ITHACA, N.Y. -- If there were a "shot heard round the world" in the sport of wrestling, it would be Cornell freshman Gabe Dean's 7-4 win over Penn State's Ed Ruth at the 2014 Southern Scuffle, snapping Ruth's 84-match win streak and preventing the "unbeatable" Nittany Lion senior and two-time National Champion from winning his fourth Southern Scuffle title in as many tries. Of course, there is much more to the No. 3 wrestler in the nation than the result of one match. After all, he has won 34 others this season.

Matt Schultz: Your nickname is "The Bear." How did that come about?

Gabe Dean: It's funny; one day we had a really tough practice and at the end I was so exhausted I was trying to play a game with my mind to try to think about something other than being so tired. So I started chasing Mark Grey around in a bear crawl as we were sprinting around the room. The coaches said "you know, he kind of looks like a bear", and then they started calling me "the bear." They claim that I gave myself the nickname, but don't let them fool you; I would never do that. The nickname would not have stuck if I had given it to myself.

MS: You were a major football star in Michigan. What skills made you successful in football?

GD: Being at the quarterback position, where it was high pressure situations in big games in front of bigger crowds, the mental aspect of things was most important for me in my development, both as a wrestler and football player.

MS: How does having played in front of tens of thousands of people on the football field affect you as a wrestler? 

GD: It just calms you. The same way I prepared for a football game I prepare for a wrestling match. Relaxed, easy going and focused on what I have to do.

MS: Do you miss it?

GD: Yeah, I do. I was playing catch the other day with my better half, out on the track field throwing the ball around and it made me miss it a lot.

MS: You come from a wrestling family. Your father, Dave, was an NCAA runner-up at Minnesota and is now the coach at your high school in Michigan. How much influence did your father have on your decision to wrestle instead of playing football?

GD: To be honest with you, if I wanted to be a tap dancer or a tennis player he would have been supportive of that. He never pushed anything on me. He put me around things he wanted me to be in when I was little. I'd just happen to be at a wrestling dual or a football game when I was little, which would influence my passions moving forward. It ultimately worked, but he was never an overbearing father. He was always very supportive.

MS: So what was the key for you in making that decision?

GD: I always wanted to be at the top of whatever I was doing. I was never going to be the quarterback or in a starting position for an Alabama or a team like that, I didn't have enough talent to do that. In wrestling you control your own destiny, which is what I like so much about the sport. You get out of it what you put in.

MS: Last year when you were wrestling for TC3 you lost quite a few matches…

GD: …A lot of matches…

MS: So what changed?

GD: I can't really put my finger on it, but yeah, I lost a lot of matches last year. It was the whole process of learning and coming back from those losses and continuing to improve. Having the right mentors around me like Cam (Simaz) and Damion (Hahn) was huge. The coaching staff is really, ultimately, why I am where I am right now. 

MS: You have a few signature moves, but the trademark of Gabe Dean is that you go forward for seven minutes without stopping, usually making your opponent completely miserable. Do you get tired too?

GD: I'm absolutely tired and exhausted, but you push yourself in the room so you function when you're tired. You get that deep inner burning feeling and you push past it a little bit more every practice until you're so used to being in that feeling that you're comfortable and able to function despite it. It gives you a major advantage over your opponents.

MS: Obviously the big match everyone knows about is the win over Ed Ruth at the Southern Scuffle. There were only a handful of people who thought you'd go out and win that match, you being one of them. How did it feel when your confidence paid off?

GD: To be honest with you, I probably wasn't one of them! I was going into the match with a mindset like, "He pins me, he techs me, he majors me, beats me, whatever; . I'm going to go out and I'm not going to be afraid." I think you maximize your full potential and greatness as an athlete when you learn to have no fear in competition. It works in anything; in the business world and beyond. Taking risks, having no fear and learning from your mistakes. That's what I like about that Dylan Palacio kid so much. Every time he steps on the mat he gives it his all and wrestles the whole match and doesn't think about it and doesn't get distracted. Yeah, he does some stupid stuff because he is crazy, there's no doubt about that. Everybody knows that. But you have to respect him for the way he goes out there and competes. I like to think that I have a good handle on that too, and that's how I approached that match. Before the match, literally seconds before I stepped on the mat, me, Damion (Hahn), (Rob) Koll and Mike (Grey) were telling jokes. Koll had an "Outstanding Wrestler Award" sheet that the coaches have to turn in and he said, "Hey, should I pencil in Ed Ruth or Gabe Dean?" Damion said, "I'll pen in Gabe Dean". Then Mike said, "No, I'll marker it in!" After the match I was walking off the mat and Koll had the sheet and he showed me that he had it markered in as my name, literally right when I walked off the mat. It's stuff like that that eases your mind when you go into those things.

MS: You have no fear and obviously your coaches believe in you as well. At what point in that match did you believe you were going to win?

GD: It wasn't so much that I didn't believe I was going to win. I just didn't care, win or lose. The thing that mattered to me was how I competed in the match. I knew I'd hate myself if I went out there and was scared to wrestle and left that in the back of my mind. Right from the start I shot in and wrestled the whole match without fear. It's kind of a blur when you're out there. You forget a lot. I remember going out of bounds after getting the last takedown and looking over at Damion (Hahn) and he said, "You're gonna do this! You're actually gonna do this!" I gave him a little look like, "Yeah, I'm gonna do this". What really matters is next week. Hopefully I can look at him in the corner and can say "Yeah, I'm gonna do this again".

MS: What changed for you because of that single win?    

GD: For me internally? Nothing. I approach everything the same way. Obviously there's a little more attention, a little more fame and hype. For me it's important not to get caught up in that stuff, especially being as young as I am. Staying focused is big. I think my dad, my parents and my coaches have helped me stay focused and clear on what the ultimate goal is.

MS: As you go toward that ultimate goal, what do you need to do to be a national champ?

GD: The same stuff I've been doing all year. You go out there, you get seven minutes; just wrestle as hard as I possibly can, leave it all on the mat and see what happens.

Dean and the Big Red will finish their season at the NCAA Championships March 20-22 in Oklahoma City, Okla. It will be easier than ever to follow your favorite Cornellians, as ESPN will televise all six sessions of the tournament for the first time. ESPNU will air the preliminary rounds and the medal round and ESPN will carry live coverage of the semifinals and finals. You can also watch full coverage of all eight mats at ESPN3.com. Check your local listings for dates and times. For continuous updates on the Big Red's progress, be sure to follow the team on Twitter (@BigRedWrestling) and Instagram (cornellwrestling).