Some college wreststers had their All-American moments Saturday night.
Just After Penn State wrestler Carter Starocci had written history by becoming the first five-time national champion in the NCAA history, he walked to the matte seats in Wells Fargo Arena in Philadelphia to shake hands with his hand President Donald Trump.
Starocci defeated Parker Keckeisen van Northern Iowa, 4-3, to win the 184-pound championship and its fifth NCAA title.
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Carter Starocci from Penn State during a 184-pound competition at the Division I Heren Wrestling Championship in the Wells Fargo Center March 21, 2025, in Philadelphia. (Isaac Wasserman/NCAA photos via Getty images)
It is the first and possibly the last time that a university roaster achieved such an achievement.
Starocci had a fifth year of suitability after participating in the 2021 season when all athletes were given a year due to the COVID-19 Pandemie.
The coach of Starocci, Cael Sanderson, also shook hands with the president on Saturday evening.
On Friday, other Penn State roarers spoke about Trump who attended the event.
“It is a great honor for sports sport,” Josh Barr van Penn State told reporters. “The wrestling sport is in a place where growth needs. It needs life and energy behind it, and President Trump brings it.”
Mitchell Mesenbrink told reporters on Friday that, regardless of politics, he believes that the presence of Trump would help improve viewers.
President Donald Trump speaks with senator Dave McCormick, R-PA, while next to Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and US Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio are, watching NCAA Wrestling Competition in the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia March 22, 2025. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty images)
“We want people to look, right? We want people to look at struggling. We want people to be cheered, not just money, but the time of people and attention is money. So I think that’s cool. And I think if it was conservative or liberal, it would really be very cool,” Messenbrink said.
“Democrat of Republican, whoever it is, it is the president of the United States. The leader of the free world during our wrestling event is really cool if you think about it that way.”
The wrestling championships are Back in Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center For the first time since 2011, when Penn State won everything. He started a dominant run of the Nittany Lions that continues. They have now won 12 of the last 14 titles, including four in a row, after winning the team championship earlier on Saturday.
Trump met and fourth with a handful of other wrestlers after their championship victories.
The presence of Trump at the event brought a national spotlight on the sport of wrestling of the university and an electrical energy to the building.
Trump entered the Wells Fargo Center and was greeted by a raw crowd that “USA! USA!” Chongte. A few fans chased out when Trump entered.
Musk; Outkick founder Clay Travis; White House Pers Secretary Karoline Leavitt; Education secretary and former WWE director Linda McMahon; House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio; Sen. Dave McCormick, R-PA.; And several other Trump people were in the front row to greet the president.
President Donald Trump and Carter Starocci of the Penn State Nittany Lions embrace during the NCAA Division I Heren Wrestling Championships in 2025 in the Wells Fargo Center March 22, 2025, in Philadelphia. (Mitchell Leff/Getty images)
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Jordan was a wrestling champion in high school and at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he won a NCAA Division I Herenwroerstel title twice. He was later an assistant coach at the wrestling program of Ohio State University from 1987 to 1995.
It is the second time in three years that President Donald Trump attended the NCAA Wrestling Championships. He was also present in 2023 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
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