World champion Stieber books return trip to Worlds with clutch win over Maple
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by Richard Immel, USA Wrestling
As the reigning World champion at 61 kg, Logan Stieber was the man to beat at the U.S. World Team Trials. Emerging from the challenge tournament to face Stieber for the World Team berth was U.S. Open champion Kendric Maple.
Match one in the best-of-three series between Stieber and Maple will go down as an instant classic. Maple jumped out to an early six-point lead, forcing Stieber to claw his way back into the match. As he did multiple times at the 2016 World Championships, Stieber snatched a buzzer-beating takedown to clinch the win.
The second match in the series was polar opposite from round one. Stieber cemented his place on the U.S. World Team for the second-straight year with an impressive 10-0 technical fall over Maple.
Match 2: Logan Stieber (Titan Mercury WC) vs. Kendric Maple (Titan Mercury WC)
Stieber now has the opportunity to defend his World title against the World’s elite this August in Paris, France. He is a two-time U.S. World Team member, 2011 Junior World silver medalist and one of only four men to win four NCAA championships, doing so at Ohio State.
Interview: Logan Stieber after World Team Trials victory
To watch more exciting matches from the 2017 U.S. World Team Trials visit the USA Wrestling YouTube page.
