The NCAA Wrestling Championships have always been a battleground for talent, and this year Penn State dominated. Sanderson’s boys not only took home the national title, but Carter Starocci, did in fact make history by being the first (and possibly last) 5-time title holder. However, the victory isn’t free from drama, and a comment made by Cornell’s Meyer Shapiro during a post-match interview about the alleged steroid use in college wrestling has sparked controversy.

However, Starocci seems to either be unbothered or completely unaware of the comments, as his focus is just on his team and training. In a recent Instagram story, Starocci captures the Penn State team back in the gym the day after the NCAA championship closed. Captioning the story, “All day. Champions don’t rest.”

Though Shapiro’s comments remain vague and don’t point to any one athlete or college in particular, they do seem to draw attention to a possibly widespread phenomenon in the wrestling community, i.e., steroid use. Additionally, because Shapiro brought up the possibility of steroid use in relation to him jumping weight classes, it also brought to light the connection between the two things: steroids and jumping weight classes.

Consequently, with several wrestlers from the Penn State team, including Braeden Davis, Carter Starocci, and Levi Haines, recently having jumped weight classes, one has to wonder about the connection between the team’s performance and these jumps.

Is Penn State and Carter Starocci’s performance the reason they are being targeted with steroid rumors?

In short, probably. No other team is performing at this level currently, and Cael Sanderson seems to be onto something real good. Penn State started off the NCAA championships with a win, by sending all 10 wrestlers to the quarterfinals after an outstanding Day 1 performance. Then, nine of the 10 wrestlers secured victories with bonus points. With standouts like Luke Lilledahl, Braeden Davis, Beau Bartlett, and Carter Starocci, who all secured dominant wins in their respective matches.

Mitchell Mesenbrink also impressed, dominating his match with a 22-6 tech fall victory. Levi Haines, though less flashy, won decisively with a 4-0 score. Other Penn State wrestlers, such as Shayne Van Ness, Tyler Kasak, and Greg Kerkvliet, also made solid impressions in the rink, so of course, people are talking. Is it all just Sanderson magic? Or is there more to it?

Then there was the big win, Starocci making history by securing his fifth NCAA championship title; however, after Shapiro’s remarks, fans can’t help but wonder about that 10-pound weight shift; how did he pull it off so quickly? Influenced by coach Sanderson, Starocci went up an entire weight class for the 2024-2025 season, which seems fair enough with his natural weight being closer to 190 anyway, but then there was Levi Haines, who moved up two whole weight classes, from 157 to 174, over the course of a few months. And people have got to wonder how they make it all happen.

Jason Nolf, former Penn State wrestler was quick to dispute allegations, posting on his X account, ‘No one in college wrestling is taking steroids.’ And though Starocci, who in recent times has been known to also make bold statements, didn’t comment on the allegations directly, he did subtly make it clear where he stands…in the gym, at all times, even the day after the championship. Innocent until proven guilty, right? And as of now, no one can argue with the effort and training that Penn State is putting into their game.