Gophers heavyweight Gable Steveson’s chance to win third NCAA title gets away

The Gophers’ Gable Steveson wanted to be known as the best collegiate heavyweight wrestler ever. Instead, he lost in what will go down as one of the biggest upsets in college wrestling history Saturday night at the NCAA championships in Philadelphia.

Oklahoma State’s Wyatt Hendrickson scored a takedown with 20 seconds left in the third period of their championship match and held off Steveson the rest of the way, winning a 5-4 decision and denying Steveson his third national title.

Steveson, an Olympic gold medalist and former Apple Valley prep star who won NCAA titles in 2021 and ′22, saw his 70-match winning streak end after suffering his first loss since the 2019 NCAA semifinals.

“I told myself, ‘I know I can do this,’ ” Hendrickson said in a post-match interview on ESPN. “God gifted me. All week I’ve been looking at David and Goliath, and no one thought David could take down Goliath. But I did.”

Steveson led 3-1 after one period and 4-2 after getting an escape to start the third. But Hendrickson got in deep on a single-leg shot, ran around Steveson, secured the takedown and finished the upset.

After taking the lead, Hendrickson was confident he would win. “I’m thinking, ‘I’m the national champion. I don’t care what I do the next 15 seconds, I’m winning this tournament, baby!’ ” he said.

Steveson was away from collegiate wrestling in 2023 and ′24 as he pursued a pro wrestling career and then spent last summer in training camp with the Buffalo Bills. The 24-year-old still had a year of eligibility remaining and returned to the Gophers, helping them tie for fifth place in the team standings. Steveson finished the season 18-1 and his Minnesota career 103-3. Hendrickson, who lost 18-2 to Steveson in the 2021 national tournament when he was with Air Force, was the only opponent to score a takedown on Steveson this season.

Gophers redshirt freshman 184-pounder Max McEnelly rebounded from his sudden-victory loss to defending national champion Parker Keckheisen of Northern Iowa in the semifinals by winning two matches Saturday to finish in third place.

McEnelly, the No. 3 seed, beat No. 4 Dustin Plott of Oklahoma State 6-5 in a thrilling third-place match. Plott led 3-0 in the third period (including a riding time point secured) before McEnelly scored a takedown with 41 seconds left. McEnelly conceded an escape for a 4-3 Plott lead. With 29 seconds left, McEnelly countered a shot by Plott and spun around for the decisive takedown.

In the consolation semifinals, McEnelly topped Maryland’s No. 8 seed Jaxon Smith 4-1, getting a takedown 12 seconds into the first sudden-victory session. The Waconia native finished his season with a 25-2 record with his only losses to Keckheisen and Penn State’s five-time national champion Carter Starocci, both in sudden victory.

When asked about his future in an ESPN post-match interview, McEnelly said, “National championship, Olympic championship, everything. I’m coming for it all.”

Gophers junior 141-pounder Vance VomBaur finished eighth for the second consecutive year, losing a 17-3 major decision to Iowa State’s Jacob Frost.

Led by Starocci, the first five-time NCAA Division I champ, Penn State clinched its fourth consecutive team championship and 12th in the past 14 years. The Nittany Lions finished with 177 points, breaking the record of 172.5 that they set last year. Penn State became the second team to have wrestlers in all 10 weight classes earn All-America honors, joining the 2001 Gophers. Nebraska was second at 117, followed by Oklahoma State (102.5), Iowa (81) and the Gophers and Ohio State (51.5 each) in the top five.

Penn State heavyweight Greg Kerkvliet, who won the 2024 NCAA title but lost to Hendrickson in the semifinals Friday, medically defaulted two matches Saturday because of an apparent knee injury. The former Simley High School standout finished sixth.

Championship matches (in chronological order)

184 pounds: (1) Carter Starocci, Penn State, dec. (2) Parker Keckeisen, Northern Iowa, 4-3.

125: (4) Vincent Robinson, N.C. State, dec. (7) Troy Spratley, Oklahoma State, 2-1, sv-2.

133: (1) Lucas Byrd, Illinois, dec. (2) Drake Ayala, Iowa, 3-2, sv-2.

141: (3) Jesse Mendez, Ohio State, dec. Brock Hardy, Nebraska, 11-9.

149: (2) Ridge Lovett, Nebraska, dec. (1) Caleb Henson, Virginia Tech, 1-0.

157: (3) Antrell Taylor, Nebraska, dec. (8) Joey Blaze, Purdue, 4-2.

165: (1) Mitchell Mesenbrink, Penn State, dec. (3) Mike Caliendo, Iowa, 8-2.

174: (3) Dean Hamiti, Oklahoma State, dec. (1) Keegan O’Toole, Missouri, 4-1, sv-1.

197: (2) Stephen Buchanan, Iowa, dec. (4) Josh Barr, Penn State, 5-2.

285: (2) Wyatt Hendrickson, Oklahoma State, dec. (1) Gable Steveson, Gophers, 5-4.