What is the latest on Penn State wrestler Carter Starocci? Cael Sanderson has an update
Penn State wrestling heads to the Big Ten Tournament this Saturday and Sunday in College Park, Md. The Nittany Lions will send 10 wrestlers to it. Whether or not one of them competes, however, is the big question that lingers over the annual event that helps set the field for the NCAA Tournament. Multi-time All-American and NCAA champion Carter Starocci hurt his right knee at the end of a technical fall victory over Edinboro’s Brody Evans last Sunday. Since, whether or not the 174-pounder would be full go in the postseason has been unclear. On Monday, head coach Cael Sanderson offered the newest update on Starocci.
“He’s doing pretty good,” Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said Monday. “I don’t know if it’s a situation where me talking (about the specifics of it) really does a lot of good. What his plans are, they haven’t really changed. I think it’s still search and destroy, basically. It’s like a day to day thing where he’s getting better, significantly, over time. His plan is to do what he does and go compete. That’s something where we’ll have to step in there if we don’t feel like it’s in his best interest. Getting to the nationals is number one, and being at your best at nationals is number two, so whatever we have to do to help him do that is the plan.”
How things play out from here won’t be known until the weekend. This is the last time anyone from the wrestling program will speak until after the tournament ends Sunday night. So, until the weigh-in sheets come out Saturday morning, there will still be mystery surrounding Starocci’s plan. But, even if he does weigh in, that does not guarantee that he will fully participate. He could take the mat in the quarterfinals and forfeit one second in and then do so again in the first consolation bracket match. That would knock his seeding for nationals but at least qualify him for the event. He aims to win his fourth consecutive national title.
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“He has little extra time, and then another week between the Big Tens and the Nationals,” Sanderson said on the Penn State Coaches Show last Thursday. ” So, he has some time to get healthy. But he’s doing pretty well. I’d say he’s doing better than we feared right away. And, he’s in really good hands with with our trainer, Dan Monthley.
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“So, like I’ve said, we’re very optimistic. Carter is just a tough kid. He’s had adversity in every season. Injuries have been a big part of his career, unfortunately, even in high school. He was a little under the radar, even then, because he wasn’t, like, dominating on the scoreboard. But, a lot of times, he was he was also injured. So, he’s a tough kid. He’s dealt with some adversity in the past. So, if anybody can do it, he can.”
Penn State is the favorite to win the Big Ten and NCAA championships with or without Starocci. His participation, however, would be crucial to the team’s chances of breaking the all-time NCAA scoring record at nationals.
