A 3-time NCAA Champion from Penn State, Carter Starocci won his third title in 2023, with a perfect 24 – 0 record at the 174 pound weight class. He now looks to join the U.S. Olympic Team.
As found on Penn State University’s website, below is Carter Starocci’s bio (note that it does not seem to be updated to include the 2022- 2023 statistics). Learn about this wrestler’s career:
Parents: STARLA AND CHRIS STAROCCI
Major: RECREATION, PARK AND TOURISM MANAGEMENT
Athletic: Two-time All-American (2021, 2022)…Two-time NCAA Champion (2021, 2022)…Big Ten Champion (2022)…All-American as a freshman…Named Big Ten Freshman of the Year (2021)…2021 NCAA Champion at 174…2021 Big Ten Runner-Up…Won Big Ten and NCAA titles as a sophomore.
2021-22 / SOPHOMORE SEASON:
Season: Rolled to perfect 23-0 record as a sophomore…Won Big Ten title…Became two-time All-American and two-time NCAA Champion, winning crown in Detroit…Ended sophomore season with a 37-2 career record with six majors, six tech falls and five pins.
Sacred Heart (11/13): Pinned Alex Marciniak (2:12). Oregon State (11/13): Rolled to a 17-2 tech fall over Mateo Olmos (4:49). Army West Point (11/18): Rolled to 23-5 tech fall over Army’s Clayton Feilden (6:56). Penn: Rolled over #21 Nick Incontrera, posting a 13-3 major. Lehigh (12/5): Notched 13-3 major with 3:36 in RT over Jake Logan. Collegiate Duals (12-20-21): Went 3-0 in Florida, including a major, a tech and a decision over #12 Chris Foca of Cornell. Indiana (1/9): Pinned Sean Grim (2:07) in Rec Hall. Rutgers (2/16): Tech fall over Connor O’Neill (19-2 at 4:25). Michigan (1/21): Hard-fought 2-1 win over #6 Logan Massa. Michigan State (1/23): Rolled to a 19-3 tech fall over Marty Larkin (3:32). Iowa (1/28): Used escape in tie-breaker and rideout to beat #2 Michael Kemerer 2-1 (tb) in Iowa City. Rider (2/20): Majored Shane Reitsma 22-9 in dual finale.
Big Ten Championship (3-0, 1st, Champion): Won first Big Ten title in Lincoln, Neb.; Went 3-0 with a fall; pinned Dominic Solis of Maryland, got forfeit win over #4 Michael Kemerer of Iowa, and downed #5 Logan Massa of Michigan 5-1 in the finals.
NCAA Championships (5-0, 1st, NCAA Champion): Became two-time NCAA Champion with 5-0 run at NCAAs in Detroit. Pinned #33 Connor O’Neill of Rutgers (6:38), beat #16 Adam Kemp of Cal Poly and #9 Mike Labriola of Nebraska in quarterfinals. Dominated #4 Hayden Hidlay of N.C. State 10-3 in semifinals. Beat #2 Mekhi Lewis of Virginia Tech, 5-5 (TB2, RT) in a thrilling NCAA title match in finals, one of five Penn State Champions.
2020-21 / REDSHIRT FRESHMAN SEASON:
Season: Posted 14-2 overall record…Two majors, one tech, one pin…Big Ten Runner-Up (174)…Earned All-America honors as a freshman…2021 NCAA National Champion (174) in first trip to NCAA tournament.
Indiana/Northwestern (1/30): Went 2-1 in opening day tri-dual at Northwestern…Began day with a 18-1 tech fall (2:37) over Indiana’s Robert Detars in the extra bouts at 174, then suffered a close 10-9 upset loss to Donnell Washington in the dual meet…Took down Northwestern’s Troy Fisher 4-1 in dual victory over the Wildcats. Wisconsin (2/2): Posted 5-3 win over Jared Krattiger in Madison. Michigan (2/14): Beat #2 Logan Massa 7-1 (tb), using a four-point turn in the tie-breaker to break away for the win in Ann Arbor…Named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week (2/16). Ohio State (2/19): Used tie-breaker escape then rideout to post thrilling 2-1 (tb) win over #3 Kaleb Romero in dual at Columbus. Michigan (2/14): Majored Maryland’s Phillip Spadafora 15-6 in Rec Hall dual debut.
Big Ten Championships (3-1, 2nd, NCAA Qualifier): Was Big Ten runner-up at 174, losing to #1 Michael Kemerer in the finals. Beat #6 Kaleb Romero and #2 Mikey Labriola to reach the finals. Went 3-1 with a pin overall. Was named 2021 Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
NCAA Championships (5-0, 1st, National Champion): Went 5-0 in his first trip to the NCAA tournament to become the NCAA National Champion as a freshman. Downed the #30 and #14 seeds to reach the quarterfinals. Beat #6 Andrew McNally of Kent State in the quarters and then used a ride-out and escape point to beat #2 Demetrius Romero of Utah Valley 2-0 in the semis to advance to the NCAA finals. Scored midway through extra time to beat #1 Michael Kemerer 3-1 (sv) to win the national title.
2019-20 / REDSHIRT SEASON:
Season: Wrestled unattached in open tournaments during his redshirt season…Went unbeaten during the year…Posted an 18-0 overall record with three pins, two tech falls and six majors…Won the 174-pound Southern Scuffle title.
HIGH SCHOOL / PERSONAL:
Wrestled at Cathedral Prep in Erie…Four-year letterman and four-year team captain…Rolled to a 172-10 record for the Ramblers…Won state title as a senior with a 46-0 mark…Won state title as a junior with a 50-0 mark…Took second at states as a sophomore and placed as a freshman as well…Received academic honors twice…Has two older siblings, brother, Chris and sister, Ceci.
STAROCCI MATCH-BY-MATCH
2022-23
Date Wt. Result Opponent Place Rec
11/11 174 W, 19-5 Tyler Stoltzfus, Lock Haven (major) dual 1-0
12/2 174 W, 18-6 Shane Reitsma, Rider (major) dual 2-0
12/4 174 W, 22-8 Jake Logan, Lehigh (major) dual 3-0
12/11 174 W, 14-3 #28 Aaron Olmos, Oregon State (major) dual 4-0
12/19 174 WBF Alex Cramer, Central Michigan (2:21) dual 5-0
12/19 174 W, 18-3 Cade Tenold, North Carolina (TF; 6:21) dual 6-0
12/20 174 W, 5-1 #21 Julien Broderson, Iowa State dual 7-0
1/6 174 W, 22-8 Josh Otto, Wisconsin (major) dual 8-0
1/20 174 WBF #30 Max Maylor, Michigan (4:15) dual 9-0
1/22 174 W, 19-4 Cesar Garza, Michigan State (TF; 6:39) dual 10-0
1/27 174 W, 2-1 #16 Nelson Brands, Iowa dual 11-0
2/3 174 W, 11-5 #7 Ethan Smith, Ohio State dual 12-0
2/5 174 W, 11-3 #15 DJ Washington, Indiana (major) dual 13-0
2/10 174 W, 16-3 Jackson Turley, Rutgers (major) dual 14-0
2/12 174 W, 14-6 Dominic Solis, Maryland (major) dual 15-0
2/19 174 W, 19-3 John Worthing, Clarion (TF; 5:00) dual 16-0
3/4 174 W, 10-2 #15 Troy Fisher, Northwestern (major) B1G 17-0
3/4 174 W, 8-2 #8 Bailee O’Reilly, Minnesota B1G 18-0
3/5 174 W, 6-1 #2 Mikey Labriola, Nebraska B1G (1st) 19-0
3/16 174 WBF #33 John Worthing, Clarion (1:21) NCAA 20-0
3/16 174 W, 4-0 #17 DJ Washington, Indiana NCAA 21-0
3/17 174 W, 5-2 #8 Bailee O’Reilly, Minnesota NCAA 22-0
3/17 174 W, 6-0 #4 Chris Foca, Cornell NCAA 23-0
3/18 174 WBF #2 Mike Labriola, Nebraska (2:46) NCAA (1st) 24-0
2021-22
Date Wt. Result Opponent Place Rec
11/13 174 WBF Alex Marciniak, Sacred Heart (2:12) dual 1-0
11/13 174 W, 17-2 Mateo Olmos, Oregon State (TF; 4:49) dual 2-0
11/18 174 W, 23-5 Clayton Fielden, Army (TF; 6:56) dual 3-0
12/3 174 W, 13-3 #21 Nick Incontrera, Penn (major) dual 4-0
12/5 174 W, 13-3 Jake Logan, Lehigh (major) dual 5-0
12/20 174 W, 13-4 Pat Schoenfelder, Northern Iowa (major) dual 6-0
12/20 174 W, 3-2 #12 Chris Foca, Cornell dual 7-0
12/21 174 W, 17-2 Zen Coleman, Arizona State (TF; 4:50) dual 8-0
1/7 174 W, 8-3 Dominic Solis, Maryland dual 9-0
1/9 174 WBF Sean Grim, Indiana (2:07) dual 10-0
1/16 174 W, 19-2 Connor O’Neill, Rutgers (TF; 4:25) dual 11-0
1/21 174 W, 3-2 #6 Logan Massa, Michigan dual 12-0
1/23 174 W, 19-3 Marty Larkin, Michigan State (TF; 3:32) dual 13-0
1/28 174 W, 2-1 (tb) #2 Michael Kemerer, Iowa dual 14-0
2/20 174 W, 22-9 Shane Reitsma, Rider (major) dual 15-0
3/5 174 WBF Dominic Solis, Maryland (2:13) B1G 16-0
3/5 174 W, med.forf. #4 Michael Kemerer, Iowa B1G 17-0
3/6 174 W, 5-1 #5 Logan Massa, Michigan B1G (1st) 18-0
3/17 174 WBF #33 Connor O’Neill, Rutgers (6:38) NCAA 19-0
3/17 174 W, 10-4 #16 Adam Kemp, Cal Poly NCAA 20-0
3/18 174 W, 6-1 #9 Mikey Labriola, Nebraska NCAA 21-0
3/18 174 W, 10-3 #4 Hayden Hidlay, North Carolina State NCAA 22-0
3/19 714 W, 5-5 (TB2, RT) #2 Mekhi Lewis, North Carolina St. NCAA (1st) 23-0
2020-21
Date Wt. Result Opponent Place Rec
1/30 174 W, 18-1 Robert Detars, Indiana (TF; 2:37) IU extras 1-0
1/30 174 L, 9-10 Donnell Washington, Indiana dual 1-1
1/30 174 W, 4-1 Troy Fisher, Northwestern dual 2-1
2/2 174 W, 5-3 Jared Krattiger, Wisconsin dual 3-1
2/14 174 W, 7-1 (tb) #2 Logan Massa, Michigan dual 4-1
2/19 174 W, 2-1 (tb) #3 Kaleb Romero, Ohio State dual 5-1
2/22 174 W, 15-6 Phillip Spadafora, Maryland (major) dual 6-1
3/6 174 WBF Phillip Spadafora, Maryland (4:47) B1G 7-1
3/6 174 W, 2-0 #6 Kaleb Romero, Ohio State B1G 8-1
3/6 174 W, 3-1 (sv) #2 Mikey Labriola, Nebraska B1G 9-1
3/7 174 L, 2-7 #1 Michael Kemerer, Iowa B1G (2nd) 9-2
3/18 174 W, 10-2 #30 Victor Marcelli, Virginia (maj.) NCAA 10-2
3/18 174 W, 8-2 #14 Hayden Hastings, Wyoming NCAA 11-2
3/19 174 W, 6-3 #6 Andrew McNally, Kent State NCAA 12-2
3/19 174 W, 2-0 #2 Demetrius Romero, Utah Valley NCAA 13-2
3/20 174 W, 3-1 (sv) #1 Michael Kemerer, Iowa NCAA (1st) 14-2
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