Penn State wrestling notebook: Starocci looks to emulate Kobe Bryant, ‘he’s a killer’

Carter Starocci is a person who takes his craft extremely seriously. It also shows up in his choice of music heading into matches.

Prior to his Jan. 27 match with Iowa’s Nelson Brands (174), Starocci walked onto the mat with “The Purge’s” theme song blaring on the loudspeaker at Bryce Jordan Center. It was a switch from his usual choice of the “Halloween” theme song, but his point still got across ahead of his 2-1 victory.

“They didn’t play the actual thing because it was a little violent,” Starocci said. “I was trying to get the whole thing going, but it didn’t work out.”

The late Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant used to listen to the “Halloween” theme song over and over again before games. Starocci looks to emulate the slashing mentality that both the famed basketball player and horror movie villain brought.

“That’s actually where I got it from,” Starocci said. “He’s a killer. Michael Myers is a killer. He’s not too happy, he’s not too low. He’s going to walk at you and he’s going to kill you every time. I was like ‘That’s pretty hard.’ So, that’s kind of where I got that from.”

Starocci’s demeanor also stems from his competitiveness on the mat and in everything that he does. Hawkeyes commit Gabe Arnold tweeted that Starocci was “overrated.” Starocci heard the criticism from the two-time Prep School National champion from Wyoming Seminary and fired back at him.

“If you can kiss enough butt and get in the starting lineup, I’ll take care of business there and it’ll be in his home dojo too,” Starocci said. “He can get whooped in front of his mom and dad. So, that’ll be fun.”

Penn State-Iowa brought defensive battle

Head coach Cael Sanderson watched as his Nittany Lions defeated Iowa in a 23-14 dual in front of a sold-out crowd in the Bryce Jordan Center. The match featured a crowd of 15,998, which tied for the largest crowd in NCAA wrestling history for an indoor dual meet — a mark held by both teams from their dual on Feb. 10, 2018.

While the match was a large one and expected to be a battle, there was still some dissatisfaction among certain fans in the way that it played out. The match didn’t feature many of the lightning-quick pins and takedowns that each team has been known for.

Sanderson maintains that the defensive fights that the match provided are emblematic of the highly competitive nature of both programs.

“I think you have two good teams that are just competing,” Sanderson said. “Everyone wants to score more points and be more offensive, but (it’s) easier said than done, right? It was just a great match — two good teams and they’re very well-coached. Obviously, they have a lot of great guys. Just get ready for the next one now. Everyone wants to see stuff that’s fun to see, but this is a sport, it’s real life and kids are competing and trying to win. We haven’t thought any more about it.”

Bartlett is a fast learner

Beau Bartlett (141) is lightning-fast on the mat. His entire goal is to attack and continue to be aggressive with his opponent. He isn’t going to wait until the last 30 seconds to begin attacking, nor is he going to relent with 30 seconds left. Bartlett looks to score as many points as he can.

While his plan of attack didn’t work to his advantage against Iowa, as he fell to Real Woods 4-1, he attempted to force the issue with swift moves. Thus, he learned a lot about his own strategy that night.

“I reinforced the idea that I’m pretty athletic,” Bartlett said. “So, as soon as we get wrestling positions going on, I don’t really get scored on, I start scoring. My next plan of attack is just to get those positions started early. Start the ball rolling in the first five seconds, big move, doesn’t matter. Just start. Start going because I’m not going to get pinned, I’m not going to go to my back. I’m not going to give him nearfall — just start wrestling early.”