Penn State Wrestling: 5 keys to winning another National Championship

Penn State Wrestling: 5 keys to winning the National Championship

PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 23: Members and staff of the Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team pose for a team photo after winning the team title of the NCAA Wrestling Championships on March 23, 2019 at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Hunter Martin/NCAA Photos via Getty Images) /

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Brady Berge of the Penn State Nittany Lions (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images) /

Key No. 2

Between Carter Starocci and Brady Berge, Penn State will need one of them to make a final and another to finish top-5.

I think it’s safe to say Carter Starocci is ready to take on the world. Unfortunately, the world of wrestling in the 174 weight class is stacked in the B1G and elsewhere. The B1G currently occupies 5 of the top 6 wrestlers in the nation at 174. Starocci comes in at No. 5 and Iowa’s Michael Kemerer is No. 1 in InterMat’s recent rankings.

We should have a much better idea of how Carter will do at the NCAA’s based on his B1G performance.

Brady Berge will be in a similar boat at 157 as the B1G has 6 of the top 9 grapplers. Northwestern’s Ryan Deakin is No. 1, Iowa’s Kaleb Young No. 5, Minnesota’s Brayton Lee No. 6, Purdue’s Kendall Coleman No. 7, and Berge currently sits at No. 8.

My heart says Starocci will make a final and Berge can somehow squeak into the top 5. However my brain says our best case scenario will be both guys finishing top 5.

Come on, Chris…enough of this one in a million talk! Onto the next key!

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