PHILADELPHIA — Unprecedented. That's the only word to describe the legacy of Carter Starocci at Penn State, in college wrestling and in NCAA athletics more generally.
On Saturday, in front of a packed Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Starocci took down reigning NCAA champion Parker Keckeisen of Northern Iowa to win his fifth NCAA title.
The road to five titles
His journey to this point has been one of both dominance and adversity, dating back to 2021 when he took the mat for his first varsity match against DJ Washington of Indiana and suffered what would be one of just two full-length match losses in his college career. Starocci went on to win his first national title that year, avenging a loss to Iowa's Michael Kemerer from the Big Ten finals on the big stage. He followed this up with undefeated seasons in 2022 and 2023 where he capped off those years with NCAA titles over Virginia Tech's former national champion Mekhi Lewis and Nebraska's Mikey Labriola.
Starocci appeared to be on the same path in 2024.
He beat everyone in his way before suffering a knee injury during a technical fall against Joey Arnold of Edinboro in the last regular season match of the year that season. He then took two injury defaults at the Big Ten tournament before gutting out a fourth national title with tournament wins over former national champs Lewis and Shane Griffith of Michigan.
Starocci entered this year on the precipice of history. No DI wrestler in history had ever won five national titles.
Were it not for the free 2021 COVID season, Starocci's willingness to wrestle that year and his ability to win as a freshman, this opportunity would not have been possible. But all of those factors came together, and Starocci seized the moment.
The match
His fifth and final title match was always going to be a tough one. Waiting for him in the national finals was Keckeisen, last year's champ at the weight and one of the most fundamental wrestlers in the tournament. Keckeisen survived a strong opponent in the semifinals in Max McEnelly to earn the right to compete against Starocci, and he was in this title match from the opening moment. Neither athlete held back.
The first period ended scoreless, the second period was similarly low on offensive points, with Starocci's escape serving as the only point of the period. The Nittany Lion, though, found his shot in the third and final period. He took Keckeisen down in a takedown from a scramble initiated by his Panther opponent and never let his lead vanish. Keckeisen escaped and looked for his own offense, but it wasn't enough.
Starocci did what he had done four times before and made history. His legacy remains one-of-one, the only person to ever go five-for-five.
