Penn State Wrestling: Lasting Legacy – Greg Kerkvliet
Penn State Wrestling saw a trio of all-time greats finish their collegiate careers in the 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships.
And in this first edition, we’ll shine a light on the incredible career of heavyweight Greg Kerkvliet.
But before we do this, I would like to again highlight what Kerk did two weeks ago. Because this accurately sums up his time in Happy Valley to a “T”.
Greg Kerkvliet took to the mat in Philadelphia with a torn ACL. An injury which was believed to have happened in the 2025 B1G Championships. Not only did Greg “take to the mat”, but the guy would have most likely finished in third place had he not medically forfeited to finish in sixth place.
Furthermore, his sixth-place finish in the 2025 NCAA’s places him within a very small group of Nittany Lion greats who also have five All-American finishes:
Nick Lee (2018-2022)
Roman Bravo-Young (2019-2023)
Aaron Brooks (2020-2024)
Carter Starocci (2020-2024)
That’s some pretty good company right there.
Greg Kerkvliet’s Career for Penn State Wrestling
Credit – Lloyd McCully
Unfortunately for both the Penn State Wrestling fans and especially for Kerk, injuries played a large part in his career.
But look, injuries happen. And a lot of times there’s simply nothing that can be done about it. Rather, the only thing you can do is try to shake them off, train your butt off, and get back on the saddle.
Which is exactly what Greg did.
Penn State Wrestling – Freshman Year 2020-2021
Kerkvliet’s redshirt freshman year almost didn’t even happen.
After finishing a perfect 9-0 in tournaments his true freshman campaign, it looked like the talented giant would make waves once he cracked the starting lineup. However, that didn’t happen at all in the shortened 2021 regular season.
That is, until Greg made his first dual appearance in Penn State’s last dual meet of the year against Maryland.
And in his debut, Kerk didn’t disappoint. He made quick work of both guys he faced (including an extra match) with pins in the first period.
Then in the 2021 B1G Championships, Kerkvliet went 4-2, which was good enough for an automatic bid in the NCAA’s.
And in the 2021 NCAA’s, Greg again put up a 4-2 record. However, this time is was for him to finish in seventh place and earn his first All-American honors.
But following that year, the real bombshell dropped: Greg Kerkvliet had battled through a blood clot and a life-threatening staph infection to compete that season.
“Holy improbable, Batman!”
Penn State Wrestling – Sophomore Year 2021-2022
Going into his sophomore season, Greg looked like a completely different guy. His body looked more full and he was insanely quick and strong on the mat.
Kerk plowed through the regular season and only had one bump in the road, Iowa’s Tony Cassioppi (7-2).
Then in the finals of the 2022 B1G Championships, Greg and Tony met again. Unfortunately the result was the same. Another loss (6-4).
But no big deal. Conference titles are nice. NCAA titles are forever.
Greg then bulldozed his way through the first three rounds of the NCAA’s, which led to another matchup with Minnesota’s Gable Steveson in the semis. And at the time I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. From my perspective, Kerk seemed a little “off”. Granted, he was still winning his matches, so I didn’t think too much about it.
Gable was ultimately able to get through Kerkvliet again (8-3). And in the wrestlebacks, Greg took down Michigan’s all-time great Mason Parris (6-1). Which was huge. Because I thought for sure it would be a third-place finish or bust at that point.
However, Kerkvliet medically forfeited against Lehigh’s Jordan Wood to finish in fourth place.
Again, a little time after the NCAA Championships, Cael Sanderson came out and said Kerk had a lower body injury. Additionally, at the time, it didn’t even look like he would be able to wrestle in the tournament at all.
Wow.
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Penn State Wrestling – Junior Year 2022-2023
The script Kerkvliet’s junior season looked identical to the previous year.
He was dominant against every single wrestler in the country, except for one guy.
The prior year, it was Tony Cassioppi … and technically Gable. But who doesn’t have a problem with him?
Oh yeah, that’s right. It’s Anthony Cassar and Wyatt Hendrickson! That’s who!
Where was I?
Oh yeah, Kerk’s junior year. Moving on.
However, that year, it was Mason Parris.
Parris upended Kerkvliet in the regular season (3-1), the 2023 B1G finals (5-3), and in the 2023 NCAA finals (5-1).
Nothing was said about an injury in the postseason, but if you go back and look at Greg’s match in the finals, there’s no way he was close to 100%.
He had Parris dead to rights with a single leg in the first period. Then he just gave it up.
Like, what?
At one point in the match, Mason had a 2:22 riding time advantage. Even the best guys in the country on top don’t do that to him.
Until I get proven otherwise, I also believe he was injured going into this match.
*Sigh*
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Penn State Wrestling – Senior Year 2023-2024
Even though Kerk missed some time his senior year due to illness, it was far and away his most healthy on the mat from start to finish.
And his results speak for themselves.
Greg compiled a perfect 20-0 record and finished with a 70% bonus percentage. Additionally, he took home his first B1G title and his first NCAA title with a dominant 13-4 major decision against Michigan’s Lucas Davison.
Finally, Kerk pretty much had an injury-free season. And it ended with an NCAA title. Not surprising in the least.
Penn State Wrestling – Senior+ Year 2024-2025
Credit – Lloyd McCully
Aside from catching a stray illness here and there, Kerkvliet seemed on his way to another injury-free season.
He took an 18-0 record into the finals of the 2025 B1G finals. And even though Gable Steveson left his shoes on the mat three years prior, he was the guy Greg would face.
Kerk battled tough, however, he wasn’t on the same level as Gable that day. The 10-3 loss denied Greg his second straight B1G title. But something larger stemmed from both that match and from the tournament.
Because when it came time for the 2025 NCAA Championships, Greg sported a heavy brace on his left knee.
Rumors swirled around about an injury, but nothing was coming out of the Penn State Wrestling room.
And while Kerk breezed past his first three opponents without giving up a point, he definitely didn’t look like himself. He looked a little hesitant at times, and he struggled getting to his attacks.
All of this then culminated in the semifinals, where he would face Wyatt Hendrickson for the third time in his career. For context, Kerk was previously 2-0 against him (18-2 and 4-2). However, this match looked nothing like those results.
Greg had no answers. Hendrickson landed the first two takedowns of his career against Kerklviet, and that was too much to overcome. Kerk dropped the 8-2 decision, and he was relegated to the consolation bracket, where he sadly had to forfeit his final two matches of his career due to injury.
Greg Kerkvliet’s Lasting Legacy for Penn State Wrestling
Credit – Scott Pilutik
So let’s take a quick recap on Greg’s career:
Life threatening infection and blood clot -> All-American (7th)
Injury that risked his NCAA appearance -> All-American (4th)
The Mason Parris Year -> All-American (2nd)
Finally healthy that year -> All-American (1st)
Torn ACL two weeks prior to NCAA’s -> All-American (6th)
Well, it I had to put Greg Kerkvliet’s Nittany Lion career into words, based on everything I have seen from him. Furthermore, based on everything he’s had to deal with during his time in the wrestling room, then it’s this:
“Warrior”
Time and time again he hit a roadblock. But most importantly, time and time again Kerkvliet picked himself off of the mat. And he did what needed to be done to get back to the line to face his opponent each time.
And there has to be something said for that.
He’s the second best heavyweight in school history. Only behind the legendary Kerry McCoy.
And for his time as a Nittany Lion, Greg Kerkvliet goes down as an all-time great in my book. That much is for sure.
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Education: Penn State University
Location: State College, PA
Even though he had no prior journalism experience, Chris has now covered Penn State Wrestling and Penn State Football for the past three years, including as the Penn State Wrestling Beat Writer for VictoryBellRings.com, part of the FanSided network.
And it's clear he also likes constant torture as he's been a PSU Basketball fan for way too long.
Several years back, Chris made the seamless transition from PGA Professional to computer programmer and thoroughly enjoys following and writing about all things related to Penn State sports during his spare time.