Penn State wrestler Carter Starocci to wrestle for U23 World bronze
Two-time Penn State wrestling champion Carter Starocci will wrestle for bronze at the U23 World Championships in Spain on Saturday.
The Nittany Lion put in a furious comeback attempt in the 79 kilogram (174 pounds) semifinals but ultimately lost to Daulet Yergesh of Kazakhstan, 8-7. He trailed 8-1 early but pulled within 8-5 on a four-point move and then scored a late takedown he couldn’t convert into more points as time expired to reach the final margin of victory.
Starocci blazed his way to the semifinals. He outscored his opponents in the first three bouts by an astounding 32-1 margin and with consecutive technical falls. After beating Oktay Hasan of Bulgaria by 11-0 in his opener, the Penn State star topped Erik Reinbok of Estonia 10-0. Then, in the quarterfinals, he won 10-1 over Abdubasi Balta of Turkey.
In the bronze medal match, Starocci will face Georgios Kougioumtsidis of Greece.
Despite not going for World gold, Starocci has plans for big things at Penn State and beyond
Worlds did not go how Starocci wanted them to. But, regardless, he will start his quest for a third national title next month when Penn State starts its 2022-2023 season. He is the top-ranked wrestler at 174 pounds and favored to stand on the top podium again following the NCAA Tournament.
Thanks to the free COVID year provided to all athletes because of the coronavirus pandemic, Starocci could possibly become the first-ever five-time NCAA champ. But, he currently has his eyes set on other goals, namely the rest of his Lions career and then the 2024 Olympics. And, the biggest key to accomplishing it all is a strict focus on himself and his goals.
“I’m excited for, like, after this interview, like what I’m going to do to like help myself be better,” Starocci told FLO Wrestling. “I look forward to winning the worlds, NCAAs, but I look forward to like, how I’m going to approach my training session, how I’m going to approach my recovery, how I’m going to approach my coaches when I talk to them; how am I going to approach when I’m learning?
“I look forward to all those small moments because I really fell in love with the process and the journey of just growing in life and just being a better person.”
Would he use the fifth year to make that a reality, though?
“I probably won’t,” Starocci said.
“I plan on winning the Olympics in 2024. I’ll be a senior that year. So, I plan on winning Olympics, and then after the Olympics, that’s kind of the peak of wrestling. I plan on moving on to MMA.”
That plan also included a gold at Worlds, but now, it will be yet another source of fuel for the Penn State standout.
