Penn State’s Carter Starocci is at the center of conversation lately for a number of reasons. He injured his right knee injury in late February during a match against Joey Arnold of Edinboro. Overcoming that, he went on to clinch his fourth NCAA title. “As far as my health goes, I’m ready to go…I’m 100 percent,” Starocci had told back then. Now as the wrestler is all set to compete in the Olympic Trials on April 19-20, discussions surround him once again. 

In a surprising move, Starocci has been seeded at 86 kg instead of his original plan to compete at 74 kg. In the first round of the qualifiers, he will face Patrick Downey in his chosen weight class. Through a recent interview on social media, a headline-grabbing confrontation unfolded as Carter Starocci faced criticism from Pat Downey, who accused him of making “excuses.”

In the interview with Flowrestling, Downey discussed his upcoming clash against Carter Starocci. There he discussed “conquering his demons and his path back to wrestling.” When Patrick was asked about his thoughts on the matchup he answered, “The Penn State guys making excuses for him calling him undersized, you can’t physically make 163 lbs in wrestling that day so…you are not undersized…you are my size.” Alongside, he took a tacit jab at Carter’s ability.

“I get it he might be as better at 79, kg or he might be better if he didn’t have a knee brace on or something like that.” But, it seemed that even after saying all these, he could not negate Starocci’s talent. That made Downey say, “…but I’m going to treat the dude just like any other world-class op.” But who might truly have an advantage?

Starocci’s recent achievement of winning his fourth NCAA title last month showcased his ability to perform at a high level. On the other hand, Downey has not attended a freestyle wrestling match after the 2021 Olympic Trials. But one should not forget that in that trial Downey defeated Aaron Brooks (11-0). And if he’s in top form, he poses a significant threat to Carter. Alongside in the latest interview, Downey also admitted that 86kg is going to be a tough category, given the talents there apart from Starocci. “…Hell lot of ops there…good wrestlers…it’s a big bracket too,” he stated. Interestingly, amid all this, he has his eyes on the most coveted fight. What is that?

It is none other than against the weight class favorite David Taylor. Downey explained, how difficult it will be to sail through the crowd of gold medalists and world record holders in the 86kg category to finally seal a battle against David. “It is no small test making it to David…to get that match,” he admitted. However, for now, it is his battle against Starocci that is making all the news. All the more, because of their ongoing online war.

Carter Starocci vs Patrick Downey: the tussle before the actual battle

Most wrestling enthusiasts were dying to see Jordan Burroughs facing Carter Starocci at the 74kg category. These two wrestlers have an ongoing feud since Burroughs made some comments when he arrived for NCAA commentary. He had openly said to target Carter’s injured knee for an advantage over him. This did not sit well with Carter. He hit back vowing to end Burroughs’ career in three weeks. With his departure from the 74kg, that stands as a missed opportunity for Carter as well as for Burroughs. But that did not take the war of words away.

Starocci came back deploying his jabs against Downey. Just yesterday, he posted a clip of Downey’s knockout at MMA against Christian Echols. Apparently, he meant that he would hand over the same feat to Downey. Meanwhile, Downey made matters even more interesting.

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He posted a screenshot of Burroughs’ verbal war with Starocci writing, “never met this kid @carterstarocci before & i already don’t like em. it will be my pleasure to teach him some manners on behalf of the 🐐🐐🐐 @alliseeisgold 🤝” For context, alliseeisgold is the X handle of Jordan Burroughs. This spice was probably the only thing that was missing from the mix! Now it remains to be seen if it is going to be Downey keeping the honor of Burroughs or Starocci keeping his promise to bring the former Bellator fighter down.