Jeff Kerber

2007 Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame Inductee

Jeff Kerber was the trailblazing wrestler of his time. The Emmetsburg standout left a mark on the sport that still resonates today, showing everyone what it takes to be the best.

Kerber turned heads in the wrestling world when he became the second Iowa high school wrestler to win four state titles—and, in the process, became the first high school wrestler in Iowa to go unbeaten through four years of varsity competition.

“Wrestling has changed a lot through the years,” Kerber noted. “Four-time state champions are much more common now, but back when I wrestled, there had only been one before me—and that had been 15 to 20 years earlier.”

Kerber credits his success to his father, who ensured Jeff had every opportunity needed to become a dominant wrestler. “When I was in third grade, I went to Camp McNeal—and that was a time when champions were hard to find,” he said.

The turning point in his career came when Kerber and his father attended a tournament in Harlan, Iowa, as a sixth grader. After winning a title the year before, Kerber recalls arriving in Harlan and seeing a bus from Oklahoma. “It was the Tulsa All-State team, and they came in and dominated. If they had three guys in a weight, they placed first, second, and third. The next few years, I went to camps in Oklahoma.”

After wrestling 30 to 50 matches a year from third through eighth grade, the transition to high school came naturally. “I never felt any pressure in high school. When I was in eighth grade, my brother took third in state at 98 pounds—and I could beat him,” Kerber said. The rest, as they say, is history.

That history includes a 31–0 record as a 98-pound state champion in 1976 as a freshman; a 31–0 record at 112 pounds as a sophomore; a 32–0 record at 119 pounds as a junior; and a 32–0 record at 126 pounds as a senior. Kerber was also a three-time national high school champion and wrestled for the Junior World Team in Mongolia in 1979.

Things changed for Kerber when he reached the University of Iowa. Despite being a three-time All-American and three-time Big Ten champion, he looks back on his collegiate career with some regret. “I had a lot of disappointment in college. Pressure consumed me. I could wrestle lights-out in the room, but I didn’t handle things well when it really mattered. I wish I had been a Christian back then,” he recalled. Kerber went 102–27 during his college career.

Perhaps because of the sheer number of matches he wrestled, Kerber has a hard time pinpointing memorable opponent. “Everyone in the Iowa room was tough. Randy Lewis gave me the most trouble, though—he was so unorthodox in his style,” Kerber said.

Jeff Kerber was inducted into the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2007, along with Mike Land, Bruce Kinseth, and Sherwyn Thorson.