By Mike Finn

As the seconds ticked off in Steve Luke’s final NCAA match, March 21, the Michigan senior sat on his knees pondering what just happened.

            “I just remember being really relaxed and I thought, ‘Wow! I won this match. I went undefeated,’” said the 174-pound Luke. “It was such a calm feeling; one of the best feelings that you can have, knowing that you went out on top.”

            Before going to their separate corners, there was also a quick embrace between the two wrestlers, whose wrestling careers have mirrored each other since they grew up  competing in the same youth tournaments in northern Ohio. In the Scottrade Center, Luke made Central Michigan’s Mike Miller his final victim —by an 8-4 score — to end a stellar 117-24 college career.

            Separated by one year and usually one weight in high school — where Luke won three Ohio state championships for Perry High School and Miller captured Ohio titles himself at Lake High School — the two young men rarely met on a folkstyle mat, including their college careers.

            Ironically — or perhaps appropriately — Luke’s college career ended against someone who could say he was there at the beginning.

            “We were talking about that on the award stand because honestly (Miller) was probably one of my first matches in grade school,” said Luke, who was born on July 4, 1985 and grew up in Massillon, Ohio, 35 miles northeast from Cleveland along Lake Erie.

            Miller was born five months later and raised in Uniontown, Ohio, an hour’s drive south of Cleveland in the heart of wrestling country.

            “We always went to the same open tournaments, where we had the Dads in the corner,” Luke recalled. “I remember I beat him in overtime in the Perry (Ohio) Open. I remember that I was winning, then making stupid mistakes and he was getting takedowns. Then I beat him in overtime.”

            There was no suspense in their final meeting as college competitors as Luke scored three takedowns in an offensive display that used to be a rarity in Luke’s game, especially at the National Championships.

            All one has to do is look at his individual points over the last four years to judge Luke’s eventual finish:

            • In 2006 as a redshirt freshman at 157 pounds, Luke lost both matches and was outscored 9-5.

            • In 2007 at 174 pounds, Luke won five-of-eight matches to finish sixth; but only outscored his opponents 13-12 (one of the victories was a medical forfeit).

            • In 2008 at 174, Luke won four of five matches — losing only to Pitt’s Keith Gavin in the finals — and held a 27-12 margin in scoring.

            • Finally in 2009 at 174, the Wolverine captain out-distanced his five foes, 38-10, and only his semifinal victory — a 4-2 tiebreaker win over Missouri’s Raymond Jordan — proved to be a nail-biter.

            “The important thing is that I won those close matches. That separates the average wrestler from the good wrestler,” Luke said.             “I didn’t care if I went 32-0 with 32 overtime matches. But whenever I’d have those overtime matches, (Michigan coach Joe McFarland) would be pulling his hair out, telling me you can score more.”

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