Ranking Penn States’ potential breakout wrestlers for 2021

Carter Starocci – 174 – RSFr.

Are you tired of hearing about crazy high school wrestling stats?

Good, because here are more.

Carter had a career record of 172-10 in high school with PA state titles in his junior and senior years going 99-0. Oh yeah, he also finished runner-up his sophomore year.

We haven’t seen much of Starocci at Penn State as he competed in open tournaments last season. Between the Clarion Open, Patriot Open, Southern Scuffle, and Edinboro Open he put together a record of 19-0. Carter absolutely walked through the competition at the Southern Scuffle, taking the title at 174. He faced 3 top 25 wrestlers winning by decision twice (11-6 and 9-2) and a major decision (13-5).

Carter is off to a 3-1 start in the 2021 season, his lone loss at the hands of Indiana’s No.16 Donnell Washington (10-9). He’s going to have his hands full this Sunday when the Nittany Lions roll into Ann Arbor. #2 Logan Massa is most likely Starocci’s next opponent. Remember when I said Carter’s lone loss came against Donnell Washington? Well Massa pinned him when they took on Indiana back on 1/17/21. Yeah, this one will be tough.

Similar to 157, the 174 group in the Big Ten is just as tough. The Big Ten has each of the top four ranked wrestlers and five of the top eight with Starocci currently sitting at No. 8.

I know I sound like a broken record, but if we’re going to see any of these guys truly breakout and make some noise in the Big Ten’s or NCAA’s, this Sunday’s dual against Michigan will be a great starting point.

Keep your imbibing to a minimum Saturday night because the action gets started at 11 a.m. on Sunday. Be on the lookout for a preview of all of the possible matches coming your way shortly.