Penn State wrestling star Carter Starocci has already had beef with one Iowa wrestler before he even got to Iowa’s campus.
In the winter of 2023, Gabe Arnold called out the then-two-time (now-four-time) national champ via Twitter. This took place during Penn State’s dual meet with Iowa at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Starocci offered an entertaining response several days later.
Now, Starocci might be done with Penn State wrestling. Even if he isn’t— which he says there’s a 60-40 chance of him returning for his last season of eligibility—, it might be a while before he speaks with media again. The season is still more than six months away from starting.
But he still has the chance to respond what Iowa commit Angelo Ferrari’s TikTok post.
The first slide of the post is Ferrari standing in his Iowa singlet with the words “I’m on a mission…” accompanying the picture.
The second slide finishes the sentence with the words “to destroy a certain someone.” This was accompanied by pictures of Starocci and fellow national champion Parker Keckeisen of Northern Iowa.
Keckeisen, this year’s champ at 184, finished second to Penn State legend and recent Olympic qualifier Aaron Brooks in the Hodge Trophy voting. 184 is the class Ferrari’s projected to compete at in college. That makes it even less likely that he’ll ever get to face Carter Starocci at the NCAA level. For one, Starocci said in a recent interview with FloWrestling that he and coach Cael Sanderson have talked about him potentially competing at 197 should he return next season. It’d be a big jump. But Starocci has also said that he’s not a big fan of cutting weight these days, so it would make sense.
There’s also a good chance Ferrari doesn’t crack Iowa’s starting lineup next season.
Iowa has Patrick Kennedy, who wrestled Starocci at 174 last season, back as an option for 184. Iowa also returns Nelson Brands, who’s slated to be back after a year-long suspension for gambling. It also has Arnold, who redshirted his freshman season.
Ferrari, a star as Melissa High School in Texas, is coming to Iowa as the No.2 pound-for-pound wrestler in his class according to FloWrestling.
Before he announced his commitment to Iowa last May, he tossed a Penn State hat aside.
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