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    Gable, Owings to meet again at NCAA Fan Fest

    The two wrestlers involved in what is widely considered to be the greatest upset in NCAA finals history will meet again at the 2018 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.

    Dan Gable and Larry Owings will be featured guests together at a "Greatest Rivals" event at Fan Fest between sessions at the 2018 NCAAs in Cleveland this March, WIN (Wrestling Insider Newsmagazine) announced in its Feb. 16, 2018 issue.

    Larry Owings defeated Dan Gable in 1970
    Owings who rocked the wrestling world at the 1970 NCAA finals by handing Gable his first-ever loss in his high school and college mat career, will appear together at the WIN Magazine Memorabilia Show as part of NCAA Fan Fest at the Huntington Convention Center in downtown Cleveland immediately after Session I of the NCAA championships on Saturday, March 17 at approximately 3:00 p.m. (Please note new day and time from what had been originally announced.)

    "For the first time ever, the legendary Dan Gable and his only college opponent -- Washington's Larry Owings -- to ever beat Gable will be making an appearance together," WIN publisher Bryan Van Kley wrote in his "Inside Trip" column. "Video of the epic 1970 NCAA finals match will be shown, there will be a brief Q&A and photo opportunity time then they'll sign autographs for fans."

    "Gable and Owings have met on a couple occasions and even spoken since that match in 1970," Van Kley continued. "But it's never been a public event where fans can get pictures and autographs with the two wrestling greats."

    The Owings-Gable 142-pound match at the 1970 NCAA finals at Northwestern University outside Chicago is considered to be the greatest upset in the history of the NCAA wrestling championships, according to the late amateur wrestling historian Jay Hammond, and in an online poll of historians and wrestling fans conducted for the 75th anniversary of the NCAA Wrestling Championships in 2005.

    In addition to the Gable-Owings event, the 2018 NCAA Fan Fest will also feature a "Wrestling and Football" exhibit -- a joint venture of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame -- which will also include a roundtable discussion and autograph session featuring four greats of the wrestling mat and gridiron: Curley Culp, Bob Golic, Carlton Haselrig and Stephen Neal.

    The WIN Magazine Memorabilia Show and NCAA Fan Fest is free and open to the general public. For NCAA attendees, the convention center is a short walk from the Quicken Loans Arena, host venue for the NCAAs. However, those wishing to see the Gable-Owings "Greatest Rivals" event do NOT need a ticket to the NCAA championships to attend NCAA Fan Fest.

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