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Penn State Wrestling

Robbed? Carter Starocci Loses in Controversial Fashion

Photo by Penn State Athletics: Carter Starocci

Penn State wrestling legend Carter Starocci rarely loses, so when he does, itโ€™s big news.

Itโ€™s bigger news when he loses amid controversy, which is what happened Saturday afternoon.

Hereโ€™s what happened.

Starocci, facing another legend in Kyle Dake, was tied at three with Dake in the final seconds.

Because Dake led on criteriaโ€” which means he had the move that scored the highest amount of pointsโ€” Starocci needed to score to win. He got what many felt was a takedown, but instead, the referee ruled that it wasnโ€™t.

โ€œWhatโ€™s the call?โ€ Christian Pyles, doing play-by-play- for FloWrestling, asked. โ€œWhatโ€™s the call? Time is up. They donโ€™t do anything. Theyโ€™re saying no takedown.

As a result, Kyle Dake is doing to Final X next month, taking on Zahid Valencia at 86 KG with a spot on the World Team on the line.

The silver lining for Penn State wrestling fans is that Dakeโ€” a four-time national champ at Cornell and four-time world champ in freestyleโ€” is one of their own. Although Dake didnโ€™t wrestle at Penn State, he trains with Nittany Lion Wrestling Club.

Starocci, known for being outspoken, didnโ€™t express any bitterness on social media after the bout.

โ€œMan itโ€™s super weird having your coaches coach against you ๐Ÿคฃ Dake deserved it, good job man and thanks for the help along the way,โ€ Starocci posted to social media.

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