#50 Greg Kerkvliet (Original Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com/Graphic Courtesy of Anna-Lee Marie)Welcome to a new recurring feature from InterMat as we lead into the 2021-22 collegiate season. We are about 50 days away from the start of the new season, so what better way to ring in the new year than to use that time to count down the top-50 current collegiate wrestlers. Each day a new wrestler will be released.
These rankings have been compiled by members of the InterMat staff and used a combination of collegiate achievements, with 2021 accomplishments carrying more weight than past years, along with win-loss records and notable wins. While we are counting down the top-50 wrestlers based primarily on collegiate accomplishments, it is impossible to totally ignore achievements in the international settings, so they did factor in slightly, too.
Let's get it started!
#50 - Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State)
Weight: 285 lbs
Year: Freshman
Career Record: 10-4
Hometown: Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota
College Accomplishments: 2021 NCAA 7th Place; 2021 Big Ten 4th Place
2021-22 Preseason Ranking: #5 at 285 lbs
A phenom on the age-group level, Greg Kerkvliet came into State College with sky-high expectations after being labeled the top recruit in the high school Class of 2019. Those were earned by a Cadet world championship in 2017 and a silver medal the following year. The opponent that defeated Kerkvliet at the 2018 Cadet World Championships was Amir Zare (Iran), who recently claimed an Olympic bronze medal. That year, Kerkvliet also earned a place on the Junior world team but had to pull out due to an injury. His replacement, Zach Elam, went on to take silver.
Kerkvliet's recruitment and journey to Penn State was one of the most unusual ones in recent memory. At one point, Kerkvliet committed to staying in-state and wrestle for Minnesota, before switching over to Oklahoma State. After decommitting from the Cowboys, Kerkvliet signed with Ohio State. He only would spend a semester in Columbus before transferring to Penn State.
During his redshirt season, Kerkvliet went 9-0 competing unattached at Penn State. He would capture bonus points in six of those contests and claimed titles at the Shorty Hitchcock Classic and the Mat-Town Open. Kerkvliet's best win that year came over fellow unattached stud Lewis Fernandes (Cornell), 6-4.
Kerkvliet's 2021 season is one that almost didn't happen. On February 10th, Nittany Lion head coach Cael Sanderson publicly stated that his 285 lber would be out for the year due to an injury. After the NCAA Tournament, Kerkvliet gave some explanation regarding the uncertainty surrounding his season. A staph infection, followed by two blood clots, prevented him from any physical activity for two months. Miraculously, he was able to get cleared for Penn State's dual with Maryland on February 21st and picked up two wins via fall.
Kerkvliet's Big Ten Tournament could be looked at through two different lenses. His lack of mat time, obviously took its toll on him as he was majored by two of the top contenders, Mason Parris (Michigan) and Tony Cassioppi (Iowa). On the other hand, Greg still finished fourth in the conference and racked up a win against returning All-American Trent Hillger (Wisconsin) and rankings-mainstay Christian Lance (Nebraska).
Two weeks later, in St. Louis, Kerkvliet was closer to top form. As the ninth-seed, he faced fellow Minnesota big-man, Gable Steveson and fell, 9-4. Though he lost, it was only one of two regular decisions on the year for the future Olympic gold medalist. Just to get to Steveson, Kerkvliet had to down past All-American Jordan Wood (Lehigh), which he did to the tune of a 12-2 major decision. To secure a place among the top-eight, Kerkvliet majored Austin Harris (Oklahoma State), 13-5. He would fall in his next match to another world-level opponent, Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State), 14-8. Kerkvliet finished seventh after an 11-3 major decision win over Tate Orndorff (Ohio State).
Strengths: Variety of leg attacks from his feet. Tall, long, athletic build, which can outclass the majority of his opponents. Big-match international experience.
2021-22 Outlook: Based on ability and potential, Kerkvliet could finish much higher if this list were compiled after the upcoming season. With last week's announcement that Steveson will return at 285 lbs next season, winning a title will be a monumental, uphill task for anyone else in the field. That being said, with a full, healthy offseason, it's not unreasonable to think that Kerkvliet might be able to unseat a couple of opponents that finished ahead of him in 2021. While it's not a complete apples-to-apples comparison, he did log a 4-4 win on criteria over Parris at the Olympic Trials in early April.
#50 Greg Kerkvliet at the 2021 Big Ten Championships (Original Photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com)
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