Carter Starocci’s quest for college wrestling immortality begins on March 20, 2025. Starocci is already a four-time NCAA champion, but he could become the first five-timer if he wins five straight matches at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

The Penn State superstar can take advantage of a unique historical window. College athletes were given an extra season of eligibility after the cancellation of the 2020 NCAA Championships due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Five wrestlers were given a rare opportunity granted to college athletes following World War II. The NCAA Championships were cancelled from 1943-45 due to the war, meaning the NCAA granted freshmen eligibility to boost participation numbers when the war was over.

Freshmen were not allowed to compete, so the maximum number of NCAA titles a wrestler could win was three. That rule remained until the 1968 NCAA Championships, when freshmen were finally allowed to participate. 

Five wrestlers took advantage.

Dick Hauser and Lowell Lange of Cornell College, Bill Nelson of Northern Iowa (known as Iowa State Teachers College at the time), Joe Scarpello of Iowa, and Dick Hutton of Oklahoma State (known as Oklahoma A&M at the time) were eligible to go four for four after winning the 1947 NCAA Championships as freshmen. 

None succeeded in their quest. 

Oklahoma State’s Pat Smith became the first four-timer at the 1994 NCAA Championships in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Six wrestlers — including Starocci — followed.

Perhaps no wrestler will follow Starocci if he wins five. 

Four-time D1 NCAA Wrestling Champions

Starocci won four titles at 174 pounds before moving to 184 and is ranked first after a 21-0 season. Although it was an exhibition, the 24-year-old defeated 2024 NCAA champion Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) at the 2024 NWCA All-Star Classic, 4-1 in sudden victory. 

The Erie, Pennsylvania, native faced adversity in his quest. Starocci was injured during his 22-5 tech over Edinboro’s Joey Arnold in the final dual of the 2024 season. He defaulted twice at the Big Ten Championships but won the NCAA Championships as the ninth seed. Starocci also won a title with a broken hand and was in a two tiebreaker shootout with Virginia Tech’s Mekhi Lewis during the 2022 NCAA Championship finals. 

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Carter Starocci defeated Mekhi Lewis during the 2022 NCAA Championship finals in an all-time college classic

Below are Starocci’s NCAA tournament runs.

2021 NCAA Championships, 174 pounds, 3 seed
R32: Victor Marcelli, Virginia, 8-7
R16: Hayden Hastings, Wyoming, 8-2
Quarters: Andrew McNally, Kent State, 6-3
Semis: Demetrius Romero, Utah Valley, 2-0
Finals: Michael Kemerer, Iowa, 3-1 SV-1

2022 NCAA Championships, 174 pounds, 1 seed
R32: Connor O`Neill, Rutgers, Fall 6:39
R16: Adam Kemp, Cal Poly, 10-4
Quarters: Mikey Labriola, Nebraska, 6-1
Semis: Hayden Hidlay, NC State, 10-3
Finals: Mekhi Lewis, Virginia Tech, 5-5 TB-2 (RT)

2023 NCAA Championships, 174 pounds, 1 seed
R32: John Worthing, Clarion, Fall 1:21
R16:  Donnell Washington, Indiana, 4-0
Quarters: Bailee O`Reilly, Minnesota, 5-2
Semis: Chris Foca, Cornell, 6-0
Finals: Mikey Labriola, Nebraska, Fall 2:46

2024 NCAA Championships, 174 pounds, 9 seed
R32: Andrew Sparks, Minnesota, 12-6
R16: Adam Kemp, Cal Poly, 5-3
Quarters: Mekhi Lewis, Virginia Tech, 4-0
Semis: Shane Griffith, Stanford, 2-0
Finals: Rocco Welsh, Ohio State, 2-0