By Rob Sherrill

What do you say about Ohio-ace Logan Stieber that hasn’t already been said? If you’re somebody who has to face him, you’re glad that he’s finally a senior.

            Most know the wrestling side of Stieber:

            • three-time state champion from Monroeville High School;

            • three national freestyle championships at Fargo, N.D., at the Cadet and Junior levels;

            • two-time Asics First Team All-American;

            • FILA Junior National Team Trials runner-up;

            • successful on Senior level after finishing third in the U.S. Nationals last spring.

            But there’s another side to Stieber. Unlike those who pass through the pipeline at a school like Blair Academy, St. Edward or Apple Valley, he’s blazing his own trail in a northern Ohio town with a population of 1,500 and at a school in the state’s smallest class, Division 3.

            Stieber is an honor student, enjoys starring on the football field as much as he does on the wrestling mat and he’s about to help a school without a rich wrestling history make exactly that. And, like virtually every small-town kid in Ohio, he grew up idolizing the state’s flagship school, Ohio State. He’ll sign a national letter of intent with the Buckeyes in November.

            Should Stieber, who will compete at 125 pounds for the second straight year, win his fourth state title in March … and his brother, Hunter (119), Cam Tessari (130) and Chris Phillips (171), all juniors, win state titles this year and next, tiny Monroeville will become the first school in American high school wrestling history to produce four four-time state champions over a two-year period.

            But all those individual crowns haven’t yet produced a team championship for the Eagles, whose path in Division 3 has been blocked by Troy Christian the past two years. In winning their four state titles last year, the Stiebers, Tessari and Phillips racked up 112 points — 93.3 percent of the 120 points possible — yet Monroeville was nosed out by a single point on a Troy Christian major-decision win in the 160-pound final.

            This year, Cuyahoga Falls Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy, third last year with five returning placewinners, figures to be the Eagles’ primary challenger.

            Stieber talks about wrestling, football and history in this candid interview.

            WIN: It seems like yesterday that you were just coming into high school and people at Fargo were saying, “Watch this kid from Ohio named Logan Stieber, he’s really something.” And, of course, you went out there, and you were really something. Now, here we are, three years later and you’re getting ready for one more. Does it seem like time has flown?

            Stieber: It’s gone so fast. Thinking about all the different tournaments I’ve wrestled in and now everything that’s happened since my first year.

            WIN: And how old were you when you started wrestling?

            Stieber: I was four.

            WIN: So you’d obviously been wrestling for a long time, but Fargo that first summer was your first time on the big stage. What were your expectations going into that tournament? Did you expect to win? Did you expect to dominate the way you did? And did you have any idea it would be the start of the kind of run you’ve had?

            Stieber: First I wrestled in the FILA Cadet Nationals (in the spring) and before that, I didn’t really know how good I was. I won that, and I pinned or teched everybody, so I was pretty confident.

            At Fargo, I had actually planned to wrestle 98, but I couldn’t get down. So I went 105 and I didn’t really know what to expect. I wound up wrestling a lot of great kids, like (current University of Virginia freshman) Nicky Gordon and (Blair Academy senior Chris) Villalonga.

            WIN: I remember Nicky Gordon had a great run at the tournament that year except for you…

            Stieber: He was really tough. Sammy White was in my bracket, too. There were a lot of great kids in that bracket.

            WIN: Since 105 is always such a great weight in the Cadet Nationals, winning a weight that tough, what did that tell you about yourself heading into your high school career?

            Stieber: It gave me a lot of confidence. I knew I could wrestle with the best and that I could go with pretty much anyone I wrestled. I felt confident.

            WIN: You came out of Eric Burnett’s wrestling school (in Elyria, Ohio). Have you been working with him pretty much your whole life?

            Stieber: Actually, I started with his dad, Ron Burnett. He taught me a lot about wrestling, the physicality, being in your face, to score and score and score. I started with Eric and his brother, Scotty, about when I was in sixth grade and I’ve been with them since then.

       (You can read the rest of this article by subscribing to WIN Magazine. Either contact our office at 1-888-305-0606 or subscribe through this website by selecting the “Subscribe” section on our front page.)