The seeds and bracket path didn’t matter much to Carter Starocci in his pursuit of a fourth NCAA title.

Line up the other 32 wrestlers in his bracket and the Penn State senior said he’ll take them on one-by-one in Kansas City. 

That won’t happen, of course, but Starocci will get his shot at both of the other NCAA champions in the 174-pound bracket. 

Wrestling 27 days after sustaining a knee injury that forced him to forfeit out of the Big Ten Championships and dropped him to a #9 seed at a tournament he’s already won three times, Starocci shut down 2019 national champ and top-seeded Mekhi Lewis 4-0 to advance to Friday night’s semifinals of the NCAA Wrestling Championships in Kansas City. 

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Starocci surrendered a takedown in each of his first two matches Thursday while wrestling with a heavy brace on his right knee. He kept Lewis off his legs throughout Friday’s quarterfinal match and seized control with a first-period leg attack of his own that he turned into the match’s only takedown. 

Much like he did in November during an 11-0 major decision win against Lewis at the NWCA All-Star Classic, Starocci kept Lewis glued to the mat once he got on top after the takedown. Given his choice in the third period, Lewis, trailing 4-0, opted to go neutral in the third and couldn’t crack through Starocci’s defense. 

Highlights from Starocci's victory over Mekhi Lewis

As a reward for taking out the #1 seed from Virginia Tech, Starocci will get a semifinal showdown Friday night against Michigan’s Shane Griffith, who won the 165-pound NCAA title in 2021 for Stanford just minutes before Starocci won his first title. 

Griffith rallied back with two takedowns in the final minute to beat #28 seed Jared Simma of Northern Iowa 8-7 in the quarterfinals. Griffith trailed 5-0 with more than three minutes of riding time against him when he scored a reversal with five seconds left in the second period and then got things going on his feet in the final minute.

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NCAA Wrestling Tournament 2024 Schedule

The 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championship will be held at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri from March 21-23. 

Complete schedule

• Session 1 - Championship First Round    Thursday    March 21    12pm    ESPNU/ESPN+
• Session 2 - Championship Second Round + Consolations    Thursday    March 21    7pm    ESPN/ESPN+
• Session 3 - Championships Quarterfinals + Consolations    Friday    March 22    12pm    ESPNU/ESPN+
• Session 4 - Championship Semifinals + Blood Round    Friday    March 22    8pm    ESPN/ESPN+
• Session 5 - Medal Round    Saturday    March 23    11am    ESPNU/ESPN+
• Session 6 - Championship Finals    Saturday    March 23    7pm    ESPN/ESPN+

Where Are The NCAA Wrestling Championships 2024

The 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championship will be held at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri from March 21-23.

The 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships will be held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the Wells Fargo Center while the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships are set for Cleveland, Ohio at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. 

NCAA Wrestling Championships 2024 At Large Bids

      WEIGHT    TEAM    FIRST NAME    LAST NAME    CONFERENCE

• 125    California Baptist    Elijah    Griffin    Big 12
• 125    Oregon State    Brandon    Kaylor    Pac 12
• 125    Rider    Tyler    Klinsky    MAC
• 125    Ohio State    Brendan    McCrone    Big Ten
• 125    Northern Colorado    Stevo    Poulin    Big 12
• 125    Harvard    Diego    Sotelo    EIWA
• 133    Ohio State    Nic    Bouzakis    Big Ten
• 133    Pennsylvania    Michael    Colaiocco    EIWA
• 133    Northern Iowa    Julian    Farber    Big 12
• 133    Missouri    Kade    Moore    Big 12
• 133    Minnesota    Tyler    Wells    Big Ten
• 141    Gardner-Webb    Todd    Carter    SoCon
• 141    Cornell    Vince    Cornella    EIWA
• 141    Virginia Tech    Tom    Crook    ACC
• 141    Maryland    Kal    Miller    Big Ten
• 141    Columbia    Kai    Owen    EIWA
• 141    West Virginia    Jordan    Titus    Big 12
• 149    Rutgers    Michael    Cetta    Big Ten
• 149    South Dakota State    Alek    Martin    Big 12
• 149    Pittsburgh    Finn    Solomon    ACC
• 149    Pennsylvania    Jude    Swisher    EIWA
• 157    Virginia Tech    Bryce    Andonian    ACC
• 157    Little Rock    Matty    Bianchi    Pac 12
• 157    Minnesota    Michael    Blockhus    Big Ten
• 157    Northern Colorado    Vinny    Zerban    Big 12
• 165    NC State    Derek    Fields    ACC
• 165    Michigan State    Caleb    Fish    Big Ten
• 165    Pittsburgh    Holden    Heller    ACC
• 165    Bucknell    Noah    Mulvaney    EIWA
• 165    Ohio    Garrett    Thompson    MAC
• 174    Pittsburgh    Luca    Augustine    ACC
• 174    Northern Iowa    Jared    Simma    Big 12
• 174    Penn State    Carter    Starocci    Big Ten
• 174    Navy    Danny    Wask    EIWA
• 184    Gardner-Webb    Jha`Quan    Anderson    SoCon
• 184    Iowa State    Will    Feldkamp    Big 12
• 184    Pennsylvania    Maximus    Hale    EIWA
• 184    Campbell    Caleb    Hopkins    SoCon
• 184    Arizona State    Tony    Negron    Pac 12
• 197    Northwestern    Evan    Bates    Big Ten
• 197    Utah Valley    Evan    Bockman    Big 12
• 197    Franklin & Marshall    John    Crawford    EIWA
• 197    Virginia Tech    Andy    Smith    ACC
• 285    Maryland    Seth    Nevills    Big Ten
• 285    Pittsburgh    Dayton    Pitzer    ACC
• 285    Minnesota    Bennett    Tabor    Big Ten
• 285    Cal Poly    Trevor    Tink    Pac-12

NCAA Division 1 Wrestling Rankings

The updated NCAA D1 Wrestling rankings can be found HERE.

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