Carter Starocci may just be one of the fastest, strongest, smartest, and most fierce competitor’s of all time. Being a competitor is not something that everyone just picks up and decides that they want to be one. Being a competitor is one of the most challenging things for humans. It takes a lot of consistency, discipline, and hard work and Carter Starocci has all of that. Carter is a collegiate athlete. He was raised in Pennsylvania and was a very highly recruited wrestler coming out of high school. Carter has won five individual national championships over his wrestling career for the University of Penn State.
Carter attended Erie Cathedral Prep High School in Erie, Pennsylvania. He was a very talented athlete while in high school. In high school he wrestled and really made a name for himself. Carter quickly became one of the best wrestlers in the state. He finished his high school career with 172 total wins and only 10 total losses. He placed in the state championships all four years of high school winning two of them.
Redshirt Freshman year of college for Carter was very smooth. Staroccis first year in college he was trying to walk into a very talented lineup for Penn State. He could not beat the original starter so he was forced to redshirt this season. This meant that he could wrestle in open tournaments and outside competitions but not anything affiliated with Penn State.
Freshman year of college, Carter’s first season actually cracking the lineup and competing for Penn State was nothing short of special. He finished the year with an impressive record of 14 wins and 2 losses. Starocci made it to the Big 10 finals his first year where he wrestled Michael Kemerer and lost a close match. After that he went to the NCAA national tournament where he avenged his loss and became a national champion. Starocci also went on to become the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. In the offseason after his freshman year he went on to compete at the US Olympic Team Trials at 86kg.
Sophomore year of college was even more special for Carter Starocci. Starocci had a stellar year where he finished with an outstanding record of 23-0 and did not lose one time. Starocci had won his first Big 10 title his sophomore year. He also won his second National Championship which made him a two time all- american for Penn State.
Junior Year of College was still nothing short of another outstanding year for him. Carter won yet again another national title this year making it his third national championship in three years. He also won another Big 10 title making it his second consecutive title. It is said that his junior year is really the year that cemented his legacy as a great college wrestler.
Senior year for Carter was very tough for him. He had to face a lot of challenges and adversity but still managed to have a great year. Carter got injured and had to forfeit out of the big ten tournament but that was not all for him. He recovered and got a spot in the national tournament. That is when he won his fourth straight national title. This made him one of the only wrestlers to ever win 4 national titles.
Six years in college is a lot but Carter Starocci did it. He received a redshirt year and covid year allowing him to have 6 years total. This year was another undefeated year for Starocci. He won another Big 10 title and another national title. This title made him a 5 time national champion becoming the first one ever. This moment arguably makes him the best wrestler of all time.