How Far Could Penn State's Carter Starocci Go at the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Trials?

Starocci won his fourth NCAA wrestling title with one healthy leg. Now, he's pursuing a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team.

Penn State's Carter Starocci celebrates with coach Cael Sanderson after the Nittany Lions won the team title at the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships. / Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports

Five weeks ago, Penn State's Carter Starocci accomplished a staggering feat, willing himself to a fourth NCAA wrestling championship despite a significant knee injury. Could he do something even more astonishing and qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics? Starocci isn't one to downplay the possibility.

"I've had some doctors ask me, 'Hey, what are your goals?' and things like that," Starocci said. "I've obviously told them I want to win Nationals, win the Olympics. They said, 'What's most important?' I said, the Olympics."

Starocci, Penn State's first four-time NCAA champion, will be among the most intriguing wrestlers at this weekend's U.S. Olympic Wrestling Trials in State College. Having initially planned to wrestle in the 74 kg freestyle weight class, Starocci instead will compete at 86 kg with five other wrestlers representing Penn State. That includes teammate Aaron Brooks, the second Penn State wrestler to win four NCAA titles, and the weight class' favorite, three-time world champ David Taylor, who won Olympic gold in Tokyo in 2021.

Twelve wrestlers in the field, including Brooks as the challenge tournament's top seed, are competing for a chance to knock Taylor from the weight class' top spot. Taylor has a bye until Saturday's best-of-three champonship series at the Bryce Jordan Center. Starocci, the weight class' No. 6 seed, certainly faces a daunting task. But he also did at the NCAA Wrestling Championships, where he defeated two former national champs in a performance that made his coach gasp.

"Carter had some adversity, which is pretty amazing," Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said at the NCAA Championships in March. "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."

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Starocci sustained a significant knee injury in Penn State's last regular-season match in February, one that kept him out of the Big Ten Championships. He was on crutches for a period and arrived in Kansas City for NCAAs having spent little time on the mat.

"It was a long road," Starocci said after winning the 174-pound title at NCAAs. "Twelve days ago 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 certainly embraces challenge. He won two NCAA titles with major injuries. In 2022, Starocci claimed his second title wrestling with a broken hand. He has not discussed the seriousness of this injury, though it was significant. Even five weeks after NCAAs, Starocci will wrestle with some effects.

And then Starocci increased his degree of difficulty by moving up a weight class to 86 kg. That's the equivalent of 189 pounds, meaning he'll face bigger wrestlers across the board. Starocci initially said he would compete at 74 kg (about 163 pounds) at the Trials. However, he wrestled his entire Penn State career at 174, making for a difficult weight cut. So Starocci will enter a weight class with Taylor, Brooks, Trent Hidlay (whom Brooks defeated in the NCAA final), Chance Marstellar and former Penn State wrestlers Max Dean and Mark Hall. It's probably the best move for Starocci weight-wise, but the challenge remains significant.

Starocci probably wouldn't accept anything less.

"There's nothing I'd rather do right now in this life than be here wrestling," Starocci said at the NCAA Championships. "I couldn't be more happy and more grateful. I don't think you can put me in a different scenario. So, I mean, this is where I want to be."

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.