Potential Gable Steveson vs. Greg Kerkvliet rematch headlines Big Ten wrestling meet

On paper, top-ranked Penn State is the overwhelming favorite to win its third consecutive Big Ten wrestling tournament on Saturday and Sunday in Evanston, Ill.

After all, the three-time defending NCAA champion boasts four wrestlers who won Big Ten titles last year, and they’re among eight Nittany Lions who are ranked first or second nationally by Intermat.

Of course, matches aren’t wrestled on paper but instead on Resilite mats. So don’t expect No. 2 Iowa, No. 4 Nebraska, the fifth-ranked Gophers or No. 7 Ohio State to cede anything to Penn State in a tournament that also serves as the qualifying event for the NCAA Championships on March 20-23 in Philadelphia.

As dominant as the Nittany Lions have been since coach Cael Sanderson took over in 2009 — winning 11 national championships in that span — they’ve shown a slight measure of vulnerability in the conference tournament, with only eight titles and seven finishes of second or lower in that run.

“We’ve got a great team. They’re excited to wrestle, they love to compete,” Sanderson said in a news conference Monday. “We’re happy, we’re healthy, and let’s go see what we can do.”

Here are some key story lines for the Big Ten Championships:

Sunday’s heavyweight final could have a strong Minnesota flavor with top-ranked Gable Steveson of the Gophers expected to face second-ranked Greg Kerkvliet of Penn State.

They’ve been rivals since 2018, when Simley’s Kerkvliet moved up from 220 pounds to heavyweight to face Apple Valley’s Steveson in a prep match for the ages. Steveson won a 3-2 decision that night in Inver Grove Heights on his way to four consecutive state championships.

Steveson finished third in the NCAA Championships as a true freshman and had an undefeated 2020 season go unfinished because COVID-19 wiped out the NCAA tournament. He won back-to-back national championships in 2021 and 2022, with an incredible rally to win an Olympic freestyle gold medal tucked in between.

He retired from amateur wrestling to try pro wrestling, then spent last summer in the Buffalo Bills training camp and dabbled in mixed martial arts. With one year of eligibility remaining, Steveson returned to the mat this fall and is 11-0, running his active winning streak to 63 matches.

“I’ve just got to stay wrestling hard, hammer it out and go win Big Tens,” Steveson said after the Feb. 14 Iowa dual.

Kerkvliet, the reigning NCAA heavyweight champion and four-time All-American, is 16-0. He has faced Steveson twice in college, falling 9-4 in the 2021 NCAA quarterfinals and 8-3 in the 2022 NCAA semifinals.

“Greg just needs to be Greg,” Sanderson said. “… He’s gotten a lot better every year that he’s been here."

Gophers redshirt freshman Max McEnelly has burst onto the college wrestling scene this season, amassing an 18-0 record and ascending to the No. 4 national ranking at 184 pounds. The four-time state champion from Waconia owns victories over No. 5 Bennett Berge of South Dakota State, No. 7 Silas Allred of Nebraska and No. 8 Gabe Arnold of Iowa. McEnelly is seeded No. 2, and to win the title, he’ll likely have to go through Penn State’s top-ranked and top-seeded Carter Starocci, a four-time NCAA champion.

“That’s what you look for as a competitor,” McEnelly said. “Can’t wait to get to my first Big Ten Championships.”

The Gophers’ Isaiah Salazar won the 184-pound title at last year’s Big Ten tournament. He’s 15-4 and seeded fifth at 197 this year, and to add a second conference crown, he must navigate a field that includes No. 1 Stephen Buchanan of Iowa, No. 2 Josh Barr of Penn State and No. 3 Jacob Cardenas of Michigan.

Looking for a Gopher who could surprise? Check out 141-pounder Vance VomBaur, who’s 20-3 and seeded No. 4. VomBaur took defending national champion Jesse Mendez of Ohio State to a second tiebreaker on Feb. 7 before falling 6-5.

At 157, Minnesota’s Tommy Askey is seeded fifth and is 20-3. He lost a tight 4-1 decision to Iowa’s No. 4 seed Jacori Teemer.

125 pounds: 1. Matt Ramos (23-0), Purdue; 2. Caleb Smith (17-4), Nebraska; 9. Cooper Flynn (12-4), Gophers

133: 1. Drake Ayala (15-1), Iowa; 2. Lucas Byrd (15-1), Illinois; 10. Tyler Wells (11-5), Gophers

141: 1. Beau Bartlett (18-0), Penn State; 2. Jesse Mendez (23-1), Ohio State; 4. Vance VomBaur (20-3), Gophers

149: 1. Shayne Van Ness (17-1), Penn State; 2. Kyle Parco (17-1), Iowa; 10, Drew Roberts (12-7), Gophers

157: 1. Ethen Miller (20-0), Maryland; 2. Tyler Kasak (15-1), Penn State; 5. Tommy Askey (20-3), Gophers

165: 1. Mitchell Mesenbrink (19-0), Penn State; 2. Mike Caliendo (18-1), Iowa; 5. Andrew Sparks (19-5), Gophers

174: 1. Levi Haines (17-1), Penn State; 2. Carson Kharchla (11-1), Ohio State; 5. Clayton Whiting (15-4), Gophers

184: 1. Carter Starocci (18-0), Penn State; 2. Max McEnelly (18-0), Gophers

197: 1. Stephen Buchanan (19-0), Iowa; 2. Josh Barr (17-1), Penn State; 4. Isaiah Salazar (15-4), Gophers

Hwt: No. 1 Gable Steveson (11-0), Gophers; No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet (16-0), Penn State

Saturday-Sunday, Welsh-Ryan Arena, Evanston, Ill.

Saturday’s TV/stream schedule

10 a.m.-2 p.m.: first round, quarterfinals, BTN, B1G+

5 p.m.: Wrestlebacks, B1G+

7 p.m.: Semifinals, BTN

Sunday’s TV/stream schedule

Noon: Consolation semifinals, seventh-place matches, B1G+

4:30 p.m.: Championship matches on BTN, third- and fifth-place matches on B1G+