BY: DON HOHLER (NorwalkReflector.com) —

MONROEVILLE – The oldest of Monroeville’s Fab 4 — Logan Stieber — and the No. 1-rated wrestler in the country in all weight classes is heading off to college.

Although he still has his senior wrestling season left, Stieber put the seal of approval on a letter of intent Thursday afternoon at Monroeville High School.

He will attend The Ohio State University in the fall of 2010, the only school of higher education he even considered.

“I grew up rooting for the Buckeyes so it was a given when they came calling, I was going there,” he said. “Even if I didn’t wrestle, I would be going there.”

Stieber will be joining his good friend, former Norwalk native and four-time state champion Tony Jameson, on the OSU squad. Jameson wrestled at Austintown-Fitch in high school.

“I have never beat him,” Stieber said. “And we spend a lot of time working out against each other. He is really tough. I have come close and it’s always a close match. My earliest memory of wrestling him was a match when I pinned myself. In my defense though, he is now up to 157 while I will wrestle at 125 this year.”

Stieber remembers getting started in the sport at age 4.

“I had a friend at that age by the name of Mitch Smith,’’ he said. “My parents and his ran around together. I liked the sport right from the start and have never taken any time off. I know some guys tend to get burnt out. Hunter, my brother, took some time off because he got tired of it. But, he came back stronger than when he left.”

What is known that he takes a 125-1 record into his senior year.

The lone defeat was at the Walsh Jesuit Ironman as a freshman Stieber dropped a 7-4 decision to David Taylor, the No. 1 ranked wrestler in his weight class from St. Paris Graham that year.

Stieber started with biddy tournaments in Monroeville. He has no idea how many times his arm has been raised over the years.

“A lot of matches,” he said. “I wrestled nine times in one day in Columbus in my second national junior tournament when I was 7 years old. Lost the first one. Then won eight in a row to finish third at the biggest single-day tournament in the country.”

Since then, Stieber has wrestled in all of the major wrestling venues in the country, including Las Vegas, Colorado Springs, Oklahoma City, Chicago, St. Louis and New York City to name just some of them.

Sometimes he is accompanied by his parents, Jeff and Tina, but most of the time he flies with a trusted coach and there are a lot of them who tutor the Fab 4 among others at the highly-respected ‘Barn’ in Milan.

“I’ll still get to some of those cities before my career is over, but mainly it will be Big-10 cities,’’ he said. “Before that, I will again spend the summer wrestling at all the senior open events (18 years old and up) while working toward qualifying for the World Team. Only one wrestler in each weight class makes that team. I was fourth last year at 121. I will also work in summer classes starting in July.”

Although he has been around Logan for a number of years, Monroeville coach Scott Bauer is still in awe of his work ethic.

“He is one driven individual,” Bauer said. “His ultimate goal is to be an Olympic champion and I would not bet against him. It’s almost like he feels he can’t be beaten and when one looks at his record, it’s pretty close to the truth.

“What he did last summer at the Senior World’s was simply amazing,’’ the coach added. “Here is a high school junior, and I might add he was not feeling well when he got there, facing career 35-year-old wrestlers who are working toward making the Olympic team and beating them.

“Plus, he is an outstanding student, not just an honors student but a high-honors student. I am not sure what his major will be at Ohio State, but he will be as comfortable in the classroom as he is on the wrestling mat,” Bauer said. “But, that is the case with all four of those kids. For certain the average fan does not realize how gifted they are.”

Logan Stieber goes for his fourth straight state title this season, while teammates Hunter Stieber, Cam Tessari and Chris Phillips are vying for their third.

“All four are world-class,’’ Bauer said. “Hunter is ranked No. 2 at 125 even though he has never lost to the kid that is raked No. 1. Chris Phillips is the No. 1-ranked wrestler in the country at 171 and Cam Tessari is No. 5 at 135.”

The rumor that nothing is left in the pipeline after the Fab 4 graduate is not true according to Bauer.

“Monroeville always has had good wrestlers,” Bauer said. “And there are good kids in the room. It is just that they are not the caliber of those four. I am not sure there ever has been, anywhere.”

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