Philadelphia– Coming into this year’s NCAA Championships, many felt that Penn State wrestling star Carter Starocci would be the main event of the weekend should he make it to the title match.
After all, Starocci is going for his fifth national title, which has never been done before, so, yeah, it would kind of make sense.
Well, instead of going last, Starocci’s bout with Northern Iowa’s Parker Keckeisen– the defending champ at 184 pounds– is leading off.
ESPN color analyst Rock Harrison tweeted the full schedule for Saturday night’s championship round.
Tonight's match order for @NCAAWrestling championship on @espn at 7:00:
Starocci/Keckeisen
Entry of @realDonaldTrump
125
133
141
149
157
165
174
197
Gable/Hendrickson— Rock Harrison (@rockreax) March 22, 2025
Aside from Starocci and Keckeisen leading off at 184– and the subsequent arrival of President Donald Trump– the rest of the card is structured similarly to a normal dual meet.
The championship round is scheduled to begin at 7 on ESPN. Also for Penn State, Mitchell Mesenbrink is set to compete at 165 against Iowa’s Mikey Caliendo. At 197, Josh Barr will be in his first national title bout against another Hawkeye in Stephen Buchanan.
