Ohio State freshman Logan Stieber placed fourth in the 2011 U.S. Senior World Team Trials before winning a silver medal at the Junior World Championships. Larry Slater photo.

How much upside does Logan Stieber have in the sport of wrestling?

Ask his college coach, Ohio State’s Tom Ryan, and you will receive an immediate and direct answer.

“Logan has the potential to reach his goal,” Ryan said. “And his goal is to be an Olympic champion.”

Stieber is just 20 years old and only a redshirt freshman at 133 pounds for the Buckeyes, but he already is making a huge impact in the sport.

Stieber made a big splash in freestyle wrestling on the Senior level at an early age. He placed third in the U.S. Open and fourth in the U.S. World Team Trials while still in high school in 2009.

His progression continued this past summer when he won a silver medal at the Junior World Championships at 60 kg/132 lbs.

“I like Stieber – he’s relentless,” U.S. National Freestyle Coach Zeke Jones said. “He shoots on the whistle, he has a high attack rate, and he expects to win. The kid’s a champion. He will be tough to beat.

“When you have a good kid in a good program with good partners and coaches, you see great things happen. There’s no doubt with his work ethic and his love for wrestling, he can win a lot. He will be a factor at the Olympic Trials.”

Stieber came out strong at July’s Junior World Championships in Bucharest, Romania, dominating Kazakhstan’s Sayatbek Okassov 7-1 in the first period. He dropped the second period 1-0 before recovering to win the third period 1-0.

Stieber then dominated his next three opponents to reach the finals. Azerbaijan’s Toghrul Asgarov then edged Stieber 1-1, 6-4 in the gold-medal match.

“I took him down early, but he kind of slowed down the match to his pace,” Stieber said. “I should’ve opened it up more. It was a tough match and I just need to learn from that experience.”

Stieber’s first international experience left him hungry for more.

“It was a great experience for me – it was awesome,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to go overseas to wrestle. It was a dream come true to wrestle for the United States. I still have a long way to go, but it was fun.”

Shortly before the Junior World Championships, Stieber placed fourth at June’s U.S. Senior World Team Trials in Oklahoma City. Among the wrestlers he beat was Mike Zadick, a past World silver medalist on the Senior level.

“I have been in a lot of tough matches against some of the top Senior-level guys in the U.S.,” Stieber said. “If I can wrestle with them, I know I can do well overseas.”

Ryan said there is a reason Stieber is having so much success at such a young age.

“He is a year-round wrestler who knows the importance of working hard all the time,” Ryan said. “He is a humble kid who doesn’t underestimate anything or anyone. He just gets it. For his age, he is wise beyond his years. He is doing well in school and he’s just a great kid.”

Stieber came up through the USA Wrestling ranks, winning numerous national titles at the Cadet and Junior levels.

“There is so much good competition in the USA Wrestling events,” Stieber said. “It has helped me a lot. It has helped build me as a person and a wrestler.”

Stieber started the 2010-11 college season as the starting 125-pounder as a true freshman for the Buckeyes, but he tore ligaments in his left hand in December. He had a 5-3 record at that point and was sidelined for the rest of the college season.

Stieber received a medical redshirt. He entered the 2011-12 season with four years of college eligibility left. He elected to move up to 133 this season.

“I was cutting a lot of weight and I was struggling with it a lot,” he said. “We made a decision in March to move up to 133. I lifted weights and got bigger. It’s been a good move for me.”

Stieber is in an ideal training situation in Columbus. He works out with past U.S. World Team members Reece Humphrey and Shawn Bunch, who train at the Ohio Regional Training Center. Olympic champion Henry Cejudo and past NCAA champion Angel Escobedo also are training in Columbus now.

“It’s awesome to train with those guys. There are some great wrestlers in our room who know what it takes to be successful,” Stieber said. “(Ohio State assistant coach) Lou Rosselli is the best freestyle coach in the country. He can work with anybody, any size. He is a tough coach who has wrestled at the highest levels. He doesn’t sugar-coat anything and he will tell you like it is.”

Stieber, ranked No. 4 in the national collegiate rankings by Intermat at 133, started this season by winning the Eastern Michigan Open this past weekend. He was named Big Ten Conference Wrestler of the Week. He defeated past All-American Cashe Quiroga of Purdue 15-2 in the finals.

“I am really excited about the college season,” Stieber said. “There will be a lot of good matchups and tough matches throughout the year. As long as I keep working hard, I think I can be successful.”

Stieber is in a strong 133 class that includes past Junior World bronze medalist Jordan Oliver of Oklahoma State. Oliver won the NCAA title at 133 as a sophomore last March and is ranked No. 1 this season.

“We have tremendous respect for Jordan Oliver and the other guys in the weight class,” Ryan said. “Is it reasonable to think Logan has a shot to win a national title as a freshman? Absolutely. Any goal that Logan sets, he has a chance to reach it. That’s just the kind of kid he is.”

Stieber’s younger brother, Buckeye true freshman Hunter Stieber, won the 141-pound title at the Eastern Michigan Open. Hunter is ranked 15th nationally. Both Stiebers were four-time state champions in high school. They are from Monroeville, Ohio.

“Hunter’s doing really well,” Logan said. “We train with each other and push each other. It is a lot of fun having him in the lineup with me. If I have a good match, hopefully he can build off that when he goes out there after I wrestle.”

The Stiebers will compete next when the No. 13 Buckeyes compete in the Harrisburg Duals on Saturday in Pennsylvania.

“We have a good team,” Logan Stieber said. “We are excited to show everybody that we are back.”

Stieber said he plans to compete at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, set for April 21-22 in Iowa City.

“That’s my goal, to make the Olympic Team next year,” Stieber said. “I have a great training situation in Columbus. My ultimate goal is to be Olympic champion. That’s been my goal since I started wrestlling in FILA Cadets. That’s what I’m working for.”

As much as Ryan loves the Stieber brothers, the Buckeye head coach still has one more request for Jeff and Tina Stieber.

“I have asked the Stieber family to have more children,” Ryan said with a laugh. “I love having Logan and Hunter in our program. They have a great family.”