Penn State star Carter Starocci becomes 4-time All-American after beating top seed Mehki Lewis in NCAA quarters
Penn State star Carter Starocci is a four-time All-American after beating No. 1 seed Mehki Lewis 4-0 in a 174-pound quarterfinal bout at the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships. It’s safe to say this is the guttiest All-American honor he’s earned. And, this is true despite the fact that he previously won a national title with a broken hand. In this tournament, Starocci is wrestling with an injured knee. What exactly is wrong is unclear after he hurt it in late February. But he’s competing with a sleeve covering some kind of protective equipment on his right knee and is not 100 percent. So far, it hasn’t mattered.
How Starocci beat Mehki Lewis
Starocci registered the first shot of the match when he snapped down on Lewis’ right leg. A scramble ensured but Starocci ultimately blasted a double leg and finished it for a 3-0 lead in the first period and rode Lewis out from there. The Nittany Lion escaped in the second for a 4-0 lead after five minutes. In the third, they went neutral, Starocci shot late and Lewis scrambled with him but Starocci held him off for a 4-0 win in the quarterfinals. It was an impressive victory considering his health situation. He is clearly not 100 percent. But he found a way to win anyway.
Penn State coach Cael Sanderson on Starocci
Lions coach Cael Sanderson said Thursday that the Nittany Lion senior did what he had to on the tournament’s opening day. He did surrender his first two takedowns of the season. But, he beat Andrew Sparks of Minnesota 12-6 in the first round and then topped No. 8 Adam Kemp of Cal Poly 5-3 to advance to the quarterfinals.
“He did what he needed to do to move on and I think that’s kind of what he’s thinking,” Lions coach Cael Sanderson said, per PennLive. “When he needed to score, he scored fast. He can wrestle…he can do it.”
More Penn State wrestling updates from session three
Penn State wrestler Braeden Davis fell out of the championship bracket early on day two as he lost his quarterfinal bout 3-2. Beau Bartlett, Levi Haines, Mitchell Mesenbrink are all All-Americans and semifinalists after winning their respective quarterfinal bouts at 141, 157, and 165 pounds, respectively, by fall, major decision, and decision, respectively. As of this writing, Aaron Nagao (133 pounds) and Tyler Kasak (149) won their first consolation bouts of the day and wait for their second one in this session to try and keep their push for All-American honors alive. Starocci is an All-American too, of course. Aaron Brooks and Greg Kerkvliet are left to wrestle in the quarters, as well. Follow full updates here. The semifinals start at 8 p.m. tonight. ESPN will televise the matches.
As of this writing, Penn State has a massive team race lead. It is looking to win its third in a row.
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