How Penn State's Carter Starocci survives NCAA's: 'At this point it's dominate or die.'
KANSAS CITY, Mo. − Carter Starocci powered his way into the NCAA Wrestling Championships on one good leg.
That injured right knee that's braced and sleeved?
The Penn State wrestling three-time national champ worked around it to perfection in Friday's dynamic semifinal against longtime rival and top 174-pound seed Mekhi Lewis.
While Starocci's victorious efforts looked a bit worrisome in the opening round, he wrestled more comfortably on day two, scoring quickly and then suffocating Lewis, the former Virginia Tech national champ.
Starocci moves on to a Friday night semifinal against Michigan all-star Shane Griffiths − keeping his drive alive for that rare fourth individual NCAA title.
Starocci stayed undefeated in mat action this season by scoring quickly in this quarterfinal, hitting a takedown on Lewis, and then suffocating him the rest of the way.
He won 4-0, never allowing Lewis to even crack open a successful offensive move. Starocci scored and defended more soundly than on Thursday when he gave up his first two takedowns of the season, hanging on in the evening to defeat Cal-Poly's Adam Kemp, 5-3.
Penn State wrestling: Cael Sanderson calls it for Carter Starocci
“At this point, it’s dominate or die.”
Here’s Penn State wrestling star Carter Starocci’s interview after beating No. 1 Mekhi Lewis to move on to the semifinals at 174. pic.twitter.com/3jTjrKrd3P— Joe Smeltzer (@joesmeltzer775) March 22, 2024
Coach Cael Sanderson's late-Thursday words on his legendary senior from Erie rung true again today:
“He did what he needed to do to move on. I think that’s kind of what he’s thinking. When he needed to score he scored fast. So he can wrestle, he can do it …"
But Starocci's own words cut more to his feelings. He told this to Big Ten broadcaster Shane Sparks coming off the mat, looking composed and confident:
"At this point, it's dominate or die."
Starocci was wrestling this week for the first time since appearing to significantly injure that knee in his final regular-season match a month ago.
On Wednesday, Starocci, once again, maintained that his recovery is complete during a pre-championships press conference ("I'm ready to go. I'm 100 percent") and how he's energized by head-turning No. 9 seed position.
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He has won two bouts after his national-best 64-match win streak was stopped with two injury defaults at the Big Ten Championships two weeks ago.
Now, Starocci has become arguably the top storyline of the NCAA's, trying to become just the sixth wrestler in collegiate history to win four individual national titles − and doing it with that injured knee.
Teammate Aaron Brooks, a Hodge Trophy favorite, could join him with that fourth national title Saturday evening.
Frank Bodani covers Penn State sports for the York Daily Record and USA Today Network. Contact him at fbodani@ydr.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @YDRPennState.
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: How Carter Starocci, Penn State wrestling lead NCAA Championships
