Reflecting on National Championship and Looking to the Future
As a small child, Gabe Hixenbaugh wanted to be a boxer.
“My mom wasn’t really about that, so she wanted me to get into wrestling instead,” the graduate student said.
This alternative proved fruitful for the Alabaster native, who clinched a national wrestling championship victory in March — not only marking a historic end to the inaugural season of UM wrestling, but the first national championship in the Falcons’ NCAA Division II history.
“I trained for that for basically my whole life,” he said. “Since I was a kid, I always wanted to wrestle at the next level, and of course you want to win. A lot of time and hard work and effort goes into that and it’s a very emotional path to that position.”
Hixenbaugh claimed the 133-pound title, 4-1, over No. 3 and defending champion Gavin Quiocho of Glenville State University at Hartman Arena in Park City, Kansas. The outpouring of support that he received after his win made him truly realize he belonged at Montevallo.
“It was awesome seeing how big the community is here and how much people truly care about everyone on campus,” he said. “It’s a unique and close community. No matter what kind of lifestyle you live or what you’re passionate about, there’s a spot for you here at this campus.”
Having earned a bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity from Campbell University in North Carolina, Hixenbaugh is
now pursuing a Master of Business Administration. In the future, he hopes to become a deputy with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department and potentially transition to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Hixenbaugh is now also serving as a volunteer assistant coach for the Falcons wrestling team.
“My role is to just develop them and make sure that they’re going in the right direction,” he said. With the majority of the team being freshmen and sophomores, he is called upon to mentor, which is a new experience for him. “Assuming that role was different, but I’ve really enjoyed it.”
