Did Penn State Deliver the Greatest Season in NCAA Wrestling History?

Coach Cael Sanderson's Nittany Lions won the NCAA Wrestling title with an epic performance in Kansas City.

The Penn State Nittany Lions celebrate after winning the team title at the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships in Kansas City. / Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports

After the greatest season in Penn State wrestling history — and perhaps the greatest in college wrestling history — the Nittany Lions returned to State College intent on doing it again. Maybe even better next time.

"That's what we do. We always think ahead preparing for the future," Sanderson told reporters after the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships in Kansas City. "We'll be back in the room on Monday. We love what we do. We love to train. We love the sport of wrestling. Happy for the guys. Obviously I say this every time but your heart and your mind, you just kind of expect to win and you believe and expect that your guys are going to win. So it's the ones that don't quite reach their goal that occupy your mind and your heart.”

Penn State absolutely barnstormed the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships, setting a scoring record, smashing the differential record, winning four individual titles, and becoming the first college wrestling program with two four-time champions. And amazingly, Penn State might not have reached its own stratospheric goals. The program sought to become just the second in NCAA history with 10 All-Americans and peered at winning six individual titles, which would have set a new record.

Ultimately, the Nittany Lions settled for eight All-Americans (one writing a tremendous story), 172.5 team points (topping Iowa’s former record), and a 100-point margin of victory, by far the largest in tournament history. Sanderson won his 11th NCAA team title as Penn State’s head coach, tying Oklahoma State’s E.C. Gallagher for the second-most among Division I coaches. Sanderson’s next milestone is 15, the number of titles Dan Gable won at Iowa.

Of course, Penn State’s publicly stoic head coach won’t wade into that territory. Instead, he grew philosophical about the sport itself.

“It's always been a game. That's just the way I was raised,” Sanderson said. “You want to win every game we play. If it's at home, you're playing video games or you're playing whatever you're playing, you're trying to win. And it is a game. I mean, all you have to do is look back 20 years and who can tell us —  maybe you guys [in the media] can because that's what you do for a living — but it doesn't matter. Life moves forward and this is just all about preparation and getting ready for the next stage in life. And with that perspective, you can compete a little bit more freely. It's just the truth.”

Carter Starocci’s 4-Time Challenge

Penn State’s 174-pounder fought through a late-season injury, and some drama, to become the Nittany Lions’ first four-time NCAA champion. Though he wouldn’t discuss injury specifics, Starocci did admit that he had been on crutches not long before the tournament.

"Like I said, it was a long road,” Starocci told reporters in Kansas City. “Twelve days [before NCAAs], I wasn't even walking. It's just a blessing, even the Big Ten situation. Obviously I wanted to wrestle and I was ready to wrestle, but just having my coaches on my side and things like that. I was frustrated at the decision and things like that, but it's just all part of it. It's all just one big storm. It's all one big story. And this is my story and you've got to take it day by day, honestly."

Starocci, who is eligible to pursue an unprecedented fifth NCAA title next season, has trained his focus toward this month. By winning the NCAA title, Starocci qualified for the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Trials in State College in April. He intends to compete there.

"That's the plan," he said. "I've had some doctors ask me, hey, what are your goals and things like that? I've obviously told them I want to win Nationals, win [at the] Olympics. They said, what's most important. I said the Olympics. There was some discussion about not wrestling [at NCAAs], things like that. But again, me as a competitor, it doesn't sit right with me watching my guys go to war and I'm just cooped up and just watching. That's not who I am. And the plan is 74 kilograms in State College, April 19th and April 20th."

Aaron Brooks Was the Nation’s Most Dominant Wrestler

Brooks is a leading candidate for the Hodge Trophy as the nation’s top wrestler. His season represented everything a Hodge winner should accomplish. Brooks, who won his three previous NCAA titles at 184 pounds, dominated his first season at 197. He went 22-0 and claimed 20 of those wins with bonus points, including four at the NCAA Championships. Brooks did not allow a takedown during the dual-meet season or the postseason and recorded an astonishing 11 technical falls. 

Those numbers recalled just how dominant Sanderson was at Iowa State, where he went undefeated and won four NCAA titles. Brooks reflected on winning his fourth title 22 years after his coach achieved the feat first.

“It's cool to be a part of, when I look back on it," Brooks told reporters in Kansas City. "I was thinking about it just before I came out. But I remember being 6 or 7 years old. There was a disc of coach Cael, his high school national championship, or high school state final and then him in high school and NCAA Finals, his four national championship titles. I'm 6 years old. My dad, he said this is the greatest wrestler ever.

"I watched it, learned ankle pick and cradle and the Granby Roll. But to be wrestling in this program and him as my head coach, some days I look, God is great. You never know where God's going to take you. Being six years old in the back of the car, GMC, watching those things, I didn't think I would be here. So praise the Lord."

Penn State Goes 4-for-6 in the NCAA Finals

A .667 batting average is pretty impressive. Levi Haines (157) and Greg Kerkvliet (285) won their weight classes as top seeds, while Beau Bartlett (141) and Mitchell Mesenbrink (165) made the finals as No. 2 seeds. 

"I thought in the finals, all of our guys wrestled really well,” Sanderson said. “Bartlett wrestled really well, just didn't work out at the end. And Mesenbrink, he's such a beast and wrestled really well. They had great tournaments, all the way through our lineup. So we're happy and we'll just keep working."

Of his four-time champions, Sanderson discussed their “eternal principles.”

"I think there's pressure and expectations right away they have for themselves because they obviously planned on winning as freshmen," Sanderson said. "So it's not like all of a sudden they have this chance to win their fourth. It's something they've been working on for four years. Just more about them being able to just be themselves and focusing on the things that work and that just is eternal principles. It's just gratitude and those things that kind of keep you centered. And when you don't, you kind of drift away. It makes things more difficult.

"But this is a difficult time in wrestling. There's a lot of media coverage and hype and all those different things that you can feed into it or not. Just makes it more difficult. But they both did a great job. Aaron, obviously, just very dominant all year long. Carter had some adversity, which is pretty amazing. He wasn't able to wrestle the way he wanted to, but wrestling with the injury that he had was really, really impressive. There's not a lot of human beings on the planet that would be able to do what he just did, obviously."

An Unsung Hero of Penn State’s Title Run

Freshman Tyler Kasak should have wrestled some open events at 141 pounds this season and redshirted. Then returning All-American Shayne Van Ness took a redshirt season to address an injury issue, and Penn State needed a starter at 149 pounds. Enter Kasak, who moved up a weight class, won his first eight bouts, placed third at the Big Ten Championships and went on a wild NCAA ride. After losing in the first round, Kasak went 7-0 in the consolations to place third. A marvelous accomplishment for the true freshman.

AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWogenrich.