Return of two-time NCAA Champion knocks Penn State wrestler from top spot in rankings

Penn State wrestling kicked off the 2024-25 campaign with a dominant 41-3 win over Drexel last Sunday. Despite securing an opening-period pin in his first bout of the season, Nittany Lions heavyweight Greg Kerkvliet fell out of the top spot in the national rankings this week following the highly publicized return of two-time National Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist Gable Steveson to Minnesota.

Greg Kerkvliet was the undisputed preseason No. 1 wrestler at 285 pounds after finishing 2024 with a perfect 20-0 record on his way to his first national title. The Penn State wrestling heavyweight handled many of the other top competitors in the weight class easily last year, and Kerkvliet was widely expected to bring a second consecutive championship back to Happy Valley this coming March.

But that changed last week when the NCAA granted a redshirt waiver allowing two-time NCAA Champion, Hodge Trophy winner, and Olympic Gold Medalist Gable Steveson to return for a final year of eligibility with Minnesota. A three-time All-American, Steveson holds an 83-2 career record.

GABLE STEVESON RETURNS TO COLLEGE WRESTLING pic.twitter.com/cGQyZbiZtB

— WrestlersGrind (@_wrestlersgrind) November 12, 2024

Now, the Penn State wrestling heavyweight will have to prove himself once again. This week, InterMat dropped Kerkvliet to No. 2 in its rankings, inserting the recently returned Steveson at the top spot.

Penn State heavyweight gets shot at redemption

© Raj Mehta-Imagn Images

Greg Kerkvliet’s NCAA Championship run last season was the storybook ending for a wrestler who had consistently come so close but had always fallen just short.

Before 2024, the Nittany Lion had been knocked out by the national title winner in each of the three previous seasons. In 2021, Kerkvliet fell to Gable Steveson by a 9-4 decision in the NCAA Quarterfinals. Steveson defeated him again in the 2022 NCAA Semifinals by an 8-3 decision. Even after the Golden Gopher left college wrestling in 2023, Kerkvliet lost a 5-1 decision to Mason Parris, the only wrestler to beat him that season, accounting for all three of his losses.

With the return of one of the most talented heavyweight wrestlers of all time, Greg Kerkvliet finds himself in an underdog role once again. Now after finally reaching the mountaintop, Kerkvliet will have to fend off Gable Steveson to stay there.

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