Carter Starocci vs Parker Keckeisen to be main event of NWCA All-Star Classic 2024 

The main event of the much awaited NWCA All Star-Classic event will be the match between four-time NCAA champion Carter Starocci, who represents the Penn State Nittany Lions Wrestling Club, and Parker Keckeisen, who represents the team of Northern Iowa Panthers. The event will take place at the Rec Hall, which is located on Penn State's Campus.

Apart from the match between Starocci and Keckeisen, the NWCA All-Star Classic will also feature 10 high-ranked Division 1 folkstyle matchups, alongside 5 cross-divisional women’s freestyle matches. FloWrestling has announced seven of these matchups, with the rest to be announced soon.

The match lineup of the much awaited NWCA All Star-Classic 2024 has been recently unveiled. Nike will be sponsoring this event, which will be broadcasted only on FloWrestling.

Carter Starocci, who also has a bronze medal from the 2022 Under-23 World Wrestling Championships edition to his credit, has been the NCAA Division I champion in the 174 lb category for four consecutive times. He first won the gold medal at the 2021 edition held in St. Louis, and he won his fourth consecutive gold medal at the Kansas City edition held in 2024.

On the other hand, Parker Keckeisen has won the NCAA Division I championships in the 184 lb category this year. He stood third at the NCAA Championships held in 2021 and 2022 respectively, before entering the finals at the Tulsa edition held in 2023.

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Carter Starocci on the golden advice from his father

Carter Starocci in action at the NCAA Division I Championships 2024 [Image Source: Getty]

Carter Starocci is one of the most successful wrestlers in the history of the NCAA Championships. The 23-year-old wrestler, who currently represents the Pennsylvania State University's Penn State Nittany Lions Wrestling Club, has four NCAA Division I championship titles, and two NCAA Big Ten Championships to his credit.

Starocci recently recalled his father's golden words, that inspired him towards a successful career. In an interview with the YouTube channel Happy Valley Adventure Buraeau, he said,

"I'm already in my fifth year at Penn State, like this flew by like this. So I was always aware of that and just how life goes by quick and then my dad always told me every single day we have this choice to make, and it's either you choose to get better or you choose to get worse.”

Carter Starocci has also been in the news for his plans to move up to a higher weight class, which has caused some controversy, and evoked some strong reactions from AJ Ferrari, who once represented the Oklahoma State University.

However, unfazed by the challenge from Ferrari, Carter Starocci opened up on how the decision to move up to a higher weight class was also influenced by his father. In his words,

"I'm just going to eat how my dad raised me to be. My dad's a football guy and so he's all about gaining size and he was always on me. He always wanted me to go up (to a higher weight class) and he was like ‘we're just big dudes in the family’, so I'm excited.”

Carter Starocci will be returning to the Pennsylvania State University for his fifth straight year as a competitive wrestler. Starocci is hopeful for a fifth consecutive title at the NCAA Championships, which will be held at Philadelphia in March 2025.