Penn State Sports Magazine
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A P R I L 2 0 2 5 4 3 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Latest Title Puts Carter Starocci In A Class By Himself J I M CA R L S O N | B L U E W H I T E C O N T R I B U T O R F or a guy who lost his first collegiate match early in 2021, Penn State wrestler Carter Starocci put on an unparalleled rally to become the self- proclaimed "baddest dude out there" as well as an unprecedented winner of five "natty daddies." That's the term Starocci liked to attach to individual NCAA titles through his five seasons on the mats for Penn State. Be- ing on the team during the 2020 season halted by COVID-19 made Starocci eli- gible for an extra year of competition, and he decided to use it after becoming Penn State's first and the NCAA's sixth four- time champion in 2024. Former teammate Aaron Brooks also won his fourth in 2024 to up that NCAA number to seven four-timers all-time. But there is only one five-timer, and this was Starocci's time. He completed the deed inside Phila- delphia's Wells Fargo Center before a national ESPN audience and an on-site crowd of 18,826 that included President Donald Trump and other political dig- nitaries. His finals opponent was Northern Io- wa's Parker Keckeisen, a worthy foe who is almost as good as Starocci. Almost, be- cause for the past five seasons, no one has been his equal. Starocci won four titles at 174 pounds and, after tiring from the constant weight cut, jumped to 184 and did it again. His first match in Philly marked his 100th career victory. Starocci finished 104-4 over his five seasons. Officially, he finished with a 31-bout winning streak. But that's only because he was forced to forfeit two matches at the Big Ten Cham- pionships last season while he was rehab- bing an injured right knee enough that he could win the 2024 nationals on one leg, defeating two past NCAA champs along the way. Starocci won the last 95 bouts he wres- tled and earned bonus points for Penn State in 64 of his 104 wins, with 18 falls, 25 technical falls and 21 major decisions. Against Keckeisen, he converted on a single-leg takedown off a re-shot, slowly working around for control after clearing his ankle from Keckeisen's grasp to even- tually prevail, 4-3. "It means a lot to me, and I never want to downplay the moment … It's always cool, but one thing that Coach Cael [Sanderson] really instills in us is that this is all just preparation for the next thing," Starocci said. "It's important because I'm here doing it, and I love to do it. But I think it ends at that. I don't think it's anything more or anything less." The NCAAs ended one career, but an- other — such as USA freestyle competi- tion — looms for Starocci. "It's not going to be my final tourna- ment. I'm always going to compete until the day I die," he said. "All this stuff is just practice for the next time. It's about wrestling for the next time and making sure that they never want to wrestle you again. If you keep that mindset going, it will help you in life, too." Starocci had nothing but praise for Sanderson, and the Penn State coach re- turned it. "That was a heck of a feat," Sanderson said about Starocci's five-spot. "That just takes a lot of mental toughness and focus, and I'm super happy for him. You've got two of the best wrestlers in the country, and that was a great match. That re-shot Carter hit was as good as it gets." Starocci said Sanderson's message heading into the final was to go out there, get on Keckeisen and let him know the match belonged to Starocci. "I've been in this moment so many times, year after year. You have that ex- perience and understand what to do," Starocci said. Sanderson said Starocci has a "do- whatever-it-takes attitude" and noted most people don't have that. "He's a competitor," Sanderson said. "He puts the time in, and he does what he thinks he needs to do to be ready mentally and physically. Every time he competes, he's giving a great effort. He was consis- tently working to get better, which is what it takes." Starocci said his career was about much more than three-day NCAA tournaments. "It's about going out there every sin- gle time to compete no matter what — if you're sick, hurt … just really putting it all on the line," he said. "I feel like that's something I've done every single time." Former Penn State coach John Fritz, who won an NCAA title for Penn State in 1975, followed Starocci for his five years in State College and marveled at his talents. "I just like his consistency," Fritz said. "Consistency is one of the biggest things in sports. It's one thing for people to come out for one time and have one great expe- rience. To be consistent like he has been is an amazing statement of his concentra- tion, and his whole mental thought of, 'I'm going to go out here and be my best.' "I think that epitomizes the whole Penn State team, and Cael's philosophy all the way down through. I had confidence Carter was going to get that takedown because we've seen it so many times. He's strong, he's in great shape and he has a great mental attitude. What a great ac- complishment … amazing." ■ Starocci finished his career at Penn State with a record of 104-4 (two losses were injury defaults), three Big Ten titles and five national championships. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS