Carter Starocci seems to have moved on from his sour take on David Taylor. The Nittany Lions’ legend was seemingly irked when the news of David Taylor taking up the mantle of Oklahoma State University’s wrestling coach circulated. Taking a significant jibe at the Olympic gold medalist, Starocci criticized him for switching from Penn State to Oklahoma. Taking to his social media handle, the 4x NCAA champion mentioned that when it comes to money, it is hard for people to refuse the big signings. 

Lashing out at Taylor, Starocci said, “When it comes to money people switch like the weather. Not me. Loyalty is everything. Nothing is built without trust.” While this was a scathing enough statement to turn things sour between the duo forever, time seems to have proven to be a great healer. In the wake of the recent triumph of David Taylor, there were words of praise coming his way from none other than Carter Starocci. 

Carter Starocci praises David Taylor

David Taylor made a triumphant return to mainstream wrestling recently. Competing at the World Team Trials, Taylor put up an emphatic display to win the title in the 92 kg category. Having already clinched an Olympic gold medal in the 86 kg category, Taylor’s dominance in an upper weight class goes on to prove his sharp wrestling skills. The victory feels all the more special as Taylor, who was the favorite to qualify for Paris, succumbed to a shock defeat at the Olympic trials at the hands of Aaron Brooks. 

And seemingly, such a comeback impressed the likes of Carter Starocci. Writing on his X account, the Nittany Lions’ icon stated, “Good to see Burroughs and Taylor still in top form.” Competing against the dangerous Zahid Valencia, Taylor looked off-color initially. Valencia capitalized on the lapses and enjoyed an initial lead of 3-1. However, Taylor soon regained composure and had the most epic comebacks to draw level at 3-3. 

Taylor then went beast mode and pinned Valencia to take an unassailable 8-0 lead to emerge victorious. This win means that now, David Taylor will be a part of Team USA at the Tirana Senior World Championship in October. Meanwhile, as David Taylor’s heroics compelled Carter Starocci to bow down, Starocci himself is on a mission that will make his fans bow down and admire him. 

Carter Starocci chasing history

Carter Starocci is aiming for history. He wants to win the NCAA title for the fifth time, which has never been done before. Over the past four years, the NCAA wrestling realm at the 174 lbs division has been ruled by Starocci. Despite having four NCAA titles under his belt, Starocci still has an additional season left, all thanks to COVID. And while his arch-rival David Burroughs is done with the NCAA, Starocci seems to be fearing nobody. 

Announcing his return to potentially spoil Starocci’s party is AJ Ferrari. Ferrari took some time off wrestling after winning the NCAA championship as a true Oklahoma State freshman. While the fans have been excited at Ferrari’s return to the Cal State Bakersfield wrestling team, the 23-year-old remains unfazed. In fact, he launched a scathing attack on Ferrari, and Starocci invited him to put $300k at stake while fighting him. And if Ferrari lost, the 4x NCAA champion asked Ferrari to have “Starocci is my NATTY DADDY”  tattooed on his chest. Thus, while things look riled up at Carter Starocci’s end, it remains to be seen whether he can back his talk as the season progresses.