Iowa wrestling's Gabe Arnold overcomes tough times to become NCAA All-American

CLEVELAND − When the final whistle blew in Gabe Arnold's bloodround match at the NCAA Wrestling Championships, the Iowa sophomore had to take a peek up at the scoreboard to make sure it was real. The final score was 4-3 vs. Rutgers' Remy Cotton, in favor of the Hawkeye.

Arnold was an NCAA All-American for the first time. Tears streamed down Arnold's face, his head dipping into the shoulder of head coach Tom Brands as the emotions overcame him. Arnold had just done something pretty special.

Wrestling in January at 174 pounds, he bumped up two weight classes to 197 for the good of the team. Despite being just 5-foot-7 and the No. 27 seed, he knocked off four in a row in consolations on March 20 before securing a seventh-place finish with a 5-2 record on March 21.

The Iowa City High alum was a true team player, and he blew all expectations out of the waters of Lake Erie to become the highest-seeded All-American. The achievement came one year after Arnold lost in the round-of-16 at 184 pounds, when tears of pain instead of joy ran down his cheeks. He chatted with Iowa associate head coach Terry Brands shortly after last year's struggles, and his coach's words of tough love stuck with him a year later.