They may be the biggest, baddest college wrestlers in America.
And the two senior heavyweights appear on a double collision course during this postseason − likely to meet on the mat for the first time in three years.
Penn State wrestling NCAA champion Greg Kerkvliet vs. Olympic champion Gable Steveson.
The first expected showdown should come Sunday evening in the finals of the Big Ten Championships in Evanston, Illinois. Both are undefeated this season.
Kerkvliet has won 36 straight matches, which includes his first national title at last year’s championships in Kansas City. Minnesota’s Steveson has won 63-straight, most of those coming before a two-year hiatus from college to pursue potential careers in MMA and the NFL.
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Steveson certainly owns the gaudier resume. He sandwiched an Olympic gold medal at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo between NCAA championships and back-to-back Hodge Trophies, given to the nation’s top wrestler. He won three straight Big Ten titles (2020-22).
His only two college defeats? They came six years ago − to Penn State’s Anthony Cassar in the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments.
Steveson defeated Kerkvliet in their only two previous matchups − 7-4 and 8-3 decisions in the 2021 and 2022 NCAA championships.
There’s also this: Steveson and Kerkvliet graduated from Minnesota high schools just 15 miles apart.
Now, the two are now the top-ranked heavyweights in the nation. That means they will be favored to meet not only on Sunday but at the NCAA Championships in Philadelphia two weeks later.
Their potential long-awaited reunion on the mat should be a high-energy, possibly high-scoring affair. Part of Kerkvliet’s growth over the past few years has come from regular workouts with Olympic wrestlers in the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club.
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“Greg just needs to be Greg, and just kind of do what he does and compete freely because he’s really, really good,” Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said this week when asked about the possible showdown with Steveson.
“Greg is a student of the game, and he’s always playing with different techniques and trying to advance what he’s doing and improve. I think he’s gotten a lot better every year since he’s been here, every year there’s been … significant changes.”
Frank Bodani covers Penn State wrestling for the York Daily Record and USA Today Network. Contact him at [email protected] and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @YDRPennState.
