Carter Starocci Downs Two National Champs To Reach NCAA Wrestling Finals

Carter Starocci took two major steps toward college wrestling history Friday, blanking a pair of fellow national champs at the NCAA Championships.

Mar 23, 2024 by Andy Hamilton

Carter Starocci Downs Two National Champs To Reach NCAA Wrestling Finals

Carter Starocci’s braced right knee might not be 100 percent this week.

But there’s no doubting the strength of his championship fortitude.

The Penn State senior took two major steps toward the NCAA wrestling history books Friday, blanking a pair of fellow national champs to book a return trip to college wrestling’s biggest stage.

Starocci followed up a 4-0 win Friday afternoon against top-seeded Mekhi Lewis of Virginia Tech with a 2-0 victory Friday night against Michigan’s Shane Griffith in the 174-pound semifinals at the NCAA Wrestling Championships.

“Those guys are really good wrestlers,” Starocci said. “But I think when you wrestle me and the lights are on and those ankle bracelets get strapped up and the butt clenches up a little bit and those nerves sink in, it’s a whole different ballgame. It’s something you can’t prepare for. I’m coming forward the whole time. It’s something you can’t game plan. Their coaches in corner are yelling things to do and I’m thinking in my head, ‘You come out here and do it and see how that works for you.’”

Five wrestlers have won this tournament four times: Pat Smith, Cael Sanderson, Kyle Dake, Logan Stieber and Yianni Diakomihalis. Starocci and Penn State teammate Aaron Brooks will try to join that club Saturday night. Starocci faces Ohio State true freshman Rocco Welsh in the 174-pound title bout.

Starocci’s impenetrable defense has led him to the top of the NCAA podium in each of his previous three trips to the national tournament. This go-round has been different, though.

He injured his right knee on Feb. 25 in Penn State’s final dual of the season and the Nittany Lions didn’t turn him loose a couple weeks later at the Big Ten Championships. After two uncontested losses at the conference tournament, the three-time national champ dropped to the #9 seed in the bracket.

Starocci gave up early takedowns in each of his matches Thursday before battling back for victories to set up a much tougher assignment on Friday — two bouts against past national champs.

Lewis won an NCAA title as a freshman at Virginia Tech in 2019 and nearly won another three years later when Starocci outlasted him in a title bout decided in a tiebreaker. Their quarterfinal bout Friday tipped in Starocci’s favor when he scored a takedown and kept the Virginia Tech senior fastened to the mat for the final minute of the opening period.

It was more of the same against Griffith in the semis. Starocci rode out the 2021 NCAA champ in the second period and fended him off in the third for a 2-0 win.

“It’s definitely an adjustment for sure,” Starocci said of his approach to this year’s tournament. “There’s tactics, but at the end of the day it’s who wants it more. You’ve got to be able to protect yourself out there and get to your offense. … When I’m out there, I couldn’t care less about my knee. I chose to wrestle, so if it stays in Kansas City, it stays here. You can always repair that. That’s the mindset going in.”

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NCAA Wrestling Tournament 2024 Schedule

The 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championship will be held at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri from March 21-23.

Complete schedule

Session 1 - Championship First Round Thursday March 21 12pm ESPNU/ESPN+
Session 2 - Championship Second Round + Consolations Thursday March 21 7pm ESPN/ESPN+
Session 3 - Championships Quarterfinals + Consolations Friday March 22 12pm ESPNU/ESPN+
Session 4 - Championship Semifinals + Blood Round Friday March 22 8pm ESPN/ESPN+
Session 5 - Medal Round Saturday March 23 11am ESPNU/ESPN+
Session 6 - Championship Finals Saturday March 23 7pm ESPN/ESPN+

Where Are The NCAA Wrestling Championships 2024

The 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championship will be held at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri from March 21-23.

The 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships will be held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the Wells Fargo Center while the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships are set for Cleveland, Ohio at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

NCAA Wrestling Championships 2024 At Large Bids

WEIGHT TEAM FIRST NAME LAST NAME CONFERENCE

125 California Baptist Elijah Griffin Big 12
125 Oregon State Brandon Kaylor Pac 12
125 Rider Tyler Klinsky MAC
125 Ohio State Brendan McCrone Big Ten
125 Northern Colorado Stevo Poulin Big 12
125 Harvard Diego Sotelo EIWA
133 Ohio State Nic Bouzakis Big Ten
133 Pennsylvania Michael Colaiocco EIWA
133 Northern Iowa Julian Farber Big 12
133 Missouri Kade Moore Big 12
133 Minnesota Tyler Wells Big Ten
141 Gardner-Webb Todd Carter SoCon
141 Cornell Vince Cornella EIWA
141 Virginia Tech Tom Crook ACC
141 Maryland Kal Miller Big Ten
141 Columbia Kai Owen EIWA
141 West Virginia Jordan Titus Big 12
149 Rutgers Michael Cetta Big Ten
149 South Dakota State Alek Martin Big 12
149 Pittsburgh Finn Solomon ACC
149 Pennsylvania Jude Swisher EIWA
157 Virginia Tech Bryce Andonian ACC
157 Little Rock Matty Bianchi Pac 12
157 Minnesota Michael Blockhus Big Ten
157 Northern Colorado Vinny Zerban Big 12
165 NC State Derek Fields ACC
165 Michigan State Caleb Fish Big Ten
165 Pittsburgh Holden Heller ACC
165 Bucknell Noah Mulvaney EIWA
165 Ohio Garrett Thompson MAC
174 Pittsburgh Luca Augustine ACC
174 Northern Iowa Jared Simma Big 12
174 Penn State Carter Starocci Big Ten
174 Navy Danny Wask EIWA
184 Gardner-Webb Jha`Quan Anderson SoCon
184 Iowa State Will Feldkamp Big 12
184 Pennsylvania Maximus Hale EIWA
184 Campbell Caleb Hopkins SoCon
184 Arizona State Tony Negron Pac 12
197 Northwestern Evan Bates Big Ten
197 Utah Valley Evan Bockman Big 12
197 Franklin & Marshall John Crawford EIWA
197 Virginia Tech Andy Smith ACC
285 Maryland Seth Nevills Big Ten
285 Pittsburgh Dayton Pitzer ACC
285 Minnesota Bennett Tabor Big Ten
285 Cal Poly Trevor Tink Pac-12

NCAA Division 1 Wrestling Rankings

The updated NCAA D1 Wrestling rankings can be found HERE.

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