Cornell’s Gabe Smith traveled 1,600 miles for college wrestling and is now on the national tournament doorstep

CEDAR RAPIDS — The shortest route from Pullman, Wash., to Mount Vernon is 1,626 miles or about 23 hours on the road.

Gabe Smith traveled a long distance to find his fit and new home at Cornell College. The Rams’ staff, the unique block plan for classes and the state of Iowa’s rich wrestling culture made it the right destination.

“I loved the coaches showed that they cared about me,” Smith said. “They followed up with text messages and calls. Stuff like that. Another thing is it’s in Iowa. It’s the Mecca of wrestling. It’s a great place to be if you want to get better at wrestling.”

Smith has showed he’s right at home with the Rams. The sophomore 157-pounder recorded two pins to reach the semifinals of the NCAA Division III Lower Midwest Region wrestling tournament Thursday at Alliant Energy PowerHouse.

Smith (24-7) faces Westminster (Mo.) College’s Michael Roberts (24-7) with a trip to the finals and an automatic NCAA berth at stake. At the very least, he’s within two matches from advancing to the national tournament March 15-16 in La Crosse, Wis.

“I’ve been working really hard,” Smith said. “I still have to get a few more. At least one more.”

Smith’s path to Cornell started when he approached his dad and shared his aspiration to wrestle in college. They entered his name in the Purler Wrestling Academy database and opportunities began to manifest, including from Cornell Coach Brent Hamm.

“They are a phenomenal place, if you want to wrestle in college,” Smith said. “Purler Wrestling got me in contact with Coach Hamm. From there, it was kind of meant to be.”

Hamm recalled driving Smith to and from the airport and the one-on-one interaction from his official visit. Smith hit it off with teammates during his stay. Hamm realized they shared a lot of common views.

“I got a lot of personal time with him,” Hamm said. “He knew I wasn’t just going to send him back in a cab and that I wanted that time so he knew.

“I think having a good relationship with the coaches was a big part. Right when we met we hit it off. Obviously, I love wrestling and am a fan of it, so that was huge. He’s really close with his family and so am I. Some of our deep morals and values were just aligned.”

Smith made an immediate impact with the Rams, leading the team with 31 victories and earning the school’s First-year Male Athlete of the Year honors. But he is miles away from his past postseason.

Despite the strong freshman campaign, he failed to make Day 2 of the regional tournament. It served as a motivator in the offseason. The work paid dividends well beyond just finishing his shots and increasing re-attacks.

“He’s always had it and just had a bad regional tournament last year,” Hamm said. “He stayed and trained all summer. He works hard, eats right and just lives and loves wrestling. He’s a fan of the sport and he sacrifices everything he can to be as good as he can. That’s why he progresses so much.

“He was good last year, but he’s twice the wrestler because of the time he puts in and out of the room.”

Smith locked up a cradle and pinned Coe’s Gabe McGeough in 2:49 in his first match. In the quarterfinal. Smith scored a third-period escape and takedown for a 9-5 lead. He returned Dubuque’s Kale Roth to the mat, planting him on his back and getting the fall in 6:17.

“I get some good mat returns,” Smith said. “I was just in the right spot at the right time. I executed that technique pretty well to get him on his back.”

Smith turned to the Cornell crowd in the east balcony of the arena and lifted his hands in the air a couple times.

“I love my teammates,” Smith said. “I love my guys. I wanted to hype them up a bit and show them I’m not here to play around. I want to win.”

157 bracket is wide open

The 157 bracket burst wide open with North Central’s No. 1 seed and returning NCAA finalist Javen Estrada and Luther All-American and No. 2 seed Clayton McDonough getting pinned in the quarterfinals. Smith learned from last year not to take anything for granted.

“You have to focus on your first match, then second match and your third match,” Smith said. “At this tournament, anybody can beat anybody.”

Smith was one of four Cornell semifinalists, joining Landon Card (149), Cael McLaren (184) and 197-pounder Treyten Steffen. Four more Rams were alive in consolations. The Rams were fourth with 82 points.

Coe finished the first day with seven semifinalists. Cade Hornback provided one of the biggest wins for the Kohawks. He decked Dubuque’s No. 4 Brady Koontz in tiebreaker-1 in their 125 quarterfinal. Dresden Grimm (141), Ty Koedam (149), top-seeded 165-pounder Will Esmoil, L.J. Richardson (174), Jared Voss at 184 and 197-pounder Matt Arsenault reached the semifinals. The Kohawks were second with 101 points, 4 1/2 ahead of third-place North Central.

Second-seeded Wartburg led the team race with 116 1/2 points and advanced nine to the semifinals with one remaining in consolation competition.

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