NO HOLDS BARRED

(Photos by Bob Mayeri)

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with Kyven Gadson, who just won an NCAA Div. I wrestling championship at 197 pounds at the 2015 NCAA national tournament, representing the Iowa State Cyclones.

And he did it in grand fashion, pinning his opponent, Kyle Snyder of team champion Ohio State, in the second period of their final match.

After the match, ESPN, which was telecasting this event, interviewed Kyven Gadson, who, when asked how he felt, cracked that he wanted some ice cream, and then ended the interview. This interview went viral online, and was one of the most talked about stories at this year's NCAA Div. I Wrestling Championships.

We spoke with Kyven Gadson by phone Wednesday.

Explaining why he called his pinning move in the finals 'The Gadson', he said, "The reason we call it 'The Gadson' is because that's something Coach [Kevin] Jackson had taught me a while back, but I was really the only one on the team hitting it. So when I was hitting it in competition, we would say, 'Gadson Airlines' or 'Cyclone Airlines'."

He continued, "It's actually called a 'Polish Steparound Throw', according to Daniel Cormier. But I told Daniel last night when I was talking to him, that I would never, I couldn't call it the 'Polish Steparound Throw'. It just doesn't have that flavor to it. But I'd call it 'The Cormier-Gadson'. I saw him hit it in his highlights versus Dan Henderson, if you watch that on YouTube," referring to the Cormier-Henderson MMA fight.

"It was something that I had been practicing and had actually used it earlier in the tournament to get a fall in the second round, and had been using it a good amount of the season," he said. He also explained how to do this move, which involves getting an overhook on one side, an underhook on the other side, and hooking the leg as you throw your opponent to the mat.

We also discussed his viral interview where he said he wanted some ice cream, and how he only found out afterwards, and unexpectedly, that it had gone viral.

In addition, we delved into his career as a wrestler at Iowa State, which has now concluded on such a high note. We discussed his "roller-coaster relationship" with his late father, Willie Gadson, an All-American wrestler at Iowa State and his high school coach, who passed away from cancer in 2013, and how that affected his life on and off the mat. We also discussed the need for more diversity in college wrestling, his plans to become an athletic director at a university and get a master's degree and Ph.D., how he presently has no plans to continue wrestling, why he no longer uses social media, and much, much more.

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Labels: champion, college, Cyclones, Eddie Goldman, ice cream, Iowa State, Kevin Jackson, Kyven Gadson, NCAA, No Holds Barred, wrestling