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

Greco-Roman wrestler Greco-Roman (American English), Graeco-Roman (British English), classic wrestling ( Euro English) or French wrestling (in Russia until 1948) is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the first mo ...

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 level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

All-American for the

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

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, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

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

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

. During his

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

years, Dean was a standout

wrestler Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat sport ...

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 le ...

, and as a

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

, 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 statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

and wrestle there. During his four years of

collegiate wrestling Collegiate wrestling (also known as folkstyle wrestling) is the form of wrestling practiced at the college and university level in the United States. This style of wrestling, with some slight modifications, is also practiced at high school and mi ...

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

EIWA was a Japanese era name (年号, ''nengō'', lit. year name) of the Northern Court during the Era of Northern and Southern Courts after Ōan and before Kōryaku. This period spanned the years from February 1375 through March 1379. The emperor ...

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, freestyle and graduated Collegiate wrestling, folkstyle wrestler who currently competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, UF ...

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 campu ...

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 athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight schools ...

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 freestyle debut on May of 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 civilization (; also Greco-Roman culture; spelled Graeco-Roman in the Commonwealth), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and countries that culturally—and so historically—were di ...

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 A Pan American Championship is a top level international sports competition between athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs in the Americas. Typically these championships are recurring, the most ...

, with technical falls 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 ...

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, he comp ...

. 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 of 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 used for fastening objects or material together. Pin or PIN may also refer to: Computers and technology * Personal identification number (PIN), to access a secured system ** PIN pad, a PIN entry device * PIN, a former Dutch ...

. 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 The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Drew Foster in the process. At the US Olympic Team Trials, Dean defeated former

Myles Martin Myles Najee Martin (born May 20, 1996) is an American freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler who competes at 86 kilograms. In freestyle, he placed second at the '19 US National Championships and is a two-time US U23 National Champi ...

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,

Forth Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

, - , Win , 27–10 , align=left,

, 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 home rule municipality in Centre County in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is a college town, dominated economically, culturally and demographically by the presence of the University Park campus of the Pennsylvania Sta ...

, - , 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 Edgewat ...

, - , 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 capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

, - ! 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, from 5 to 7 May 2017. Medal table Team ranking Medal summary Men's freestyle Men's Greco-Roman Women's freestyle References * Result {{Pan American W ...

, 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 ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, - , 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 three-time Pan American Champion, Torreblanca won gold medals at the 2019 Pan American Games and the 2018 Central American and Cari ...

, 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 (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, - , 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 wrestler and graduated collegiate wrestler. He currently competes in the welterweight division of Bellator MMA. As a folkstyle wrestler, he was a tw ...

, 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 the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County, Ohio, Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 C ...

, - , 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, United States. It is located in the Poconos region of the state. Originally known as "Dansbury", East Stroudsburg was renamed for geographic reasons when the Delaware, Lackawanna, and ...

, - , 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 the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on rolling bluffs on the Zumbro River's south fork in Southeast Minnesota, the city is the home and birthplace of the renowned Mayo Clinic. Acco ...

, - ! 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 (political), capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated Regions of Chile, region, t ...

, - , 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 , - , 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 , - , 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