UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State Nittany Lion wrestler Carter Starocci claimed a Bronze Medal at the U23 World Championships in Pontevedra, Spain, this weekend. Starocci went 4-1, with his only loss a one-pointer in the semifinals.
The Nittany Lion junior began his tournament run with a resounding 11-0 technical fall victory over Bulgaria's Oktay Hasan early Friday morning (Eastern time). He followed that win up with a second tech fall, a 10-0 tech fall over Erik Reinbok of Estonia. Starocci then met Turkey's Abdubasi Balta in the quarterfinals and rolled to a third straight tech fall, advancing to the semifinals with an 11-1 win.
Starocci met Kazakhstan's Daulet Yergesh in the semifinals. After leading 1-0 at the break, Starocci got caught in a takedown to ankle lace move and fell behind 8-1. But Starocci nearly pulled off the thrilling comeback, notching two takedowns with one turn in the final minute-plus before falling 8-7. He took on Valentyn Babii of Ukraine in his Bronze Medal Match and rolled to an 11-0 technical fall to win the Bronze. Starocci went 4-1 overall in Spain with all four wins by technical fall and the lone loss by a point in the semifinals.
Starocci is a two-time NCAA National Champion and All-American at 174 pounds and returns for his sophomore year in 2022-23. Penn State (0-0, 0-0 B1G) begins its dual meet season on Friday, Nov. 11, when it welcomes Lock Haven to Rec Hall for a 7 p.m. dual meet.
The 2022-23 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by the Family Clothesline. Penn State Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at @pennstateWREST, on Penn State Wrestling's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/pennstatewrest. This is PENN STATE. WRESTLING lives here.
