Penn State wrestler Carter Starocci makes first public comments amid injury concerns
Penn State wrestler Carter Starocci has released his first public statement since appearing to injure his right knee in last Sunday’s Nittany Lion win over Edinboro. The three-time All-American and national champion at 174 pounds was helped off the mat following a technical fall win over the Fighting Scots’ Brody Evans. After the match, head coach Cael Sanderson had this to say, per PennLive:
“He just was trying to get the pin and so he kind of put his leg in a compromised position and it just didn’t work out, instead of just letting the guy kind belly out there.
“You want your kids healthy and happy, that’s every practice, every competition. That’s not always realistic, it’s part of the sport. We’re obviously thinking about Carter right now and getting him over to figure out what’s going on. We have time, we still have a couple of weeks for the conference and another week and a half before the nationals. Carter’s always been a very quick healer. He won a national title a couple of years ago with a broken hand. He’ll get in there, he’ll compete hard.”
More: Penn State wrestling podcast: Carter Starocci talk, regular season highlights, and more
Sanderson then offered another update on The Penn State Coaches Show Thursday night. He told host Steve Jones the following:
“He has little extra time, and then another week between the Big Tens and the Nationals. So, he has some time to get healthy. But he’s doing pretty well. I’d say he’s doing better than we feared right away. And, he’s in really good hands with with our trainer, Dan Monthley.
“So, like I’ve said, we’re very optimistic. Carter is just a tough kid. He’s had adversity in every season. Injuries have been a big part of his career, unfortunately, even in high school. He was a little under the radar, even then, because he wasn’t, like, dominating on the scoreboard. But, a lot of times, he was he was also injured. So, he’s a tough kid. He’s dealt with some adversity in the past. So, if anybody can do it, he can.”
All of that is the background to understand the context of Starocci’s Friday night social media post. It reads. It includes a video of the Erie, Pa., native and Penn State senior training and winning matches and reads:
“A true champion can adapt to anything. You can either run from your adversity or face it head on and conquer it. There’s only one way in and one way out and I’m going that way. This game teaches you a lot and one thing I learned for sure is my mind is absolutely bullet proof.”
If you can’t see the tweet embedded above, CLICK HERE to view it.
If there was any doubt that Staorcci was going to compete in the postseason, consider it erased. How he goes about doing so, however, remains to be seen. The Penn State standout could be full-go (or close to it) at Big Tens. Or, he could step on the mat there twice and forfeit as soon as each bout starts. Doing so would qualify him for nationals. But, it would hurt his seeding at that event. Either way, the Penn State star signaled his intent for the postseason Friday night, and it indicates he’s ready to fight through what ails him.
