Penn State Sports Magazine
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4 2 D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 4 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M THREE BEST WRESTLERS Carter Starocci | Gr. | 184 Was Starocci ready for a new weight class? Was he prepared to face the defending NCAA cham- pion in his first match after moving from 174 to 184 pounds? Those were the questions facing him before the NWCA All-Star Classic on Nov. 16 at Rec Hall. He passed the test with flying colors. It wasn't easy, though. Starocci needed sudden victory to top Parker Keckeisen of Northern Iowa, 4-1, in an exhibition bout. The four-time NCAA 174-pound champion used a takedown on the edge to clinch the win, and it was one he had to fight for. Starocci had no issues at his new weight and locked in his spot at the top of the rankings early in the year. His stature at 184 pounds was only confirmed a day later when he earned a 19-3 technical fall over Giuseppe Hoose of Drexel in the Nittany Lions' dual-meet opener. Levi Haines | Jr. | 174 Like Starocci, Haines has changed weight classes this year. In fact, the junior has bumped up two weights, going from 157 pounds, where he won the NCAA title a year ago, to 174. It's a big move, but Haines is still thriving. Ranked second at his new weight, he shut out No. 3 Cade DeVos of South Dakota State, 7-0, at the NWCA All-Star Classic. A day later, he was back on the mat and rumbled to a 16-0 technical fall over Drexel's Jack Janda. If those two perfor- mances are any indication, he's ready to roll at his new weight. Greg Kerkvliet | Sr.+ | 285 Kerkvliet was to start his NCAA title defense at the NWCA All-Star Classic. Instead, he skipped the event due to a family commitment. The next day, he put an exclamation point on the Nittany Lions' big win over Drexel by pinning Tanner Updegraff in 1:40 to finish off a 41-3 Penn State victory. Kerkvliet's path to a repeat NCAA champion- ship got a whole lot harder when 2020 Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson announced he was returning to Minnesota to use his final season of eligibility. A two-time NCAA heavyweight cham- pion with the Gophers, Steveson hadn't gotten back on the mat as of mid-November, but he and Kerkvliet could be on a collision course in March. For now, all we know is that the Nittany Lion su- per senior could hardly have gotten his final dual- meet campaign off to a better start. KEY MOMENT Let's give Shayne Van Ness a shout-out here. The 2022-23 All-American is back for his redshirt sophomore campaign after missing almost all of last season due to an injury. If anyone was wor- ried about Van Ness' recovery, he gave every indication that he's going to be a force in 2024- 25. Sporting the No. 2 ranking at 149 pounds, he dominated No. 3 Ty Watters of West Virginia, 16-4, in the NWCA All-Star Classic. His margin of victory was largely the result of a strong first pe- riod, in which he earned a takedown that netted nearfall points, but he kept up the pace, building on his lead throughout the final four minutes. BEST HIGHLIGHT We could go many different directions here. Starocci's win over Keckeisen at the NWCA All-Star Classic should probably take the prize because of its impact on the rankings in the 184-pound class. But we've already cited that match above, so let's go off the grid. Sophomore Alex Facundo competed at 165 pounds two years ago before taking an Olympic redshirt in 2023-24. He's since dropped down to 157, and he won his first match of the new season, beating Drexel's Luke Nichter, 8-6. It was not the biggest margin of victory in the season- opening dual. Far from it, in fact. But it's worth noting that he was able to reset his weight and start off with a victory. The competiton between Facundo and sophomore Tyler Kasak will be fasci- nating to follow. BOLD PREDICTION True freshman Luke Lilledahl will hit the All- America stand at nationals in the 125-pound class. Perhaps we should wait until he earns something other than a forfeit victory at the col- lege level, which he did against Drexel. But Lille- dahl, a Weldon Spring, Mo., native and standout at Wyoming Seminary in Kingston, Pa., has all the tools to win on the mat and will finish in the top eight, at worst, come March. — Greg Pickel PENN STATE WRESTLING SUPERLATIVES N o v . 1 6 – 1 7 In his first match at 184 pounds, Carter Starocci earned a 4-1 sudden-victory decision over the defending national cham- pion at the weight, Parker Keckeisen of Northern Iowa, at the NWCA All-Star Classic Nov. 16 at Rec Hall. PHOTO BY TYLER MANTZ/PENN STATE ATHLETICS