On Campus: Penn State's Starocci earns return trip to national title match
Penn State sophomore and Erie native Carter Starocci earned a shot at a second straight national title when he won twice Friday at the NCAA Division I wrestling tournament in Detroit.
Starocci is the top seed in the 174-pound weight class and the defending champion after winning the title as a freshman. He beat North Carolina State's Hayden Hidlay 10-3 Friday night in the semifinals. Starocci, a Cathedral Prep graduate, was set to face another former national champion Saturday night in the televised finals. Virginia Tech's Mekhi Lewis, the No. 2 seed, returned to the title match after winning a national championship at 165 pounds in 2019.
Lewis also has an Erie connection. His coach, Tony Robie, is a Strong Vincent High School graduate who also wrestled at Edinboro University.
Starocci (26-0) was one of five Penn State wrestlers to advance to the finals. Defending champions Roman Bravo-Young (133), Nick Lee (141) and Aaron Brooks (184) advanced, along with top-seeded Max Dean (197). They helped give the first-place Nittany Lions 108 points through the first two days of the tournament. Michigan was second with 84.5 points. Robie's Virginia Tech squad was in seventh place with 48 points.
● Iowa State's David Carr, the son of Erie wrestling great Nate Carr, also won a national title in 2021. However, he was upset in the second round in the 157-pound bracket on Thursday. Carr bounced back with four consecutive consolation wins and was in position to finish third with two more wins.
● Former Reynolds High School standout Cole Matthews barely missed a trip to the national title match. The Pitt 141-pounder advanced to the semifinals where he lost a heartbreaker on riding time during an ultimate tiebreaker against North Carolina's Kizhan Clarke.
● Former Erie resident Dazjon Casto had a strong tournament for The Citadel. The former McDowell and Cathedral Prep student-athlete upset former national champion Austin O'Connor of North Carolina in the first round. After he lost in the second round, Casto regrouped for two more wins before being eliminated. He was the Southern Conference champion during the regular season.
● Edinboro's lone qualifier, Gabe Willochell (23-12), lost twice – by major decision and decision – and was eliminated from the 141-pound backet.
Former Franklin High School and Edinboro wrestler Dakota Geer, competing for Oklahoma State, went 2-2 at 184 pounds before bowing out of the tournament.
Another former Edinboro wrestler, Korbin Myers, wrestles for Robie at Virginia Tech. Myers went 4-1 over the first two days of the tournament and was in contention for third place at 133 pounds.
Mercyhurst hockey team's season ends
The Mercyhurst men's ice hockey team just came up short in the Atlantic Hockey semifinals Friday night Utica, New York.
After holding the 3-2 lead going into the third period, the Lakers were unable to fend off a late surge from league favorite American International in a 5-4 loss. Mercyhurst was on a seven-game winning streak going into the game.
AIC tied the contest at 3-3 early in the third before a pair of late goals in the final 5:15 to take a 5-3 lead. A goal by Mercyhurst's Rylee St. Onge helped Mercyhurst pull within one before time expired.
St. Onge had two goals for the Lakers, who finished 16-19-4. Austin Heidemann also scored and Dante Sheriff totaled one goal and one assist.
Blake Bennett led the Yellow Jackets with a hat trick. AIC (21-12-3) was set to take on Air Force in the AHA championship game Saturday. The Falcons defeated RIT in the other league semifinal 4-3.
IUP basketball team to play in Elite Eight
The PSAC champion IUP men's basketball team (32-2) will play in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight in Evansville, Indiana, starting Tuesday.
Strong Vincent High School graduate David Morris is one of the key players for IUP. He was named to the all-tournament team after helping the Crimson Hawks win three consecutive games in the Atlantic Regional, which IUP hosted.
Morris is joined on the team by former Meadville standout Armoni Foster and former Sharon star Ethan Porterfield.
IUP will face Hillsdale in the national quarterfinals on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Northwestern's Tewell commits to Saint Vincent
Record-breaking Northwestern quarterback Ryan Tewell announced this week he has committed to continue his career at Saint Vincent College, a Division III program in the Presidents' Athletic Conference.
He announced his decision on Northwestern's football Twitter account.
Tewell, who holds several school records, passed for 1,596 yards and 26 touchdowns while leading the Wildcats to a 7-1 record and a region title. He threw just one interception. Tewell also rushed for five touchdowns.
He was also a standout punter and was selected to the District 10 All-Star Team as an all-purpose player.
"Ryan leaves our program as one of the best QBs in school history," Northwestern coach Mark Brooks said. "A great thrower and even better leader, it's the things that don't show up in the box score we will miss most about him. His charisma, positive attitude, and commitment have helped shape our program."
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: On Campus: Erie's Starocci heads back to national title match
