Penn State Wrestling Star Competing in Jiu-Jitsu Tournament, Could Face Pat Downey

Originally posted on Nittany Sports Now | By Joe Smeltzer | Last updated Jul 13, 2024 9:58 AM ET

One of the beauties of college wrestling for Penn State fans and fans of the sport in general is that, once wrestlers are done with their college careers, there’s plenty of paths they could take in the future.

Some, such as Penn State coach Cael Sanderson, go into freestyle wrestling and win Olympic Gold.

Others, such as Brock Lesnar, go onto a different kind of wrestling and become stars in the WWE.

Lesnar eventually ended up a UFC Heavyweight Champ, and some wrestlers take the MMA route, too.

Greg Kerkvliet still has another season to go at Penn State and thus plenty of time to make up his mind for life after college.

But before his senior season, Kerkvliet will be competing in the inaugural Craig Jones Invitational, a grappling event in which the winner gets a million bucks.

Kerkvliet wrote on Instgram that he’s “Blessed to be 1 of the 16 competing.

“Time to take the leotard and shoes off,” he wrote.

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A post shared by Daniel Greg Kerkvliet (@danielkerkvliet)

There are two weight classes in this tournament: below 80 kg and above 80 kg.

It should come as no surprise that Kerkvliet, the defending heavyweight champ, will be in the latter.

Another competitor in that class is Pat Downey, a polarizing wrestler/MMA fighter who made headlines after falling to Kerkvliet’s teammate, Carter Starocci, at 86 kg at the U.S. Olympic Trials held in Happy Valley this past April.

The Craig Jones Invitational is scheduled for Aug. 16-17 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Vegas.

Regardless of what Kerkvliet does in this tournament, he’ll be expected by many to repeat as heavyweight champ come March 2025 in Philadelphia.

This article first appeared on Nittany Sports Now and was syndicated with permission.

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