Penn State Wrestling: Josh Barr Feels he ‘Could Have Wrestled a Lot Better’ in Big-Time Win

“Honestly, I thought I could have wrestled a lot better tonight,” Barr, ranked fourth, said after beating Michigan’s Jacob Cardenas, ranked second, 3-2 in a tiebreaker that went past sudden victory.

Perhaps Barr is taking after his head coach.

To give an idea of the way Cael Sanderson operates, he said he felt his team “wrestled fine” after it, you know, beat the No. 19 team in the country 39-0.

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It might seem like Sanderson is underselling his team’s success and Barr is underselling his individual success. But hey, it’s worked.

This “I’m not satisfied” mentality helped Sanderson to a 159-0 college record and four national titles, plus an Olympic Gold Medal in freestyle.

So far, it’s helped Barr quickly become one of the best at 197.

GETTING BETTER

Like the Beatles song says, Barr is focused on getting better.

The past week has given him great chances to do that.

Last Friday night, he took on the No. 1 wrestler in his weight class, Iowa’s Stephen Buchanan.

Although he fell 5-1, that experience was invaluable going into the next week, in which he had to take one No. 2 wrestler.

This time, Barr prevailed, and he loves the chances being in the Big Ten gives him to prove his worth against the best.

“I’m grateful for the opportunities, obviously, that the Big Ten brings,” Barr said, “so just taking that, getting better from it and moving on (will be important).”

“It’s a blessing. Being in the Big Ten at my weight class, with, our schedule it worked out well. Two big matches in the BJC, and it’s preparation towards nationals with a lot of guys watching and some of the best guys in the country. So I’m grateful for it, and it’s just another matchup.

CARTER THE PROPHET?

Carter Starocci improves Penn State’s winning margin 26-5 with his convincing win over Iowa’s Angelo Ferrari.

Right now, Barr’s teammate, Carter Starocci, seems like a prophet.

Barr came to Penn State wrestling after a fantastic career at Michigan’s Davison High School, where he went 125-1 and won four state championships.

If Starocci’s prediction comes true, Barr isn’t down winning individual titles.

“I think he’ll be a multiple time national champ for sure,” Starocci told reporters last January.

‘I Think He’ll be a Multi-Time National Champ’: Penn State Wrestling Star Carter Starocci Expects Greatness From True Freshman

For Starocci, Barr is “one of those kids.”

“You just got to kill him because he’s going to keep coming after you just nonstop,” he said. “When I wrestle someone for the first time, just to see their breaking point. He just never stopped. I think having that (mentality), the skills are going to keep adding on every single practice.”

Penn State looks to make it 66 straight dual meet wins against Maryland Sunday at Rec Hall. The dual meet is scheduled to begin at 1. The dual meet can be seen on BTN+.