Wrestling NCAA Wrestling

57 KG: Spencer Lee (Hawkeye WC) 2-0 (7-2, 6-0) over Luke Lilledahl (Nittany Lion WC)
65 KG: Real Woods (Cliff Keen WC) 2-0 (7-3, 5-4) over Joey McKenna (Cowboy RTC)
70 KG: PJ Duke (KD Training Center) 2-1 (0-10, 17-10, Fall, 3:07) over Yianni Diakomihalis (Spartan Combat) 1-1
74 KG: David Carr (Cyclone Regional Training Center) 2-0 (4-3, 4-4 on criteria) over Mitchell Mesenbrink (Nittany Lion WC)
79 KG: Levi Haines (Nittany Lion Wrestling Club) 2-0 (10-0, 6-1) over Evan Wick (Askren Wrestling Academy)
86 KG: Zahid Valencia (Cowboy RTC) 2-0 (5-3, 4-1) over Kyle Dake (Nittany Lion Wrestling Club)
92 KG: Trent Hidlay (Wolfpack RTC) 2-0 (6-1, 3-2) over Josh Barr (Nittany Lion Wrestling Club)
97 KG: Kyle Snyder (Nittany Lion WC) 2-0 (8-0, 8-2) over Hayden Zillmer (Gopher Wrestling Club)
125 KG: Wyatt Hendrickson (Cowboy RTC) 2-0 (10-0, 20-14) over Trent Hillger (Gopher Wrestling Club)

Carr and Zahid go 2-0, surprising!! and PJ pinning Yianni. wow!


Was rooting for Dake and he made it exciting almost coming back in the first match. He still had some success with his crackdown chest wrap but looked like Valencia was just too beaucoup. Size difference was apparent. Not sure where Dake goes from here.

Surprised Carr got it done vs. Messenbrink. Those were tight matches.

Snyder looked good coming out of his legal issues. Wasn't he under SafeSport sanction and wasn't even expected to be able to compete?

Maroulis in her second match with the gazoni into the pin was sick. If she was going for that off the bat, that was some serious "I'm that much better than you and I'm going to clown you with some crazy shit."
 
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Was rooting for Dake and he made it exciting almost coming back in the first match. He still had some success with his crackdown chest wrap but looked like Valencia was just too beaucoup. Size difference was apparent. Not sure where Dake goes from here.

Surprised Carr got it done vs. Messenbrink. Those were tight matches.

Snyder looked good coming out of his legal issues. Wasn't he under SafeSport sanction and wasn't even expected to be able to compete?

Maroulis in her second match with the gazoni into the pin was sick. If she was going for that off the bat, that was some serious "I'm that much better than you and I'm going to clown you with some crazy shit."

Ya full respect to Kyle for giving 86 a run, he was undersized and looked tiny next to Zahid. Not sure where he will go in the future, but he would have ran through 79 pretty easily. Knowing him though, he probably gives 86 another go but I don't like his chances in the next coming years.

Synder's suspension was lifted after he plead guilty to a lesser charge, I hope he moves passed this episode of his life and gets some help.

Edit:

Did you see Spencer Lee's interviews? I think he needs to see a sports phycologist or something. I know he holds himself to high standards but his negative self talk is kind of worrying.
 
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Ya full respect to Kyle for giving 86 a run, he was undersized and looked tiny next to Zahid. Not sure where he will go in the future, but he would have ran through 79 pretty easily. Knowing him though, he probably gives 86 another go but I don't like his chances in the next coming years.

Synder's suspension was lifted after he plead guilty to a lesser charge, I hope he moves passed this episode of his life and gets some help.

Edit:

Did you see Spencer Lee's interviews? I think he needs to see a sports phycologist or something. I know he holds himself to high standards but his negative self talk is kind of worrying.

Wow yeah just went back and watched Spencer's post-match interview. Starting out I was with him being hard on himself talking about needing to stay active and score more points. The no excuses, brutally honest mentality is something I've always loved about wrestling whether you're talking about yourself, your opponent or one of the kids you coach.

But yeah, he went off the reservation with the bit about being the "old man" at 26 going on 27, not having done anything and that's why he flops in the big matches. Like what the actual fuck dude, you're an Olympic silver medalist, multi time world champ, 3 x D1 champ. If that's failing, not sure how anyone else sleeps at night.
 
PJ pinning Yianni. wow!



Holy hell didn't realize Duke is only 18 and still in high school. Beating out Diakomihalis a pretty massive feather in his cap and he's going to be the youngest U.S. wrestler at a world championship since 1974. And Jax Forrest wrestling Arujau next month is also 18 but a few months younger.

Sounds like they're growing HS talent pretty great these days.
 
Holy hell didn't realize Duke is only 18 and still in high school. Beating out Diakomihalis a pretty massive feather in his cap and he's going to be the youngest U.S. wrestler at a world championship since 1974. And Jax Forrest wrestling Arujau next month is also 18 but a few months younger.

Sounds like they're growing HS talent pretty great these days.

PJ is an absolute stud for making the world team at his age, no doubt about that, but I'm not quite convinced he's senior world level yet. Yianni man handled him that first match and then he fell apart in the second and third, so something was definitely wrong with him there. I guess we'll see is September though and I'll happily eat my words if I'm wrong. The future is bright for him and the other young guns out there for sure.
 
PJ is an absolute stud for making the world team at his age, no doubt about that, but I'm not quite convinced he's senior world level yet. Yianni man handled him that first match and then he fell apart in the second and third, so something was definitely wrong with him there. I guess we'll see is September though and I'll happily eat my words if I'm wrong. The future is bright for him and the other young guns out there for sure.

To me it's still mindblowing that 18 yo kids like Duke and Forrest can be competitive with or even beat vets like Diakomihalis and Arujau while still in HS and without having gone through the pressure cooker of a top college program and/or RTC. Even guys like Cejudo who skipped college didn't compete internationally until he was out of HS and training full time at the OTC.
 
To me it's still mindblowing that 18 yo kids like Duke and Forrest can be competitive with or even beat vets like Diakomihalis and Arujau while still in HS and without having gone through the pressure cooker of a top college program and/or RTC. Even guys like Cejudo who skipped college didn't compete internationally until he was out of HS and training full time at the OTC.

I think Snyder was 19 when he won hist first world gold, he did of course have a year of the NCAAs under his belt. Pico was also 19 when he was runner up at the Olympic trials, and he had no collegiate experience. This new crop of high school kids coming up are amazing, no doubt about that.
 
I think Snyder was 19 when he won hist first world gold, he did of course have a year of the NCAAs under his belt. Pico was also 19 when he was runner up at the Olympic trials, and he had no collegiate experience. This new crop of high school kids coming up are amazing, no doubt about that.

I could just be old but I feel like the bar is higher for all scholastic sports now. When I was a kid in the 80's and early 90's, you played your sport during the season and then rode your bike around and hung out at your friend's house.

These days I see kids specializing early and training year round. My son started wrestling 2 years ago when he was 7 (coming from BJJ and soccer). He just wanted to cross-train for BJJ but when he started competing, it became clear he couldn't get by with 1 or 2 practices a week. About a year ago I started him with 1 or 2 privates/week because his training partners were doing that and during the season, he was doing 4 practices/week with 2 or 3 tournaments or duals/month and at his request, we dropped BJJ and Judo to focus on wrestling.

He's gotten a lot better but the top 10U kids have been training like that year round for 4+ years. He's still wrestling but wanted to try baseball over the summer and the best kids in his league have been playing year round for 4+ years with private coaching, strength training etc.

I started wrestling in HS and by senior year made varsity starter doing only HS team practices. I don't see that happening these days. The level of coaching and instruction at private clubs is so much better than the average school team.
 
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Well, there has certainly been a lot of news this week:

- decommitments (Iowa)
- dismissals (Iowa)
- PED failure (Penn State)
- accusations of inappropriate behaviors and coaches looking the other way ( Penn State)
- accusations of blurring the line between media and cheerleader (FLO)
 
Well, there has certainly been a lot of news this week:

- decommitments (Iowa)
- dismissals (Iowa)
- PED failure (Penn State)
- accusations of inappropriate behaviors and coaches looking the other way ( Penn State)
- accusations of blurring the line between media and cheerleader (FLO)

Apparently Aaron Brooks' dad said it was DHEA bought over the counter at Wegman's to restore his son's nutrient levels coming out of the hospital for pneumonia. Do you think there is a non-zero chance this is true? Call me a cynic but we've all heard the ridiculous excuses like this for PED failures in MMA under USADA. I just can't believe an athlete who has competed at the highest levels like Brooks seriously doesn't know to the letter what is or isn't on the USADA banned supplements list.


 
Apparently Aaron Brooks' dad said it was DHEA bought over the counter at Wegman's to restore his son's nutrient levels coming out of the hospital for pneumonia. Do you think there is a non-zero chance this is true? Call me a cynic but we've all heard the ridiculous excuses like this for PED failures in MMA under USADA. I just can't believe an athlete who has competed at the highest levels like Brooks seriously doesn't know to the letter what is or isn't on the USADA banned supplements list.


Yeah, "restore his levels"

Levels of what?

How did he know his "levels"?


They don't test blood levels of testosterone due to pneumonia
 
Yeah, "restore his levels"

Levels of what?

How did he know his "levels"?


They don't test blood levels of testosterone due to pneumonia

“He finally gets out [of the hospital] and is looking at his doctor’s report and all the things he’s lacking in. And he went to get supplements to replenish whatever it is that needs to be replenished,” Brooks said. “One of the things he purchased was right next to the fish oil. It’s just a supplement, a natural, plant-based supplement, so he picked it up and started taking these things."


laugh-cant-hold-it-in.gif


Dr. Thunder: Okay Mr. Brooks, we're discharging you today but pneumonia took a number on you and you're lacking in... certain things. Here's a printout of... um... your levels of... uh... whatever it is that needs to be replenished. [With a stern look] Now I need you to go straight to Wegman's and buy some random shit off their shelf and hopefully that does the trick. We're only a hospital and we don't keep any of that lifesaving crap around here.
 
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Well, there has certainly been a lot of news this week:

- decommitments (Iowa)
- dismissals (Iowa)
- PED failure (Penn State)
- accusations of inappropriate behaviors and coaches looking the other way ( Penn State)
- accusations of blurring the line between media and cheerleader (FLO)

I was a fan of Carter, he sounds like a real POS now and his career may be done. Who would want to train with a guy like that.
 
I was a fan of Carter, he sounds like a real POS now and his career may be done. Who would want to train with a guy like that.

Where there's smoke there's fire but I'm curious about the whole story. Starocci sounds like a POS but on balance, a lot of the dirt is allegations by Beau Bartlett and his wife. There was a campus police investigation into locker theft but no finding or admission of guilt. It looks like Bartlett went scorched earth on both Starocci and NLWC, saying Sanderson and his coaches knew about misconduct but chose to do nothing. If that's all true, maybe it's the tip of the iceberg and the PSU dynasty is about to get a shakeup. But I also wonder if Bartlett simply had a beef with Starocci and Sanderson and chose to vent before jumping ship to the NYC RTC.


 
Where there's smoke there's fire but I'm curious about the whole story. Starocci sounds like a POS but on balance, a lot of the dirt is allegations by Beau Bartlett and his wife. There was a campus police investigation into locker theft but no finding or admission of guilt. It looks like Bartlett went scorched earth on both Starocci and NLWC, saying Sanderson and his coaches knew about misconduct but chose to do nothing. If that's all true, maybe it's the tip of the iceberg and the PSU dynasty is about to get a shakeup. But I also wonder if Bartlett simply had a beef with Starocci and Sanderson and chose to vent before jumping ship to the NYC RTC.



From what I was reading, It was more than just Beau and his wife. It sounds like a few women were accusing him of sexual assault/misconduct

https://onwardstate.com/2025/06/26/carter-starocci-accused-of-sexual-misconduct-property-theft/

"Several Penn State students said that Starocci began pursuing them when they were freshmen at Penn State, sometimes as young as 16 or 17 years old. In one case, the former wrestler allegedly brought a girl into the LWC gym, locker room, and sauna on multiple occasions before inviting her to his house where he raped her twice.

Another girl shared that Starocci sent explicit images to her and her underage friends and sexually assaulted her when she attempted to leave his house after a visit."

I know that it's always innocent until proven guilty but it sounds like a lot of people are coming forward including other team mates

"Other teammates believed Starocci had stolen from their lockers in the past, as well as claiming physical and sexual misconduct against them by Starocci that occurred within the Lorenzo Wrestling Complex."
 
From what I was reading, It was more than just Beau and his wife. It sounds like a few women were accusing him of sexual assault/misconduct

https://onwardstate.com/2025/06/26/carter-starocci-accused-of-sexual-misconduct-property-theft/

"Several Penn State students said that Starocci began pursuing them when they were freshmen at Penn State, sometimes as young as 16 or 17 years old. In one case, the former wrestler allegedly brought a girl into the LWC gym, locker room, and sauna on multiple occasions before inviting her to his house where he raped her twice.

Another girl shared that Starocci sent explicit images to her and her underage friends and sexually assaulted her when she attempted to leave his house after a visit."

I know that it's always innocent until proven guilty but it sounds like a lot of people are coming forward including other team mates

"Other teammates believed Starocci had stolen from their lockers in the past, as well as claiming physical and sexual misconduct against them by Starocci that occurred within the Lorenzo Wrestling Complex."

Oh yeah, like I said where there's smoke there's fire and if multiple people are making allegations, at best Starocci is probably a bully and an asshole. But I'm just pointing out that so far it's just allegations and there doesn't appear to be any pending criminal charges. And the one "formal" charge was an investigation by campus police into locker theft and that investigation closed with no finding.

Obviously if he raped anyone, he's a criminal and should be charged but I understand why a woman wouldn't come forward initially and these things are hard to prove after the fact. As it stands, it sounds like the rape allegations are she said he said with no charges. Underage thing is a can of worms. If a 17 yo is a freshman in college, that's very different than this dude chasing underage girls in HS parking lots or trolling online :eek::eek::eek::eek: forums. And if it wasn't plausibly consensual (I'm not saying it was, I don't know) what were those women doing alone with him in his house?

And the fratboy stuff. Bartlett says Carter was grabbing other dudes' junk, sticking fingers up their asses and taking naked pics of them in the locker room and posting them online. Hmmkay. Depending how that went down, I could see those being criminal offenses (why weren't they reported and charged earlier?) or possibly just dude hitting aggressive spiral rides and butt drags in drilling.

It's just ironic that of the three recent scandals, Starocci is arguably the worst off even with no formal criminal or regulatory violations. Snyder was criminally charged but pled guilty to a lesser offense and going forward just needs to stop soliciting prostitutes and embarrassing his wife and kids. He still won at Final X and will be competing at worlds. Brooks' USADA case is pending but it sounds like he'll be in the clear for 2028 Olympics if he learns to stop prescribing himself random shit at Wegmans LMAO.

Unless he comes out with some brilliant PR, Starocci has been found guilty by the court of public opinion. Who even wants to train with this dude now, let alone hire him as a coach? And PSU/NLWC really comes off looking like shit. Barring evidence to the contrary, it sounds like they looked the other way and gave favored son treatment to a gigantic asshole and accused rapist, so they could milk him as a 5 x D1 champ, then kicked him to the curb once they got what they wanted out of him.
 
Oh yeah, like I said where there's smoke there's fire and if multiple people are making allegations, at best Starocci is probably a bully and an asshole. But I'm just pointing out that so far it's just allegations and there doesn't appear to be any pending criminal charges. And the one "formal" charge was an investigation by campus police into locker theft and that investigation closed with no finding.

Obviously if he raped anyone, he's a criminal and should be charged but I understand why a woman wouldn't come forward initially and these things are hard to prove after the fact. As it stands, it sounds like the rape allegations are she said he said with no charges. Underage thing is a can of worms. If a 17 yo is a freshman in college, that's very different than this dude chasing underage girls in HS parking lots or trolling online :eek::eek::eek::eek: forums. And if it wasn't plausibly consensual (I'm not saying it was, I don't know) what were those women doing alone with him in his house?

And the fratboy stuff. Bartlett says Carter was grabbing other dudes' junk, sticking fingers up their asses and taking naked pics of them in the locker room and posting them online. Hmmkay. Depending how that went down, I could see those being criminal offenses (why weren't they reported and charged earlier?) or possibly just dude hitting aggressive spiral rides and butt drags in drilling.

It's just ironic that of the three recent scandals, Starocci is arguably the worst off even with no formal criminal or regulatory violations. Snyder was criminally charged but pled guilty to a lesser offense and going forward just needs to stop soliciting prostitutes and embarrassing his wife and kids. He still won at Final X and will be competing at worlds. Brooks' USADA case is pending but it sounds like he'll be in the clear for 2028 Olympics if he learns to stop prescribing himself random shit at Wegmans LMAO.

Unless he comes out with some brilliant PR, Starocci has been found guilty by the court of public opinion. Who even wants to train with this dude now, let alone hire him as a coach? And PSU/NLWC really comes off looking like shit. Barring evidence to the contrary, it sounds like they looked the other way and gave favored son treatment to a gigantic asshole and accused rapist, so they could milk him as a 5 x D1 champ, then kicked him to the curb once they got what they wanted out of him.

Oh ya, it's obvious that PSU just looked the other way till after Carter served their purposes, and now that his college career is over they're fine with cutting ties. I haven't heard Carter address any of these allegations or defend himself at all. At the very least the guy needs some mental help.
 
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