; forgetting that wrestling has not achieved the popularity that it could with a little music, some decent seating, and a bar. Yep, I act like everyone should know Reece Humphrey and JD Bergman. Who’s so ignorant to not know the gift that The Ohio State University received when it got the Stieber Brothers? Who wouldn’t want to tweet about Jason Welch or Nick Heflin? Who doesn’t understand how great The Ohio State University is poised to be in the upcoming years? And why can’t anyone appreciate how excited I am that the Big 10 Championships are in Columbus this year? Or why I don’t like Tony Ramos because he was rude to my little guy, Logan Stieber, last year (who subsequently crushed Tony Ramos on the mat). It’s only fun, though, because I am either cheering for a team or a particular wrestler. Honestly, even during semi-finals, if I am without connection to the individual or team competing, I simply put my head in Garth’s lap and take a little nap.

Snoozing doesn’t equal disrespect. At some events, (usually the USA Wrestling—college wrestling actually tries a little harder) by the time I get to the semifinals, I have probably stood on my feet for at least eight hours per day, over a day or two or three, trying to figure out when and where the bouts are of which we have an interest. If there are seats, I can’t see anyway because the big walls of men block my view. There has been no music or other entertainment. There is nothing to eat but chips, hot dogs, and pizza. I BYO Fresh Fruits and Nuts so I don’t starve. I have often contemplated BYO Wine, but who wants to be the only person among thousands drinking alone? That would be unbecoming of a lady.

I understand that the sport has inherently difficult obstacles. There are many worthy babies, boys and girls, young men and women, and men and women who must compete. However, I would like to make just three simple fan- and wife-friendly suggestions. Each would contribute to the overall experience of the non-wrestler, and/or the non-wife-, mother- or girlfriend-of-a wrestler. Implementing these little tweaks to the experience would allow people who don’t know the sport to enjoy it enough to return for more, and therefore come to appreciate it as it deserves.

(a) USA Wrestling, don’t have everyone wrestle at the same time. The NFL doesn’t play its games alongside the flag football kids, Pop Warner players, high school and college teams, and Powder Puff athletes. Yes, kids’ parents love to have a competition at which the champions compete. However, the refs judge too many bouts and make mistakes when it really matters. I met Hunter Stieber’s dad last weekend. He was screaming at the ref because the ref didn’t notice that his opponent had been choking him for almost a minute. The only folks who called it were his current coach, dad-former coach and brother, Logan. Have the stars attend the tournaments of the Littles as representatives of the sport, but don’t run a dozen or more tournaments over four days.

(b) Let the spectators watch the wrestlers to the beat of a little music. The NBA has entertainment right. It may be a bit much for the old-school wrestling crew, but there are points in time at a tournament that Eye of the Tiger would even be welcome. They started to do this in Iowa or Illinois (can’t remember which), and it made the first two days so much more lively. Then the die-hard fans complained, and they muted the arena. I immediately fell asleep.

(c) Include a snack bar of food that represents healthy nutrition – just what the coaches of our beloved wrestlers profess. Currently, unless I fly into the relevant college town with enough time to make myself a sack lunch, I am given the choice of chips, soda pop, pizza and/or hot dogs; sometimes nachos with fake cheese. Simple request: please include three choices: whole fruit (think, apples and oranges), protein or energy bars, and string cheese (lowfat). I could sustain myself several extra hours if I were not starving. I will reserve the bar request (at least at the non-college tournaments) after I get my snacks. No need to get ahead of myself, be misinterpreted, and end up with beer to accompany pizza or hot dogs.

(d) And borrowing from Coach Tom—help us out with some of the rules, especially in freestyle where the refs go behind a screen and consult Ouija boards to determine some moves—is it really that hard to tell us how you are scoring these things?

This past weekend, I watched two young men win junior national wrestling championships with respect and awe. Next year, both will wrestle under Tom Ryan’s tutelage at THE Ohio State University; a program that I have only watched grow boys into men by an obvious emphasis of perseverance, strength, discipline and dedication.

This past weekend, I watched Jason Welch (who actually went to Northwestern but is a California boy whose frenetic style of wrestling we both have come to love) beat Hunter Stieber, but before the bout even started, I said, “I feel like we are cheering for one son against another (and one had already been choked a couple of hours earlier).”

This past weekend, I watched Logan Stieber clobber a great big strong kid to get to third, and I knew that that was a big deal because he had been wresting folkstyle (which is what they do in high school and college) all year before his launch back into international freestyle competition a few weeks ago.

This past weekend, I watched two favorites, Reece Humphrey and JD Bergman, not perform as they expected; although, I was impressed at their performance, and happy to see them place without harm.

This past weekend, I saw two juniors win the national championship, and the same proud look on the faces of Tom Ryan and my G when they did. Wrestling is a sport that challenges the heart, body and mind in a snapshot of time. These two men (who I still think of as babies) will follow champions I’ve grown to know and love. Their names are Nate Tomasello and Kyle Snyder.

All of the wrestlers about whom Garth writes and for whom I cheer are our champions. May you all be blessed by the gifts wrestling offers; may you all understand your self-sacrifice and understand what it says for your character. Then, could you please ask the Powers that Be to consider how they could make the first couple of days of a tournament easier on a person like me?

The 2014 NCAA Wrestling Championships concluded with all the drama one can stand last night in Oklahoma City. But in the calm before the storm, the adjoining Oklahoma City Convention Center hosted a skills and drills clinic conducted by national level coaches and wrestlers. There, hundreds of miles from Columbus, essential members of the Ohio State wrestling family, past, present and future, assembled.

There was Jim Humphrey, a Buckeye great from the early 70s—B1G champion, world silver medalist, former national team coach (assisted by a young up and coming coach Dan Gable) and father of current national team member and Buckeye NCAA runner-up Reece Humphrey, also in attendance. There were people like Andy DiSabato—one of the founders of the great DiSabato Columbus wrestling family. And there was current Junior World champion and soon to be Buckeye Kyle Snyder. Various members of the family talked, reminisced and reveled in the rich heritage of Ohio wrestling.

By the end of the night, Buckeye wrestling would embrace the newest chapter in the family album which now enjoys its long overdue collective view from the top of collegiate wrestling.

Both Logan Stieber and Nick Heflin took the walk of champions through the smoke of the red corner, along the red carpet of Chesapeake Energy Arena and up to the raised platform to wrestle for a national championship in front of a national audience.

As expected, Stieber won his third national championship in his march to becoming only the fourth person in history to win four NCAA titles. His first championship was won on a contested no takedown ruling to Jordan Oliver of Oklahoma State and his second was won against feisty Tony Ramos of Iowa after a contested back point no call on Stieber. Both those wins occurred at 133 pounds.

In his first championship attempt at 141 pounds there would be no controversy or mystery. Facing a game Devin Carter of Virginia Tech who came back early from what seemed to be a season ending injury, Stieber was able to take Carter down at will, breezing to a 10-1 major victory. The win put the Buckeyes in sixth place to stay and provided a tonic to soothe the heartbreaking disappointment left over from Nick Heflin’s match.

The finals started at 174 pounds, which was pretty clever. That meant that not only would the finals conclude with the final collegiate bout for David Taylor of Penn State (via Ohio’s St. Paris Graham) at 167, but the night would start in Oklahoma City in a wild bedlam matchup between two former champions, Chris Perry of Oklahoma State and Andrew Howe of Oklahoma. That also meant 197 pound Nick Heflin would go before teammate Stieber.

Nick lost that match but years from now he can take comfort in a few things. True, his picture won’t be hung in Buckeye facilities as a national champion and true, he won’t be asked to stand at NCAA finals as a champion, but anyone familiar with the sport knows that anyone who has taken that champion’s walk to compete in the finals gets the same admiration as the winner, if not even a little more, for having reached that point to come up just short.

Nick will also take great pride at some point that he went down his way—executing the same template that had gotten him to that point. Surely Nick knew his strategy was as high with risk as it was with reward. His strategy of waiting for a mistake and angling for a close finish had only failed him once before in 2013-14. One could say it did not fail him this time either. Nick lost 2-1 with the difference being a stall point awarded after a warning that seemed to come way too early by an impatient referee, perhaps injecting his subjective judgment into a title fight. One could say Nick should have hit the urgency button sooner after the warning, but Nick in fact was able to manufacture the winning takedown throw. Unfortunately it was earned a micro-second after time expired, meaning Nick had thunderously thrown Missouri freshman J’Den Cox to the mat as a newly minted national champion.

And here is the joy and pain of wrestling. Viewed from a team perspective, Nick’s result would not have mattered—the Buckeyes would have finished sixth regardless of the outcome. But the disappointment of seeing Nick fall so painfully short is felt by every member of the Buckeye wrestling family.

This family is now enjoying its status as a national power. This status is overdue given Ohio’s preeminent status in the wrestling world. The world has been set right in this regard because of a coach who, like a corporate CEO embraces all aspects of his job, setting up a structure and enterprise that keeps Ohio talent in state and attracts the greatest talent out of state—such as incoming freshmen Snyder and Thomas Haines of Pennsylvania. He delegates coaching responsibilities to people like Lou Rosselli who insiders regard as one of the best wrestling minds in the nation.

CEO/Coach Ryan also made the same walk as Stieber and Heflin made last night only to come up as short as Nick did.

For the rest of his life, Nick Heflin will be revered and embraced by the wrestling world, but nowhere so fondly and respectfully as in heart of Ohio.

The Ohio State Wrestling Team advanced its two leaders to the NCAA Championship Finals tonight at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City (8 EDT, televised on ESPN). The Championship matches will start at 174 pounds, meaning Buckeye senior Nick Heflin will be the third match of the night at 197 and junior Logan Stieber will go for his third national title in the 141 pound class—which will be the seventh match of the night.

In a day with mixed team results, the duo capped off the night with strong personal performances propelling the team to fifth in the team standings. Unfortunately, no other Buckeye will place which has caused the Buckeyes to drift to seventh in today’s “medal round matches.” However, success in tonight’s finals will permit the Buckeyes to climb a little higher. Given how young the Buckeyes are this year and how much strength they sat out in red shirt years, a sixth place national finish is a phenomenal result—no check that—it is a fabulous success under any circumstances. Coach Ryan, after encouraging his Buckeyes to dig deep, expressed deep pride in the growth of the entire team and especially for guys like Johnni DiJulus and Nick Tavanello who fought hard, coming up just short in bids to become All Americans.

Stieber started the Buckeyes night off with another convincing win over Zain Retherford of Penn State who had upset Stieber in December in State College, dealing Stieber his only loss in over two years. As predicted, Stieber increased his performance over Retherford two weeks ago in the B1G championships. The score was the same 7-3 and the formula was much the same, but Stieber offered no opportunity to Retherford who looked helpless to make anything happen against Stieber.

As in the B1G, Stieber got an opening takedown (and a second) to go to the second period with a lead. With the choice of how to start, Stieber once again chose neutral, no doubt in deference to Retherford’s punishing leg ride. After Stieber’s third takedown of the night increased his lead to an effective 7-1 lead, the outcome was never in doubt. Retherford managed an escape but had to choose the down position in an effort to score points. Although Stieber did not put Retherford to his back as he did in the B1G, he did return the favor of a punishing ride, holding on until late in the third period. Retherford never got a chance for a ride. Perhaps deflated from the Stieber loss, Retherford lost in the wrestle backs, settling for fifth place this afternoon.

Tonight Stieber will face vaunted Devin Carter of Virginia Tech. Carter has beaten some very good wrestlers but injury had appeared to end his season. Healing quickly, he was cleared a few weeks ago to wrestle and responded by earning a fourth seed. His path to the final was made easier when No. 1 seed Mitchell Port of Edinboro was upset in the quarterfinals.

Nick Heflin had a tougher go at it, in certain respects, and the issue was in doubt until the end, but the match went Nick’s way all throughout and he avoided a mistake that would have cost him a title shot. Facing the eventual third place winner Scott Schiller of Minnesota for the third time, Nick parried all Schiller attempts, taking a 1-1 tie into overtime. Neither wrestler was cautious in the sudden death first minute from the neutral position. The shots were fast and furious and both wrestlers fought off serious shots. Nick appeared on the verge of a winning takedown a few times but Schiller fought his way out. But then Schiller had Heflin in an awkward catch that often leads to a capitulating crumple but Heflin’s incredible strength permitted him to straighten his back and resist the force being exerted by Schiller.

In the next two 30 second periods (which are not sudden death—I know it is called sudden victory but I like being a traditionalist in this instance), Nick kept ride out control resorting to a leg ride over the last few seconds. With Nick’s mid-period escape in the final stanza, he had earned the ticket all NCAA competitors in all sports covet.

Nick now faces national expert favorite J’Den Cox of Missouri—a freshman. Not only have most national experts picked Cox to be a national champion, but most had picked Iowa State’s Kyven Gadson to beat Heflin in the semis—a prediction that went awry when Schiller beat Gadson (a feat he repeated in the third place match). The under-appreciation of Heflin is not new—few predicted he would win the B1G, few predicted him to make the finals, and few think he will win. So all is well—Nick has the world right where he wants it.

As you might expect for two wrestlers in such different weight classes, the styles of the two are very different. Logan is a total takedown master who can use any variety of upper body moves or leg attacks to get his takedown. Nick is far more content to grind out his time on top looking for clear opportunities or mistakes. Logan also typically earns lots of back points even if he did not against Retherford last night. Nick can certainly lock up a mean cradle or other pin, but he tends to win his matches in a low point, methodical way.

But the similarities between the two speak to their success. Both are really at the very top of the strength pyramid for their classes. If on guard, their strength makes them unassailable, essentially negating the weapons their opponents might have from their feet. Indeed, both Retherford and Schiller made very successful leg attempts last night that Stieber and Heflin just “whizzered” themselves out of with little effort.

On a related point, their dominant physical strength lets each take calculated risks that would mean disaster for other wrestlers in the event of failure. But these two typically can just muscle their way out of trouble. Both seem to shoot extraordinary fear type adrenaline through their systems when put in trouble that also has helped in those rare times they have been put in danger.

But the thing that separates them so clearly is, and I am borrowing from Coach Ryan here—they own their stuff the way men do. They know their strengths and weaknesses and game plan the match in enforcement mode to ensure the match plays into their advantages. Physical strength is a big part of it, but a guy has to know what works well and what does not, must have a plan and work it, and must enforce the flow of events. That is probably the single biggest thing that separates them from others who have not reached this pinnacle.

So this is the great thing about wrestling—the team sport aspect is great fun and watching these young guys participating and growing in such an intense effort has been rewarding. Now that much of the team has retired, the excitement only really begins as two young men, born and bred in Ohio, go for their glory and the glory of anyone who roots for the team, who roots for the sport, or who roots for people who survive in the toughest of environments.