The NCAA Wrestling Championships are slowly drawing to a close under the bright lights of the Wells Fargo Center. The championships have been a success for the NCAA as far as getting mainstream attention goes, with UFC legend Daniel Cormier sharing his excitement about semi-final contests. Ahead of the finals, which saw two highly anticipated matchups involving Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson and Penn State’s Carter Starocci, the NCAA is again in the news. However, this time they are in the firing line from three-time NCAA Champion Bo Nickal.

When ESPN’s wrestling analyst Rock Harrison shared the match order for the finals, it was a significant departure from what fans expected. Usually, the finals start at a specific weight and then simply move up the order. However, on Saturday the action began at the 184-pound weight class with Starocci facing off against Northern Iowa’s Parker Keckeisen at 184 pounds, before going back to 125 pounds and then resuming the typical order.

While the move was strange in itself, the fact that Starocci’s pursuit of a historic fifth title was going to be the first match against the reigning NCAA champion didn’t sit well with many people, including Starocci himself. Many had anticipated that his bid to earn an unprecedented 5th national title would be saved for the end, but they were proven wrong. The main event as it was decided was the Gable Steveson bout against Oklahoma State’s Wyatt Hendrickson in the heavyweight finals, which again, was a surprise. Bo Nickal, meanwhile, didn’t mince his words and took a sarcastic jibe at the NCAA.

Taking to X during the event, he mocked the NCAA’s event structuring: “Here’s an idea for running an event… start the night with your most exciting, most anticipated match! Then build to your least competitive match at the end. The UFC and other sporting events do it wrong. Have your best match of the event on the prelims! Smart,” he posted.

Nickal’s frustration wasn’t about denying Steveson’s status. Rather, it was about missing the rare overarching narrative—a fifth NCAA title has never been done and likely never will again. The feeling was the same for many Penn State fans who believed Starocci’s pursuit deserved the final spotlight. In fact, former Penn State wrestler, Jason Nolf, a three-time national champ, also expressed his displeasure on Instagram. Posting a video he said, “Guys can somebody please explain to me why Carter Starocci-Parker Keckeisen is not the final match, let alone being the first match of the night. This is probably the biggest storyline in wrestling history….It doesn’t make any sense to me. Somebody please explain.”

Starocci’s hunt for an unprecedented fifth NCAA title became possible due to an additional year of eligibility thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Starocci moved up to 184 this offseason, having won all four of his previous titles at 174 pounds.

While Bo Nickal and others voiced disappointment, Olympic legend Jordan Burroughs offered a more diplomatic perspective. Citing internal ESPN crew discussions, Burroughs revealed that the broadcast team voted to headline with Gable Steveson for a couple of reasons.

For starters, it was to ensure that the Starocci vs Keckeisen match gets the attention at the start of the card according to Burroughs.

He explained, “What they love about having Starocci and Keckeisen as the first match of the night in the 184 pounds is it gives you the opportunity to do the build-up. If anyone’s watched the entire production, at the very beginning we always have a really long intro, we talk about the city, we talk about the magnitude at the moment.

Here’s what now we get the transition into. We get the spin, the four or five minutes opening up the production of the entire show this evening, talking about the significance of Carter Starocci’s fifth title whereas if he would have been wedged in a match-up between the line-up then we would only have 45 seconds going to the intro to talk about how significant the moment was and it wouldn’t really do justice to how big a fifth title would potentially be.” Then there was the Gable Steveson factor.

“Wrestling fans know Carter, the world knows Gable,” Burroughs posted. He explained that Steveson’s Olympic gold medal, brief NFL stint, and WWE fame made him more recognizable to casual viewers tuning into the NCAA finals. Starocci on the other hand, has a more niche presence to the casuals. But Burroughs also praised Starocci’s feat, saying, “Carter’s 5th is epic.” In the same breath, he acknowledged that the complexity of the COVID eligibility year rules and the concept of five titles might not resonate with casual fans the same way Gable’s global recognition does. Well, for Starocci it hardly mattered in the end.

Starocci took down Parker Keckeisen 4-3 in front of a packed Wells Fargo Center to make history. Starocci broke a 1-1 tie in the third period by countering a Keckeisen shot and securing a takedown with 48 seconds left. On the other hand, in an ironic twist, Gable Steveson was upset by Wyatt Hendrickson 5-4 in the main event of the night. Steveson stormed into a 3–0 lead after the first period and led 4–2 early in the third. But Hendrickson fought back to claim his first national championship.

Meanwhile, after his landmark win, Starocci questioned why his match didn’t go last on the card. “We’ve been dominant all year, you put that match first, for whatever reason, ESPN or whatever. It just makes me laugh and giggle because some rules that wrestling has in place, things like that, it’s no surprise why wrestling isn’t mainstream,” he said.

Still, for Penn State, it was a historic night, and not just because of Starocci.

Penn State secures historic team title before finals

While the debate over the main event dominated social media, Penn State made history again on the mat. Just minutes into the final day’s action, the Nittany Lions locked in their fourth consecutive team title and 12th in the last 14 years. Coach Cael Sanderson’s squad clinched the championship early Saturday morning, their 169 points rendering any other team mathematically out of reach.

That title-clinching moment came courtesy of a pin by Shayne Van Ness in a consolation match. It was a statement win that symbolized Penn State’s depth, with all 10 of their wrestlers earning All-American honors—the first team in NCAA history to do so with at least one finalist.

Sophomore Mitchell Mesenbrink also joined Starocci as a Penn State national champion after he beat Iowa’s Michael Caliendo 8-2 for his first individual title. Additionally, in over three days of octane action, the Nittany Lions saw eight more of its athletes on the podium, becoming just the second team in history to accomplish this feat. Freshman Josh Barr finished as the runner-up at 197 pounds, while Luke Lilledahl took third at 125 pounds.

Despite the debate over the NCAA and ESPN’s decision to have Starocci’s match start the night, the wrestler, as well as the program, have taken their place in collegiate wrestling history.