Logan Stieber added another medal to his trophy case Sunday, taking all comers and showcasing his dominance via three tech falls and a dramatic come-from-behind victory at the 2018 Pan American men's freestyle wrestling championships.
Stieber defeated opponents from Canada and Mexico by a combined score of 20-0, raced back from a 9-2 deficit versus Cuba in the semifinal, and took gold with a third 10-0 technical fall in the tournament's final round.
The pride of Monroeville, Ohio has had quite a schedule this spring. He finished third at the U.S. Open in Las Vegas last last month (training partner Joey McKenna won the tournament), and was part of the gold-medal-winning U.S. men's team at the World Cup in Des Moines Iowa in early April.
Stieber dispatched the Western Hemisphere's best wrestlers with relative ease. In his first match, he snagged four takedowns and a leg lace to end things in the first period; the second match took just 29 seconds with a takedown and four guts to get the tech.
Alejandro Valdes of Cuba – the 2017 world bronze medalist – was the only wrestler of the day to put any points on the board versus Stieber. In the first period, he ran out to a 6-0 lead on the strength of two push-outs and a pair of takedowns; an exchange to open the second extended the Cuban's lead to 9-2.
But then Stieber did was Logan Stieber does, snagging a few quick turns to pull within a point. On the final turn of that sequence, Stieber trapped Valdes' arm, and the action appeared to aggravate the Cuban's heavily-wrapped elbow. Stieber's go-ahead takedown and subsequent turn attempt exacerbated Valdes' discomfort, and he was unable to finish the match, giving Stieber the victory by injury default with just 6 seconds remaining.
That was the most drama the Buckeye faced all day, as the gold medal match versus Peru looked like his first two bouts: two takedowns, the second right into a leg lace, and three turns to give him his third 10-0 match of the tournament.
His aggregate performance was impressive enough that he was named Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament.
Not only Pan-American gold medalist, but also the Most Outstanding Wrestler award for Logan Stieber. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/NN81TE1nxn
— Ohio State Wrestling (@wrestlingbucks) May 7, 2018
Just another day at the office for one of the most-decorated Buckeye wrestlers in history. Stieber will next wrestle at the Senior Freestyle World Team Trials Challenge Tournament, May 18-20, in Rochester, Minn. He'll aim to reclaim his spot on the senior freestyle world team, and take another shot at his second World Championship.
