Dan Gable shares most memorable moment in Hawkeye wrestling

Last in a series of memorable moments in 100 years of Hawkeye wrestling.

Our most memorable moment in 100 years of Iowa wrestling just happens to be Dan Gable's, too - his last stand as Hawkeye coach.

The 1997 NCAA Championships in Cedar Falls - just a short drive from Gable's childhood home in Waterloo - was “like a storybook finish,” he said to a career that included 21 Big Ten titles in 21 seasons and 15 national team championships.

“If this turns out to be Gable's last go-round as Iowa's coach, it was one that did the seemingly impossible by putting an exclamation point on his career,” Gazette columnist Mike Hlas wrote at the time. “A squad that actually wasn't favored to win its 15th national crown under Gable destroyed its competition.”

Iowa crowned five champions and scored a record 170 points. An underdog to Oklahoma State, Iowa clinched the title Friday night, winning 24 of 26 matches - including an incredible 23 in a row that started the night before.

“It was an unbelievable tournament.” Gable said last week.

Jessie Whitmer - the “strongest man in the world,” Gable shouted - joined Mark Ironside, Lincoln McIlravy, Joe Williams and Lee Fullhart as champs. But when Kasey Gillis won early by pin Gable knew something special was brewing.

“It was like the start of the championship,” he said.

After the meet, Gable sat in the UNI-Dome floor, signing autographs and saying goodbye.

“Had I lost that event, would it have been my last event?” Gable asked himself. “I don't know.”