Gabriel Curtis Dean (born June 19, 1994) is an American retired

freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott Laboritories Media * '' FreeStyle'', ...

and

Greco-Roman wrestler Greco-Roman (American English), Graeco-Roman (British English), or classic wrestling (Euro-English) is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and has been i ...

and graduated folkstyle wrestler who formerly competed at 86 kilograms. In freestyle, he was the 2020 US National Champion, a '17 Pan American Championship medalist, and a '14 Junior World Championship medalist. He was also the '15 Pan American Championship runner–up in Greco-Roman. As a collegiate wrestler, Dean was a two–time NCAA Division I champion, a four–time EIWA Conference champion, and a four–time

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

All-American for the

Cornell Big Red The Cornell Big Red is the informal name of the sports and other competitive teams that represent Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. The university sponsors 37 varsity sports, and several intramural sports, intramural and club teams. Cornell ...

Folkstyle career

High school

Dean was born in

Lowell, Michigan Lowell is a city in Kent County of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,783 at the 2010 census. Lowell is part of the Grand Rapids metropolitan area and is about east of the city of Grand Rapids. The city is mostly surrounded by ...

, where he went on to attend Lowell High School. His father David was an NCAA Division I National runner-up out of the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

, which led to Gabriel's early start in the sport of

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

. During his

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

years, Dean was a standout

wrestler Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves diffe ...

and

football player A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

, and as a

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

, he led his team to a state title and runner–up finishes and was a two–time All-State player. In wrestling, he went on to make the finals of the MHSAA state tournament, winning the title in an undefeated run as a junior and ending his senior year as the runner–up.

College

Dean chose to attend the

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

and wrestle there. During his four years of

collegiate wrestling Collegiate wrestling, commonly referred to as folkstyle wrestling, is the form of wrestling practiced at the post-secondary level in the United States. This style of wrestling is also practiced at the high school, middle school, and elementary ...

, Dean went on to become one of the most decorated athletes in the history of the team, claiming two NCAA titles and four

EIWA The Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) is an NCAA Division I collegiate wrestling conference. It held its first championship tournament in 1905, making it the oldest wrestling conference in the NCAA. The EIWA's charter members we ...

conference titles, as well as racking up four All-American honors and a runner–up finish as a senior, where he lost to eventual three–timer

Bo Nickal Bo Dean Nickal (born January 14, 1996) is an American professional mixed martial artist, former freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler who currently competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). ...

from

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

in a legendarily close match. In regards to honors, Dean was a two–time EIWA and

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...

Wrestler of the Year, as well as the Rookie of the Year as a freshman.

International career

2013–2017

Dean, who was graduating

, made his senior

debut in May 2013, when he went on to place third at the Northeastern Regionals and sixth at the US University Nationals. At the 2015 Pan American Championships, Dean made his

Greco-Roman The Greco-Roman world , also Greco-Roman civilization, Greco-Roman culture or Greco-Latin culture (spelled Græco-Roman or Graeco-Roman in British English), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and co ...

debut with no previous training in the discipline, and went on to place second. In April 2017, Dean decided to wrestle at the US Open in freestyle, and went on to place sixth. Afterwards, he placed third at the Pan American Championships, with

technical fall In amateur wrestling, a technical fall, or technical superiority, is a victory condition satisfied by outscoring one's opponent by a specified number of points. It is a mercy rule. It is informally abbreviated to "tech" as both a noun and verb. Hi ...

s over former Olympian from Colombia

Carlos Izquierdo Carlos Arturo Izquierdo Méndez (born 2 October 1997 in Buga, Valle del Cauca) is a Colombian freestyle wrestler. He competed in the men's freestyle 74 kg event at the 2016 Summer Olympics, in which he was eliminated in the round of 16 by Jabray ...

and South American Games runner–up from Peru

Pool Ambrocio Pool Edison Ambrocio Greifo (born 4 December 1990) is a Peruvian wrestler. In March 2020, he won the silver medal in the freestyle 86 kg event at the 2020 Pan American Wrestling Championships held in Ottawa, Canada. Career In 2011, Ambroci ...

. Dean then announced he would try his hand as a Greco–Roman wrestler, but after competing and losing in his first match at the 2017 US U23 World Team Trials, he decided to retire.

2020–2021

In October 2020, Dean opted to come out of retirement to compete at the US Nationals, where he claimed the title after defeating former All-American Nate Jackson in the finals. Next, he competed at the Flo 8-Man Challenge: 195 lbs, where he lost in the first match to Taylor Lujan (whom he had tech'd weeks earlier) after dominating prior to a

pin A pin is a device, typically pointed, used for fastening objects or fabrics together. Pins can have the following sorts of body: *a shaft of a rigid inflexible material meant to be inserted in a slot, groove, or hole (as with pivots, hinges, an ...

. Dean then confirmed he would take a run for the US Olympic Team Trials. In November, Dean wrestled

World Champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

David Taylor at the NLWC III and went to a fairly close decision loss. To start off the 2021 year, he earned the biggest win of his career when he defeated U23 World Champion

at the NLWC III, while also earning revenge from the '17 NCAA's, before being tech'd by three–time World and Olympic champion at 97 kg Kyle Snyder. On March, he earned a spot at the US Olympic Team Trials when he won the US Last Chance Olympic Trials Qualifier as the top–seed, defeating Nate Jackson and NCAA champion Drew Foster in the process. At the US Olympic Team Trials, Dean defeated former NCAA champion Myles Martin before being downed himself by David Taylor in a rematch, failing to make the team. After his last run, Dean returned to retirement from competition.

Freestyle record

! colspan="7", Senior Freestyle Matches , - ! Res. ! Record ! Opponent ! Score ! Date ! Event ! Location , - ! style=background:white colspan=7 , , - , Loss , 27–11 , align=left, David Taylor , style="font-size:88%", 0–4 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=2, April 2, 2021 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=2, 2020 US Olympic Team Trials , style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=2,

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

, - , Win , 27–10 , align=left, Myles Martin , style="font-size:88%", 2–1 , - ! style=background:white colspan=7 , , - , Win , 26–10 , align=left, Nate Jackson , style="font-size:88%", 7–2 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=5, March 27, 2021 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=5, 2020 US Last Chance Olympic Team Trials Qualifier , style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=5,

, - , Win , 25–10 , align=left, Drew Foster , style="font-size:88%", 8–0 , - , Win , 24–10 , align=left, C.J. Brucki , style="font-size:88%", TF 12–2 , - , Win , 23–10 , align=left, Jonathan Loew , style="font-size:88%", FF , - , Win , 22–10 , align=left, Jake Hendricks , style="font-size:88%", TF 10–0 , - , Loss , 21–10 , align=left, Kyle Snyder , style="font-size:88%", TF 2–13 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=2, February 23, 2021 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=2, NLWC V , style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=3,

State College, Pennsylvania State College is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough and Home rule municipality (Pennsylvania), home rule municipality in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a college town, home to the University Park, Pennsylvania, University Park ...

, - , Win , 21–9 , align=left,

, style="font-size:88%", 3–2 , - , Loss , 20–9 , align=left, David Taylor , style="font-size:88%", 2–6 , style="font-size:88%", November 24, 2020 , style="font-size:88%", NLWC III , - ! style=background:white colspan=7 , , - , Win , 20–8 , align=left, Nate Jackson , style="font-size:88%", 1–1 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=5, October 10–11, 2020 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=5, 2020 US Senior Nationals , style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=5,

Coralville, Iowa Coralville is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is a suburb of Iowa City and part of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 22,318 at the 2020 census. History Coralville is the location of the Edgewa ...

, - , Win , 19–8 , align=left, Trent Hidlay , style="font-size:88%", 2–1 , - , Win , 18–8 , align=left, Taylor Lujan , style="font-size:88%", TF 10–0 , - , Win , 17–8 , align=left, Nathan Haas , style="font-size:88%", Fall , - , Win , 16–8 , align=left, Leonardo Tarantino , style="font-size:88%", TF 12–1 , - ! style=background:white colspan=7 , , - , Loss , 15–8 , align=left, Taylor Lujan , style="font-size:88%", Fall , style="font-size:88%" , October 31, 2020 , style="font-size:88%" , FloWrestling 8-Man Challenge , style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" ,

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

, - ! style=background:white colspan=7 , , - , Win , 15–7 , align=left,

, style="font-size:88%", TF 12–2 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=3, May 5–7, 2017 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=3,

2017 Pan American Wrestling Championships The 2017 Pan American Wrestling Championships was held in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, f ...

, style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=3,

Lauro de Freitas Lauro de Freitas is a municipality in Bahia, Brazil. It covers and a population of 201,635 (2020 est.). Lauro de Freitas has a population density of 3,376 inhabitants per square kilometer. It is located from the state capital of Bahia, Salvador. ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, - , Loss , 14–7 , align=left,

Yurieski Torreblanca Yurieski Torreblanca Queralta (born March 14, 1989) is a Cuban freestyle wrestler who competes at 86 kilograms. A four-time Pan American Champion, Torreblanca won gold medals at the 2019 Pan American Games and the 2018 Central American and Car ...

, style="font-size:88%", 4–6 , - , Win , 14–6 , align=left,

, style="font-size:88%", TF 11–0 , - ! style=background:white colspan=7 , , - , Win , 13–6 , align=left, TJ Dudley , style="font-size:88%", 8–8 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=6, April 26–29, 2017 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=6, 2017 US Open National Championships , style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=6,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, - , Loss , 12–6 , align=left, Pat Downey , style="font-size:88%", 6–7 , - , Win , 12–5 , align=left, Austin Trotman , style="font-size:88%", 13–10 , - , Loss , 11–5 , align=left, Nick Heflin , style="font-size:88%", 3–6 , - , Win , 11–4 , align=left,

Kyle Crutchmer Kyle Crutchmer (born May 5, 1993) is an American professional mixed martial artist, freestyle wrestling, freestyle wrestler and graduated Collegiate wrestling, collegiate wrestler, who competes in the Welterweight (MMA), welterweight division. H ...

, style="font-size:88%", TF 15–4 , - , Win , 10–4 , align=left, John Rizqallah , style="font-size:88%", TF 10–0 , - ! style=background:white colspan=7 , , - , Loss , 9–4 , align=left, Alex Meyer , style="font-size:88%", 5–6 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=9, May 23–26, 2013 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=9, 2013 ASICS US University National Championships , style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=9,

Akron, Ohio Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Akron metr ...

, - , Loss , 9–3 , align=left, Max Thomusseit , style="font-size:88%", 1–3 , - , Win , 9–2 , align=left, Nathaniel Brown , style="font-size:88%", INJ , - , Win , 8–2 , align=left,

, style="font-size:88%", TF 11–1 , - , Win , 7–2 , align=left, James Mannier , style="font-size:88%", TF 10–0 , - , Win , 6–2 , align=left, Kris Klapprodt , style="font-size:88%", 14–8 , - , Loss , 5–2 , align=left, Kenneth Courts , style="font-size:88%", Fall , - , Win , 5–1 , align=left, Derek Thomas , style="font-size:88%", TF 12–2 , - , Win , 4–1 , align=left, Brian Engdahl , style="font-size:88%", TF 11–0 , - ! style=background:white colspan=7 , , - , Win , 3-1 , align=left, Scott Gibbons , style="font-size:88%", 3–0, 5–2 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=4, May 3–5, 2013 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=4, 2013 NE Regional Championships , style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=4,

East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania East Stroudsburg is a borough in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, and part of the Pocono Mountains region of the state. Originally known as Dansbury, East Stroudsburg was renamed for geographic reasons when the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railr ...

, - , Win , 2–1 , align=left, Tyler Wood , style="font-size:88%", 6–0, 5–0 , - , Loss , 1–1 , align=left, Enock Francois , style="font-size:88%", 0–2, 0–1 , - , Win , 1–0 , align=left, Andrew Detwiler , style="font-size:88%", Fall , -

Greco-Roman record

! colspan="7", Senior Greco-Roman Matches , - ! Res. ! Record ! Opponent ! Score ! Date ! Event ! Location , - ! style=background:white colspan=7 , , - , Loss , 2–2 , align=left, Spencer Wilson , style="font-size:88%", TF 2–10 , style="font-size:88%" , October 7, 2017 , style="font-size:88%" , 2017 US U23 World Team Trials , style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" ,

Rochester, Minnesota Rochester is a city in Olmsted County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. It is located along rolling bluffs on the Zumbro River's south fork in Southeast Minnesota. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a popul ...

, - ! style=background:white colspan=7 , , - , Loss , 2–1 , align=left, Gilberto Piquet Herrera , style="font-size:88%", 0–4 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=3, April 24–26, 2015 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=3, 2015 Pan American Championships , style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=3,

Santiago, Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

, - , Win , 2–0 , align=left, Luis Betancourt , style="font-size:88%", INJ , - , Win , 1–0 , align=left, Querys Pérez , style="font-size:88%", 6–1 , -

NCAA record

! colspan="8", NCAA Championships Matches , - ! Res. ! Record ! Opponent ! Score ! Date ! Event , - ! style=background:white colspan=6 , 2017 NCAA Championships at 184 lbs , - , Loss , 19–2 , align=left,

, style="font-size:88%", 3–4 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=5, March 16–18, 2017 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=5,

2017 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships In 2017, the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, a U.S. college wrestling tournament, was held in St. Louis, Missouri. The winning team was Penn State, and Kyle Snyder won the individual heavyweight competition. Team results Cham ...

, - , Win , 19–1 , align=left, Nolan Boyd , style="font-size:88%", 9–3 , - , Win , 18–1 , align=left, Jack Dechow , style="font-size:88%", TB–1 4–3 , - , Win , 17–1 , align=left, Jordan Ellingwood , style="font-size:88%", MD 11–3 , - , Win , 16–1 , align=left, Michael Coleman , style="font-size:88%", MD 21–12 , - ! style=background:white colspan=6 , 2016 NCAA Championships at 184 lbs , - , Win , 15–1 , align=left, Timothy Dudley , style="font-size:88%", 5–3 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=5, March 17–19, 2016 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=5,

2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships The 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships took place from March 17 to March 19 in New York, New York at the Madison Square Garden. The tournament was the 86th NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, and featured seventy two teams across tha ...

, - , Win , 14–1 , align=left, Pete Renda , style="font-size:88%", 9–4 , - , Win , 13–1 , align=left, Nolan Boyd , style="font-size:88%", 10–4 , - , Win , 12–1 , align=left, Thomas Sleigh , style="font-size:88%", Fall , - , Win , 11–1 , align=left, Jack Dechow , style="font-size:88%", 3–1 , - ! style=background:white colspan=6 , 2015 NCAA Championships at 184 lbs , - , Win , 10–1 , align=left, Nathaniel Brown , style="font-size:88%", 6–2 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=5, March 19–21, 2015 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=5, 2015 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships , - , Win , 9–1 , align=left, Victor Avery , style="font-size:88%", TB–2 4–3 , - , Win , 8–1 , align=left, Sammy Brooks , style="font-size:88%", 3–2 , - , Win , 7–1 , align=left, Timothy Dudley , style="font-size:88%", 9–8 , - , Win , 6–1 , align=left, Patrick Kissell , style="font-size:88%", MD 10–1 , - ! style=background:white colspan=6 , 2014 NCAA Championships at 184 lbs , - , Win , 5–1 , align=left, Jack Dechow , style="font-size:88%", 5–4 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=6, March 20–22, 2014 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=6, 2014 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships , - , Win , 4–1 , align=left, Lawrence Thomas , style="font-size:88%", Fall , - , Loss , 3–1 , align=left,

Ed Ruth Edward Lee Ruth (born October 21, 1990) is an American former professional mixed martial artist and freestyle and folkstyle wrestler. He competed in the Middleweight division of Bellator MMA. As a folkstyle wrestler, he was a three-time NCAA ...

, style="font-size:88%", 3–5 , - , Win , 3–0 , align=left, Jacob Swartz , style="font-size:88%", 11–4 , - , Win , 2–0 , align=left, John Rizqallah , style="font-size:88%", 11–4 , - , Win , 1–0 , align=left, Lelund Weatherspoon , style="font-size:88%", MD 12–4 , -

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dean, Gabe American male sport wrestlers 1994 births Living people Cornell Big Red wrestlers Cornell University alumni Sportspeople from Michigan Amateur wrestlers 21st-century American sportsmen