Gabe Dean has figured out how to compartmentalize.

Whatever pressure comes with being a two-time returning NCAA champion, it seems Dean has been able to conquer it.

He’s also conquered all 30 of his opponents this season.

Dean pummeled the field last weekend on his way to becoming the 11th four-time champion in the 113-year history of the EIWA.

“I keep it pretty simple, like it has been throughout the whole year,” Dean said. “I just go out and wrestle free and clear with no baggage and try to enjoy every match. I only have one more tournament in my college career. I control the things I can control and everything else takes care of itself. It really all comes down to how you prepare yourself and how you go about your business.”

Dean ripped through the 184-pound bracket, registering two pins and two technical falls.

“I was just watching film from the championships, and I think people are going to be saying ‘He Deaned him,’ when people dominate like him,” Cornell coach Rob Koll said. “His name is synonymous with a mauling. It’s inspiring.

“You watch him and wonder why everybody doesn’t wrestle like that. You have to have the power. You have to have the speed, the cardiovascular, but his technique is so special. Lots of guys are big and strong, like the Iowa guys, but the combination of all those things with his technique makes it a lethal combination.”

GABE DEAN FAN CLUB

Gabe Dean added a new fan with his performance at the EIWA Championships: Fellow conference champ Matthew Kolodzik.

“I never really paid attention to Gabe Dean until this weekend,” Kolodzik said. “But ever since I watched him this weekend, he’s like David Taylor, Logan Stieber and Jordan Burroughs. Watching Dean, he just does what he wants. I want to be like him. If you’re good enough, you can do what you want. That’s where I want to be.”

Said Dean: “It’s definitely flattering when people say things like that, and very humbling. I just know that the sport needs people to go out and score point and be on offense. That’s what’s fun to watch, and that’s what I try to do.”

COOL KOLODZIK

Kolodzik took the first step toward joining Dean and the other EIWA four-timers with a 3-2 win against Lehigh All-American Randy Cruz in the conference finals at 141.

“He’s like the ice man,” Princeton coach Chris Ayres said. “He’s got ice running in his veins. He’s only a freshman and he finds ways to win in the most challenging situations. I’m more nervous than he is. He’s calm, cool, collected.”

Navy’s Jared Prince pushed Kolodzik before the Tiger prevailed 3-1 in the semifinals. Against Cruz, Kolodzik needed a third-period takedown and a riding-time point to pull out the win.

“He got that takedown with not much time left,” Ayres said. “I actually didn’t think he wrestled that great at EIWAs, which is a credit to him to still win it. I really feel good about his chances (at the NCAA Championships).”

Kolodzik approached assistant coach Nick Heflin prior to the EIWA Championships and asked the 2014 NCAA finalist about what it was like to win a Big Ten title. Heflin told the freshman that the conference championship was just a milestone on the way to a bigger goal — winning a national title.

“The goal is always to be an NCAA champ,” Kolodzik said. “I’d say about 25 percent of that is myself (and) 75 percent my dad. He had me and my brother set high goals from a young age.”

Kolodzik also credited brother, Daniel, for advice and inspiration, and said that his success is directly related to the experiences Daniel shared with him.

“I remember one day when I was really frustrated, which probably happens too many times,” he said, “I called my brother and told him life sucks, cutting weight sucks, I’m not wrestling well, school’s not going well.

“His advice, pretty much every time, was the same. He’d say, ‘You know how sometimes you can go into the practice room and just beat the crap out of everyone and that feels good?’ I said, ‘Yeah, that does feel good.’ That hit the switch for me, so every time I have a crappy day, I just let it go and have fun wrestling, and that helps everything else in my life.”

Ayres also helped Kolodzik understand that the transition phase from dominating in high school to experiencing the ups and downs that come with being a college freshman.

“He’d say to me that I mowed through everybody in high school and that those were times I could show off,” Kolodzik said. “This is college, and now I have to acclimate so I can kick the crap out of kids.”

IN A GOOD PLACE

Four EIWA wrestlers are seeded fourth or better for the NCAA Championships: Dean (No. 1 at 184), Cornell’s Brian Realbuto (No. 2 at 174), Lehigh’s Darian Cruz (No. 4 at 125) and Kolodzik (No. 4 at 141).

MOUNTAIN HAWKS MOVING ON

Lehigh finished second to Cornell at the EIWA Championships for the fourth straight year. The Mountain Hawks had their title chances diminish when freshman Jordan Kutler didn’t make weight after battling back from injury.

“We’ve kind of moved on from it now,” said Lehigh coach Pat Santoro, who noted that last weekend was the first time in his career as a head coach that one of his wrestlers didn’t make weight. “It happened. Our guys knew what we had to do.

“We wanted to win Easterns. We needed 10 guys. (With) two other guys coming back from injury (197-pounder Ben Haas and 184-pounder Kyle Gentile), and without Jordan, our backs were up against the wall.”

SCISSORS CUTS PAPER

Cornell’s Rob Koll and Princeton’s Chris Ayres shared the EIWA Coach of the Year award.

“Technically, I got coach of the year,” Koll said. “I beat Ayres in Rock-Paper-Scissors for it at the end. He throws paper. Who throws paper? You don’t throw paper in a scissors fight.”

Cornell has developed into a rock-solid program in the EIWA, winning 11 consecutive conference titles.

Princeton is a program on the rise.

“It’s a validation, sure, but the coach of the year thing is funny,” Ayres said. “It’s really the program of the year, and so much goes into that. It’s a validation for our coaches, the kids we have, the alumni who support us, the entire program.

“For sure I’ve been through a lot with this program my first few years here. We were out in the second round of the EIWAs my first year. So many people contributed to get us where we are today. It’s more about the program than me as a person.”

BIG RED MACHINE

Cornell’s run to an 11th straight conference title came as a bit of a surprise

“I certainly didn’t think we’d win the tournament by 45 points,” said Koll, whose team dealt with moving lineup parts throughout the regular season.

“The difference is that our guys responded. The system doesn’t change. There’s consistency. Obviously, it’s more than luck that we’ve won it 11 straight years. We’ve got a very supportive administration, great coaches who are well paid to be here year after year after year. If I had a revolving door of coaches, this wouldn’t happen. I get all the credit, they do all the work.”

Dean said the Cornell staff does an incredible job of working with each wrestler’s style.

“They don’t try to make us wrestle one way,” he said. “They let us develop our style with what we’re good at. And I think our team definitely has an offensive mindset.”

(Photo: Cornell senior Gabe Dean became the 11th four-time champion in the 113-year history of the EIWA tournament/Cornell Athletic Communications)