Penn State Wrestling: B1G Championships Grades, MVP
By Chris Snyder
174 – Carter Starocci – Fr.
Record: 2-1
Place: 2nd
Grade: A+
Wins
No. 14 Philip Spadafora (MD), fall 4:48
No. 2 Mikey Labriola (NEB), 3-1 SV
Losses
No. 1 Michael Kemerer (IOWA), 2-7 dec.
Outside of one bad mistake in the finals match against No. 1 Kemerer, which cost him four points, Starocci wrestled a clean and mistake-free B1G Championship.
Starocci looked cool, calm, and collected in his semi-final match against the seasoned veteran, Mikey Labriola of Nebraska. Carter remained patient and trusted his abilities in pulling out the takedown in sudden victory to punch his ticket to the finals.
Through the 1st period and a half it seemed like Starocci was hanging well with the top ranked Iowa grappler. Carter landed a shot on Kemerer and had deep penetration in the middle of the 2nd period, it surely looked like he was in control and about to cut the corner and get the takedown.
Instead, the experienced Kemerer reached down between his legs and behind to land an incredible ankle pick on Starocci. Using this position he was able to roll Carter and get the takedown and 2 near fall points. Ball game.
Carter wrestled well in the B1G’s and I loved his confidence in his post-match interviews. He’ll be back under the big lights again soon.