Penn State Wrestling: Heavyweight Champ Announces his Future Plans

With the misfortune of being in the same weight class and same conference as Hodge Trophy winners Gable Stevenson (Minnesota) and Mason Parris (Michigan), Kerkvliet never one a national or even a conference championship until this March. But he got both this year. He beat Ohio State’s Nick Feldman for the Big Ten title and Michigan’s Lucas Davison for the national championship less than two weeks later.

After winning that elusive national title, Kerkvliet was asked about his future plans in a post-match presser.

He said he hadn’t made a decision yet.

In between Kerkvliet’s national title win and announcing his return, Penn State wrestling got more good news. National runner-up Beau Bartlett (141) and four-time national champ Carter Starocci (174) each announced their decisions to come back. Although Starocci is far and away America’s best 174-pounder, he told reporters at the U.S. Olympic Trials that he and coach Cael Sanderson have talked about him moving up two weight classes to 197. Penn State will have a new 197-pounder in any case, with fellow four-time national champ Aaron Brooks being out of eligibility.

Brooks and Bernie Truax, who also wrestled his last eligible season in 2023-24, are the only two starters who won’t be returning to Penn State.

Considering last year’s team won the national title by 100 points and set the team scoring record, that’s a scary thought for the rest of the nation.