Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1486024
D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 2 4 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M I f gaining weight goes hand in hand with gaining ground, then Penn State heavyweight wrestler Greg Kerkvliet is well on his way in quest of his first NCAA championship. A junior from Inver Grove Heights, Minn., Kerkvliet tipped the scales during his first two seasons in the 235-pound range. He was strong and agile enough to handle equally sized and even many bulkier foes en route to a 22-3 record and fourth-place NCAA finish last sea- son, but opponents such as Minnesota's Gable Steveson, an Olympic champion, and Iowa's Tony Cassioppi had enough girth and strength to offset Kerkvliet's quickness. Since then, he's downed more than a few steak dinners and made countless trips to the weight room, and he now car- ries 253 pounds. His dexterity is still in- tact, and his confidence remains on the rise. "I could grow more, but 253 is a good spot," said Kerkvliet, who has three sea- sons of eligibility remaining. "I think I can make any weight feel good. I just have to spend some time there. I've spent a de- cent amount of time at the 253, 250 range and I'm wrestling pretty well there." An NCAA qualifier in his first two sea- sons, Kerkvliet placed fourth last year with a loss to Steveson and a medical forfeit to Lehigh's Jordan Wood at the NCAA Tournament in Detroit. He didn't face Steveson at the Big Ten tourney but lost a 6-4 overtime decision to Cas- sioppi, yielding a late reversal to tie in regulation and an overtime takedown to lose. This came after earlier 9-0 and 7-2 losses to the Iowa standout. "Cassioppi is a great competitor; he's beaten Greg every time," Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said prior to the pair meeting in late November. "Greg is still one of those guys who's figuring out how good he really is, and I think he's really good." Kerkvliet showed just how good by opening this season with a first-period fall against Lock Haven's Ethan Miller. He was able to accurately measure his prog- ress on Nov. 22 during the National Wres- tling Coaches Association All-Star Clas- sic in Austin, Texas, against Cassioppi. In that match, Kerkvliet showed that he's jumped levels over last season by trimming Cassioppi 8-5. A couple of double-leg takedowns, a counter takedown and a riding time point enabled Kerkvliet to maintain con- trol for all seven minutes and defend his No. 2 national ranking. When Cassioppi fired off a strong double-leg shot in the third period and managed to get Kerkv- liet's hips down, the Penn State wres- tler used his own heavy hips and agility WRESTLING Coming On Strong A brawnier Greg Kerkvliet aims to throw his weight around in pursuit of an NCAA heavyweight championship this season J I M C A R L S O N | B L U E W H I T E C O N T R I BU TO R Kerkvliet opened his season with a first-period pin of Lock Haven's Ethan Miller. Later in November, the junior heavy- weight earned an 8-5 victory over Iowa's Tony Cassioppi, a wrestler to whom he had lost three times earlier in his career. PHOTO BY DANIEL ALTHOUSE