Former Gophers Gable Steveson and Pat Smith won their events at Saturday's Final X wrestling tournament in Newark, N.J., earning spots on the U.S. team for September's world championships.
Steveson, the Olympic gold medalist and former Gophers heavyweight, beat Mason Parris 6-2 in the first match and 5-0 in the second to sweep their best-of-three series in the 125-kilogram men's freestyle class. He earned a spot at the senior world championships for the first time.
Smith, a Chaska native, lost his first match against Justus Scott in the Greco-Roman 72 kg class, then defeated Scott 5-4 and 7-5 to make his fourth senior world championships team. The world meet is Sept. 16-24 in Belgrade, Serbia.
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