Carter Starocci pays tribute to coach Cael Sanderson as Penn State achieves fourth successive NCAA team title

The freestyle and former folkstyle wrestling star, Carter Starocci, recently shared his thoughts on Penn State winning the 2025 NCAA Championship. Through an Instagram post, Starocci paid tribute to the head coach Cael Sanderson.

Starocci has etched his name in the annals of NCAA wrestling history by clinching his fifth title and becoming the first wrestler to secure this feat. The 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships on Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia witnessed Penn State claiming their fourth consecutive NCAA Championship title. The title was their 12th under Sanderson.

Starocci shared his views on the notable win by the Penn State Nittany Lions under decorated head coach, Sanderson. He mentioned:

“Me and the 🐐”

Screenshot of Carter Starocci's Instagram story | Credits: IG/carterstarocci

Starocci competes in the 184 lb category and is a three-time Big Ten Conference champion. He began showing his interest in the sport from an early age and during his high school career, he won two PIAA state championships.

He has also received four-time All-American honors in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. In 2021, Starocci was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Starocci also received the two-time first-team All-Big Ten nod. Under the guidance of Sanderson, Starocci has become the most successful NCAA wrestler.

Sanderson is a former wrestler with four NCAA Division I Championships and four Big 12 Championships. He competed in the 184 lb category and won his only Olympic gold medal at the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics in the 84 kg category.

Carter Starocci expresses gratitude for Penn State's wrestling program

Carter Starocci at the 2023 NCAA Division I Men's Wrestling Championship - Source: Getty

Carter Starocci has become one of the best wrestlers in the NCAA wrestling program. During his recent interview with FloWrestling, he expressed his gratitude and appreciation for the wrestling program and the coaching staff at Penn State University. He mentioned:

“I'm just super grateful that I'm at Penn State and so for me, that stuff is way more important than winning five and not downplaying five; like, I love it. I'm grateful. I mean the coaching staff. Seriously, those guys are really one of a kind and just for me, they've changed my life, obviously in wrestling and outside of wrestling and that's just something that, like, I wake up every single day just, I'm excited,” he shared [4:06 onwards]

In 2022, the prominent wrestler won the bronze medal in the 79 kg category at the U23 World Championships in Pontevedra, Spain. Starocci was also given an extra year of eligibility as he was one of the athletes who competed in the pandemic-affected 2020-21 season.