Steveson, Eggum discuss the long offseason and near-future for Gopher wrestling

Gable Steveson was supposed to wrestle for an NCAA Championship just up the road from his high school alma mater Apple Valley. The 2020 NCAA Nationals at U.S. Bank Stadium were one of the many sporting events canceled when the coronavirus pandemic took hold.

So too were the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics. Steveson was in contention to earn a spot on the U.S. delegation to the Games.

Now, Steveson and his fellow Gophers are awaiting word from the NCAA and Big Ten Conference about when the new season may begin.

Click the video box on this page to watch Gable Steveson and Brandon Eggum chat with KSTP Sports’ Chris Long about preparing for the new season, managing preparations amid the ongoing pandemic and about Steveson’s chance to wrestle against rival and USA’s #1-ranked heavyweight Nick Gwiazdowski at a club tournament this weekend

In the meantime, Steveson and his teammates have been preparing at off-campus facilities for whenever the word comes that the season is afoot.

Recently, Steveson stopped training with his teammates in order to move onto campus at the U to focus on weight room and conditioning work. That meant entering the on-campus "bubble" for Covid-19 monitoring and testing with other Gopher athletes.

Another part of his preparation was participating in a senior club tournament at a Regional Training Center (RTC) in Cincinnati, Ohio this weekend. Several current and former Gophers joined forces to enter the competition as a team.

As part of the event, Steveson wrestled against #1-ranked senior heavyweight Nick Gwiazdowski.

Gwiazdowski had beaten Steveson in their two previous meetings, but Steveson won the rematch 4-1 during the opening dual of the RTC Tournament.

RELATED: Gopher Athletics: Steveson Defeats Gwiazdowski 4-1 in Potential Olympic Trial

They two are likely to meet again during the U.S. Olympic Trials as both attempt to qualify for the rescheduled Summer Games in Tokyo next summer.