Stephenson's Impact 'Immeasurable' For NU Gym

Nebraska's main recruiting pitch to Anton Stephenson was fairly straightforward.
 
Would Stephenson, a highly-touted gymnast from Fishers, Indiana, wish to be another good gymnast on an established team loaded with talent, or would he prefer to become a cornerstone athlete for a rebuilding program in the process of returning to its powerhouse days?
 
"I felt like he could be the one that would change us and take us to the next step," Nebraska men's gymnastics coach Chuck Chmelka said. "I told him he could've been a leader at any school he went to, but he could be a legend at Nebraska.
 
"And look at how things are starting to turn out."
 
Stephenson, a four-time All-American and Co-Big Ten Gymnast of the Year his senior season, did more than help a Nebraska men's gymnastics program steeped in tradition, yet mired in a long down cycle, return to its rightful place among the nation's best. Affable and humble, he also established himself as a model student, citizen and leader for his team, and for the University of Nebraska.
 
That's why Stephenson is a 2020 NCAA Today's Top Ten Award Winner, a prestigious award presented annually to 10 outstanding senior student-athletes across the nation from the previous academic year. He becomes Nebraska's nation-leading 18th NCAA Today's Top Ten Award recipient, and the first since women's tennis player Mary Weatherholt in 2014.
 
"It's cool to still be remembering some of my accomplishments from the past year," said Stephenson, who's completing his first semester of medical school at UNMC. "It means a lot to me, because the NCAA is a highly-regarded institution, and to be recognized as a positive member is such a great honor."
 
Stephenson remembers well Chmelka's recruiting pitch. Nebraska, an eight-time national champion, with its most recent in 1994, hadn't qualified for the NCAA Finals since 1999, when the Huskers finished third. Nebraska hadn't produced a winning record since the 2001 team went 7-6. The previous four teams before Stephenson's arrival went 2-18, 5-22, 5-19, 5-19.
 
"The only direction for our team to go was up," Stephenson said. "There was a lot of restoration to some of the principles. The coaches deserve that success. They worked so hard and maybe hadn't seen the results in the years before I joined, but to think I helped set the trajectory for success in the future is such an honor."


 
In Stephenson's sophomore season, Nebraska ended its NCAA Finals drought, placing sixth. The Huskers went 14-14 in Stephenson's junior season and finished fifth in the NCAA Finals. In his senior season, Nebraska finished third in the NCAA Finals, its highest since 1999.
 
"To think I contributed to that turnaround," Stephenson said, "is amazing."
 
Perhaps "contribute" is an understatement.
 
Exactly how much did Stephenson have to do with Nebraska's long-awaited turnaround?
 
"A lot. Probably so much, you don't even know," Chmelka said. "Not just from the gymnastics side of it, but what he brought to the table academically, as a person, leader. The kid did it all. He excelled at everything he did, and then he's so humble. He cares more about his teammates than what he accomplishes.
 
"It was immeasurable what he's done for our program."
 
Chmelka credits Stephenson's personality and leadership skills to his strong family background. His older brother, Chris, was also an All-American gymnast at Nebraska, and the two competed together for three seasons.
 
"It's his parents. And his brother Chris was a lot the same," Chmelka said. "They just have that unique trait that hardly anybody has nowadays. They care about people they love more than themselves."
 
Anton also credits his brother for his success.
 
"I think one of my favorite parts of my undergraduate was to have him as a role model, someone I have looked up to literally my whole life," Stephenson said. "It's something I'll cherish for the rest of my life, for sure.
 
"A lot his work ethic is unmatchable. He is such a morally standardized person and represents himself with a lot of integrity. He doesn't let something that someone says or does stand against him and what he wants to do with his life."
 
Stephenson, the third Nebraska men's gymnast to earn an NCAA Top Ten Award, finished his decorated Nebraska career at the 2019 NCAA Championships with a third-place finish on vault and seventh-place finish in the all-around. He earned his bachelor's in nutrition and health sciences with a cumulative 3.9 GPA and began medical school in August.
 
While he's not decided on a certain area of study, he's leaning toward sports medicine, largely because he's been a student-athlete affected by injury and impressed with those who helped his recovery. He suffered a torn meniscus as a high school junior and a torn rotator cuff his sophomore year at Nebraska.


 
"The reason I got into medicine was I was seeing orthopedic surgeons for certain injuries in high school and college, and I really appreciated their abilities to help me keep competing," Stephenson said. "Just the amount of care they put into it and the passion they showed to get me back to competing was inspiring."

No matter what direction Stephenson's career path takes, Chmelka knows it will lead to nothing but success.
 
"He works so hard, he'll excel at anything he does," Chmelka said. "I think he's going to make the world a better place, for sure. I'm so glad he's in the field he's in. He's going to excel with it. I could see him being one of the people who figures out a cure for cancer. Who knows? I don't think there's any limit to what he can do."
 
Medical school "is a lot of work," Stephenson said, but also very fulfilling because he sincerely enjoys what he's learning.
 
Stephenson's biggest tussle has been leaving gymnastics aside. He's been involved in the sport since he was 3 years old, and has been honest with himself in knowing he won't likely compete again, not with his medical career in his future.
 
"Gymnastics was my identity for such a long time, so it's a weird transition," Stephenson said. "It's literally been my identity my entire life. I would be lying if I said this was all easy.
 
"I do enjoy not having the pressure of each practice to perform, but I don't exercise as much as I use to. I really do miss a few hours a day where a group of friends and I work together on our shared goals. And as an upperclassman, helping guide the freshmen was a cultural experience."
 
Stephenson said he's begun working on "healthier mindful activities," and that being involved in a program that is so time consuming has helped him keep his mind of the void of gymnastics.
 
"But I'll be honest. The summer was tough," he said. "I still think about gymnastics every day of my life. I'm beyond grateful for the experiences Nebraska gave me and my coaches gave me." 
 
Reach Brian at brosenthal@huskers.com or follow him on Twitter @GBRosenthal.