Penn State Wrestling: Revisiting the best matches of 2021-2022 season
By Chris Snyder
Finishing our series as we look back at the last installment of the best individual matches of the 2021-2022 Penn State Wrestling season
At last we are finally here, and it’s time to turn the final page on the incredible 2021-2022 Nittany Lion wrestling season.
In the first and second installments of this series we covered a mix of under-the-radar and high-profile matches, all of which were fantastic wrestling matches.
Now we’re onto the final chapter, and to say this series is “finishing strong” with the trio of matches highlighted, then I guess it would be accurate. You thought I was going to saying something like “then it’s an understatement to end all understatements”, right?
Nope. I like to keep my readers on their toes with my endless drivel. Speaking of endless drivel …
#perfectsegue
The best Penn State Wrestling matches of the 2021-2022 season – cont.
Match No. 1
Date: 01/21/2022
No. 1 Penn State vs. No. 3 Michigan
No. 4 Greg Kerkvliet (PSU) dec over No. 2 Mason Parris (MICH) 8-5
Before we revisit this match, here are some stats about Michigan’s ultra-talented heavyweight leading up to the match. And let’s strip out all match results against Gable Steveson because there’s not a human on the planet who can beat him.
Mason Parris
2019-2020: 28-0 (64% bonus percentage)
2021: 12-0 (100% bonus percentage)
2021-2022: 7-0 (100% bonus percentage)
Prior to this matchup, the last time Mason Parris lost to anyone other than Gable Steveson was way back on March 21, 2019, and the last time he beat someone and didn’t earn bonus points was on March 7, 2020.
It had been almost a full two years since Mason Parris had his hand raised at the end of a match in which he didn’t utterly humiliate his opponent, and Kerkvliet had a history with Parris as the two locked horns in the 2021 Big Ten Championships.
However, Parris walked through Kerkvliet in that matchup by winning a major decision 11-3. So it wasn’t close at all.
Now fast forward to their mighty clash from this past season.
The match started out back and forth as both wrestlers tried to feel each other out, but you could tell Kerkvliet was on the prowl.
With two minutes already expired in the first period, one of Kerk Kong’s attacks finally landed on Parris’ left leg. But instead of fighting from the top position to grind out some riding time, Greg cut Parris loose.
Yes, you did read that correctly. Greg Kerkvliet landed a takedown on one of the most dominant wrestlers in the country and he just let him up. The message seemed clear. Like Kerkvliet was saying, “Nah man, I’ll catch you again.”.
And he did, 30 seconds later. Parris appeared to be shell-shocked following the second “takedown and cut loose” tactic from Kerk.
The match continued to be one-sided as Greg landed the third takedown on Mason late in the third period. He then grinded Parris from the top position to seal the riding time point and the match 8-5.
The Crisler Crowd was so quiet you could hear a feather drop on a pillow.
Less than a year ago Kerkvliet couldn’t sniff Parris. Now, he was the one to have his hand raised at the end in a match that wasn’t nearly as close as the final score.