Penn State wrestling star announces return, will pursue history in 2023

Penn State wrestling is chasing history, looking to three-peat as national champions for the third time under Cael Sanderson. The Nittany Lions got some great news on Thursday in pursuit of that goal for the upcoming 2023-24 season. Penn State wrestling star and three-time individual national champion Carter Starocci announced his intentions to return for one final season, where he’ll have the opportunity to make some history of his own.

Penn State wrestling star Carter Starocci announces return for final season

There was much speculation in the offseason on whether Carter Starocci would return for his senior season. The three-time national champion had the option to take an Olympic redshirt in order to get ready for the Games next summer.

Starocci has a staggering 79-2 record during his time at Penn State, and is 47-0 the last two seasons. So, although the Nittany Lions wrestling program is stacked, losing Starocci would be a significant blow. However, Cael Sanderson won’t have to worry about replacing Starocci for another year, as the Penn State wrestling star announced his plans to return for one final season on Thursday.

“It was a hard, long decision,” Starocci said in his announcement. “But I just realized that Penn State has given so much to me, and I kind of owe it to Penn State and the whole community to bring another banner back to State College. It’s kind of hard to turn this program down when you’re in the best place in the world.”

📢Carter Starocci has an announcement to make!
👀 Watch and learn 😀
🔥 #PSUwr 🦁https://t.co/zXdRayoES1

— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) October 26, 2023

Starocci will have the opportunity to become the sixth wrestler in NCAA history to win four national championships, joining his head coach Cael Sanderson. Teammate Aaron Brooks is also in pursuit of his fourth consecutive national title.

Chasing history

While Starocci did note that he intends for 2023-24 to be his final season, the Penn State wrestling star does have an extra year of eligibility that could be used next year. If he wins a fourth national title this season, we’ll see if the opportunity to chase history with an unprecedented fifth championship can lure him back to Happy Valley.

As previously mentioned, Penn State has two wrestlers going for their fourth national title. If both Brooks and Starocci can get it done, it would further cement the Nittany Lions as one of the best programs in NCAA history.

Sanderson and his team will be going for yet another three-peat, and have the opportunity to push the points record in the NCAA Tournament, a record that was set by Iowa back in 1997. With multiple No. 1 recruiting classes in a row, I wouldn’t expect the dynasty to stop anytime soon.

Penn State wrestling opens the season with the Journeymen Collegiate Classic at Freedom High School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on November 12^th.

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