Tom Ryan vividly remembers the moment.

It was a camp in the summer of 2008 at Olentangy Liberty High School just outside Columbus. That’s where the Ohio State coach first started thinking Logan Stieber had the extraordinary tools to one day win four NCAA titles. 

“I knew (when he was) a sophomore in high school,” Ryan said. “I watched him compete and then did a camp he was at. I got to move around with him and he had the capacity to shoot low and drive hard and fast across the body. His outlook on the sport, his emotional control, the way he carried himself — a calm confidence. Obviously, really good on top. Proficient at a really high level in all positions. I think bottom was his biggest struggle, but on top and on his feet he was so good. And he had the results to show. 

“Now do you know he can win four? No. But you certainly think he can. That’s why we celebrated so big on the first one.”

That first one came in 2012 in St. Louis — the same city where Stieber made his commitment to the Buckeyes in the hours after their runner-up finish at the 2009 NCAA Championships. 

Stieber fended off an attack by Oklahoma State’s Jordan Oliver in the closing seconds by wrapping tightly around the returning NCAA champion’s chest after Oliver had collected both of the Buckeye’s legs until time expired on a 4-3 Stieber win in the 133-pound title bout. 

That singular position triggered a series of changes that altered the future of college wrestling. Weeks later, the NCAA rules committee adopted takedown criteria changes that would award points to future wrestlers in the position Oliver held.

The reversal of a loss earlier in the season against Oliver put Stieber on a track to become the Big Ten’s first four-time NCAA champion and one of college wrestling’s all-time greats. It also made him a near-unanimous selection for the first-team spot on the Flowrestling All-Quarter Century Team presented by Defense Soap. 

Had Oliver secured the winning score that night in St. Louis, he and Stieber would’ve both been three-time NCAA champions and perhaps he would’ve been the leading vote-getter here. Instead, Oklahoma State’s all-time pins leader finished third in the voting behind Stieber and Vito Arujau after the fan balloting tipped the runner-up spot in favor of the two-time NCAA champion from Cornell. Two-time NCAA champion Roman Bravo-Young of Penn State was fourth. 

'This Guy Is A Rare Cat'

Stieber arrived in Columbus with a massive skill set and a big resume. He placed third at the 2009 U.S. Open as a high school junior back in the days when Senior-level success was a rarity for high schoolers. He won four Ohio state titles at Monroeville High School, where he compiled a 184-1 career record. 

The Buckeyes had big plans for Stieber during his true freshman year. They thought he could contend with returning NCAA champ Matt McDonough of Iowa and eventual champ Anthony Robles of Arizona State — both All-Quarter Century Team finalists at 125. But after placing sixth at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, where he dropped a pair of one-point matches, Stieber suffered a broken arm and the Buckeyes opted for a medical hardship waiver. 

“I thought he could win at ‘25 as a freshman,” Ryan said. “We thought he could win, which is why we put him in there. We had Robles and McDonough, but he wanted to go and we saw things early on where this guy is a rare cat, he’s a rare breed.”

Stieber’s second season in Columbus began with 17 consecutive victories before he dropped a 5-3 decision against Minnesota’s Chris Dardanes. A month later, the Buckeyes traveled to Oklahoma State, where Oliver, the reigning NCAA champ at 133, notched a 7-3 win against the Ohio State freshman. 

“The first (title) was the toughest and the biggest — to beat Jordan Oliver, who beat him pretty handily in the dual meet,” Ryan said. “He rode us. Coach J (Jaggers) and Lou Rosselli did a great job with Logan on the bottom and match strategy.”

Oliver had two opportunities on top — one after a slide-by takedown in the opening seconds of the match and another to start the second period — and Stieber escaped both times in 12 seconds or less. Another pivotal moment in the match came late in the second period when Stieber got to Oliver’s left leg on a head-inside single and deftly slipped a leg in on the far side. It proved to be the winning score. 

“(Stieber) was young,” Ryan said. “He was in his first full college season, so he kept getting better as the year went on. His confidence kept growing throughout the season. And the game plan was score early and make sure he can’t ride you. He really took the (first) match away from us somewhat on top. We worked really hard on bottom and he was able to get away.” 

Stieber compiled an 86-1 record over the course of the next three seasons with an 83.9-percent bonus-point rate. He went 27-0 as a sophomore with 14 pins and seven technical falls en route to his second 133-pound title. 

He moved up to 141 pounds as a junior and continued the same level of dominance, going 59-1 during his final two seasons with the Buckeyes. The lone defeat came in a dual at Penn State, where he dropped a decision to eventual three-time NCAA champ Zain Retherford. Stieber defeated Retherford at the Big Ten and NCAA Championships. 

“We’re dealing with someone in Logan who had tremendous inner belief,” Ryan said. “He didn’t catastrophize the sport (and say) it’s going to be so hard and this and that. (He’d say) ‘I’m going to attack — often — and I believe in my ability.’ 

“He could go from zero to 100 extremely fast. His ability to close a lot of ground fast with his shot was incredible. He didn’t look that strong, but he was freakishly strong. He understood spacing really well. It was like, ‘OK, my opponent can cover this amount of ground fast and I can cover this amount of ground fast.’ He knew how far away he could be or how near he could be and still strike. He had an advantage over his opponents, typically, with how much ground he could cover, so if he stayed at a certain distance he could get you and you couldn’t get him.” 

The Results Are In 

The Flowrestling team started with every NCAA champion from the last 25 years and pared the list down to four at every weight after tabulating the results of a staff vote. We let wrestling fans weigh in with a social media vote, and the results are in at 133 pounds. 

1. Logan Stieber

2. Vito Arujau 

3. Jordan Oliver 

4. Roman Bravo-Young 

Facts, Figures And Those Who Missed The Final Cut At 133

— The last quarter century produced 19 different NCAA champions at 133 pounds. 

— There were five multi-time champs at the weight during that 25-year stretch — Johnny Thompson, Matt Valenti, Stieber, Bravo-Young. Eric Juergens was also a two-time champ whose first title came in 2000. 

— Stieber, Oliver, Travis Lee and Nick Suriano were multi-time champs who won titles at 133 and another weight.

— There’s a case to be made for the candidacy of Juergens, Thompson, Valenti and a few others. Their feats were outlined in Monday’s rundown of the four finalists at 133. 

— Thirteen different schools had a 133-pound NCAA champ during the last 25 years. Cornell and Oklahoma State led the way with four each, followed by Iowa (three). Ohio State, Penn and Penn State had two, while Illinois, Iowa State, Michigan State, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Rutgers, and South Dakota State each had one.  

— Oklahoma State led the way with 11 NCAA finals appearances at 133 since 2001 — Thompson (three finals appearances), Coleman Scott (two), Oliver (two) and Daton Fix (four). 

— Iowa was second with nine finals appearances at 133 in the last 25 years. Cory Clark (three) and Ramos (two) accounted for five of those finals trips, while Juergens, Joey Slaton, Dan Dennis and Drake Ayala each reached the finals once at 133. 

— Cornell won all four of its 133-pound title bouts during the quarter century with Lee, Nahshon Garrett and Arujau (twice) winning titles. 

— Upperclassmen controlled the 133-pound weight class in the last 25 years with seniors winning 10 titles and juniors claiming nine. Stieber was the lone freshman to win a 133-pound title during that stretch.