Two-time All-American Hunter Stieber nearing return

Hunter Stieber will never look at the replays of his 2015 NCAA championship matches while wrestling for Ohio State in St. Louis.But not for the reasons you would think."I haven't thought of watching it," Stieber said. "I don't even want to watch, because I might throw up at the sight of how bad my wrestling was."Stieber, a 2011 Monroeville graduate, is expected to wrestle soon for the No. 6-ranked Buckeyes for the first time this season. It could be as soon as Saturday's 5 p.m. showdown with Big Ten rival Michigan (No. 13) at St. John Arena in Columbus.When he wrestles next, it will only be Stieber's eighth live match for Ohio State in nearly three years because of a redshirt season (2013-14) — and two devastating injuries that led to heart-wrenching results last season.After having Tommy John ligament transplant surgery — on each elbow in the span of three weeks last spring — Stieber is ready to push through one final three-month stretch."It was an unreal couple months of my life, lying in my bed being in pain," Stieber said. "What I learned from it — if I get tired doing something like sprints, I think back to last year wrestling through that. I convince myself it's easy, that I can do more sprints."Agonizing resultsOSU redshirt sophomore Nate Tomasello — the No. 1-ranked and defending NCAA champion at 125 pounds — is also in no hurry to watch the replays of Stieber's two matches at 149 pounds from last year's championships."I felt terrible, and still do when I think about it," Tomasello said. "I know he wanted to be out there, but that was really tough."Stieber had first suffered a torn ligament in his right elbow while wrestling for the U.S. team at the Pan American championships in Mexico City in July 2014. When the two-time All-American returned to the lineup for the Buckeyes five months later, in a cruel twist of fate, he then tore ligaments in his left elbow during a Jan. 2015 match against Penn State.Having sat out as a healthy redshirt in 2013-14, the four-time state champion couldn't hurt the elbows any worse — and had nothing to lose. He decided to give it a go for the Buckeyes at the Big Ten and NCAA championships in March 2015.After winning twice at the Big Tens, Stieber couldn't even allow an official to raise his arm in victory because of the pain. He'd later forfeit two of his three remaining matches to finish sixth, which still earned an automatic bid to the NCAAs.Facing Hofstra's Cody Ruggirello in the first round, what played out left Stieber's Ohio State teammates, family and Buckeye fans both covering their faces — but peeking through their hands in disbelief.With little to no use of his heavily bandaged elbows, Stieber was caught in a vicious arm bar midway through the second. Ruggirello put Stieber on his back, and tightened the grip and applied pressure directly to one of the injured elbows.Stieber screamed in a painful anguish that could be heard throughout the Scottrade Center, as onlookers — including the ESPN announce team — pleaded with the official to simply call the pin and end the match.But instead of ending the suffering, Stieber managed to not only fight off the pin while withering in pain for more than 90 seconds — he briefly tied the match late in the third period. An escape and riding time point resulted in a 9-7 loss."It's tough being hurt like that and to have that kind of pain and still wrestle through it," Tomasello said, marveling still. "It really fired me up to go out there and get after it. I had no fear. Hunter was going at it with no arms. It's pretty amazing what he did."Later in a consolation match against North Dakota's Clayton Ream, Stieber trailed 11-4 and was in visible pain when OSU head coach Tom Ryan stopped the match — which he told Hunter he'd do if he felt he was unable to defend himself."Hunter is an interesting guy because he's so unassuming and laid back as a person," Ryan said. "His personality is kind of goofy, friendly and warm. He's not what you would think he could be what he is on the mat. They just don't connect. But he's a ferocious competitor. It all makes sense when you see him in that spot."Deep down, Hunter is a gladiator and a warrior," he added. "Don't mistake his warm, funny kindness for someone who is weak-minded and isn't an intense competitor."With elder brother Logan Stieber (Monroeville 2010) leading the way, Ohio State shared the Big Ten title with Iowa then won the NCAA team title as Logan won his historic fourth individual NCAA title."The main decision I decided to wrestle through it instead of surgery and calling it quits was the team and my brother," Hunter said. "It was the last season to get to compete with Logan, and we had been competing back-to-back our entire lives."The returnNine months later, Hunter's anticipated return is considered day-to-day.Each surgery was done separately, and each time doctors took a tendon out of each knee to replace the injured elbow ligaments.Recovery, as expected, has led to minor setbacks from the grueling process of having surgery on all four limbs. As a result, questions remain."We know that his past says this kid is a superstar," Ryan said. "He's as hungry as he's ever been since I've coached him. This guy almost lost what he loves the most from a competitive standpoint. What we know is the arms are stable and stronger than ever … what we don't know is how the missed time will affect his timing and conditioning."So there are definitely question marks," he added. "We're hedging our bets, and from what we've seen in the room, he looks great. I believe he'll be back to himself."Tomasello also sees a highly-motivated teammate in practices and workouts."I think sometimes athletes that go through major surgeries have lost their edge, and it doesn't seem like that's happened with Hunter," he said. "He's very motivated to come back hard and finish off his career on his terms."Stieber, who is 67-14 overall at OSU as a three-time Big Ten placer (2013 champion) while placing sixth (2012) and third (2013) at the NCAAs, still believes he can go out with a bang in a loaded 149 weight class."I still want a national title, and I think I can do that," he said. "It will take a lot more work than years before, but I'm definitely more motivated than ever after not being able to wrestle for a while."A bandaged up Hunter Stieber listens as head coach Tom Ryan talks to him during an NCAA championship consolation match on March 19, 2015 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. Stieber, a Monroeville graduate, wrestled with torn ligaments in both elbows.Ohio State's Hunter Stieber, a Monroeville graduate, wrestles Penn State's Zack Beitz in a Jan. 11, 2015 dual at St. John Arena in Columbus.Ohio State's Hunter Stieber, a Monroeville graduate, has his arm raised in victory after beating Penn State's Zack Beitz in a Jan. 11, 2015 dual at St. John Arena in Columbus.Ohio State's Hunter Stieber, a Monroeville graduate, wrestle's Hofstra's Cody Ruggirello in the first round of the NCAA wrestling championships March 19, 2015 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.