Cael Sanderson just announce a unexpected departure of a significant wrestling

May 15, 2024 admin Penn State’s 0

Here I Come: Carter Starocci Announces Return to Penn State: ‘I’m Here to Take Over’

Starocci, the Nittany Lions’ four-time NCAA wrestling champ, could become the first college wrestler to win five titles.

Carter Starocci, Penn State’s first four-time NCAA wrestling champion who’s seldom at a loss for words, announced his return for a fifth college wrestling season with triumphant, and expectant, language. “I’m here to take over,” Starocci wrote in announcing that he will wrestle for a fifth NCAA season.

Penn State coach Cael Sanderson after winning 2024 NCAA Championships - YouTube

Starocci certainly has been dominant over his four seasons at Penn State. He has compiled a 78-4 career record with the four NCAA titles and three Big Ten titles. After his loss in the 2021 Big Ten final, Starocci won 64 consecutive bouts until the 2024 Big Ten tournament, where he was forced to take two injury-default losses because of an injury he sustained in the last seconds of Penn State’s last regular-season match against Edinboro. As a result, Starocci was seeded ninth for the NCAA championships, where he won five bouts, defeating two former NCAA champs, to win his fourth title.

RELATED: Aaron Brooks stuns David Taylor at the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Trials to qualify for the Paris Games

Cael Sanderson: 'This is very special' - YouTube

Starocci could have moved onto an international freestyle career after this season; he has made winning an Olympic title his primary mission. By returning to Penn State, however, Starocci can compete at a higher weight, where he is more likely to wrestle at the Olympics. Starocci wrestled up at 86 kg (about 189.6 pounds) at the Olympic Trials after winning his 174-pound NCAA title only a few weeks before. In his final season at Penn State, Starocci could wrestle at 184 or even 197 pounds.


“If I come back, it’s not going to be for school,” Starocci said. “I’m not going to let anything come in the way of what I want. If what I want is to come back and wrestle and win a fifth national title and have our team win another national title, that’s because I want to do it. It’s not because of NIL, it’s not because of this, it’s not because of that. It’s because I want to do it.”