One of the arch-rivalries in collegiate wrestling, Penn State vs. Iowa Hawkeyes, has never been exempted from making headlines. Coming up with a series of wins from key contenders on its roaster, including Bravo Young, Max Dean, Carter Starocci, and Greg Kerkvliet, Nittany Lions will compete against Hawkeyes this Friday. 

Along the same lines, as both the teams are igniting for a fierce showdown on Friday, spectators can not stop looking back at last year’s open challenge to No. 1 Carter Starocci by Iowa Hawkeyes’ key contender, Gabe Arnold. A recent social media post rekindles the memory.

Gabe Arnold’s lofty goals resurface as the Lions take on the Haws 

Recently, Flowrestling took it to their Twitter account and posted a snippet from last year’s interview with Gabe Arnold, where he openly declared a challenge for Carter Starocci. Along with a clip they penned, “Gabe Arnold talks about his Twitter feud with Carter Starocci last year. Who wants to see this matchup happen this Friday?“

In the clip, Gabe Arnold said, “Carter Starocci is one of the best at 174 pounds. And that’s who I have in my mirror every day. That’s who I see. That’s who I’m going to beat next year. You know, so these are goals that I have set for myself….”

Arnold then went on to say, “But my goal is to beat Carter Starocci. My goal is to be a 2024 NCAA National Champ at 174 pounds.” Interestingly, Arnold looks to be on the right track concerning his goal, given his performance this season.

With an aim at beating No.1 Carter Starocci of Penn State wrestling, Arnold has been quite exceptional since the beginning of the season. He features a stellar resume as a #6th overall recruit from the 2023 class and National Prep Champion for Wyoming Seminary. Currently, Arnold is 11-0, including notable wins over All-Americans Travis Wittlake and #6 Will Feldkamp and a ranked win over #9 Lennox Wolak. However, there is a slight twist in the upcoming match. This creates a layer of anticipation about Arnold’s opponent. 

Will Arnold compete at 174 pounds or 184 pounds?

As per the NCAA rules, freshmen are only allowed to wrestle in 5 competitions. Arnold has only two competitions remaining this year, as he has already appeared in the last three competitions. It seems that Penn State’s coach has saved Arnold’s eligibility specifically for the upcoming showdown on Friday against Penn State. However, there are two cases if Arnold appears in the upcoming showdown.

Read More: Carter Starocci Leads the Charge as 7 Undefeated Penn State Wrestling Stars Contest Their Undefeated Streaks Against Maryland

Arnold will be either wrestling at 174 pounds or 184 pounds. Despite Arnold wanting to compete with Carter Starocci, the smarter move for Iowa Hawkeyes will be to wrestle Gabe Arnold against Bernie Truax at 184 pounds. It remains to be seen if Arnold acts smart or chooses the temptation of achieving his goals over that.

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