Penn State Wrestling: What the Nittany Lions Said About the NCAA Wrestling Finals

PHILADELPHIA | Three Penn State wrestlers will compete for titles Saturday at the NCAA Wrestling Championships, including two favorites and one surprise. Mitchell Mesenbrink (165 pounds), Carter Starocci (184) and Josh Barr (197) seek to give Penn State coach Cael Sanderson 41 national champions in his 15-year career.

Starocci will attempt to make history as the first five-time NCAA champion in Division I wrestling history. Mesenbrink returns to the 165-pound final for the second straight season, and Barr bounced back from an injury at the Big Ten Championships to reach the final in his first NCAA tournament.

Penn State leads Nebraska 135.5-101.5 in the team standings as it pursues a fourth straight NCAA title. Here’s a look at what the Nittany Lions said after their semifinal wins Friday at Wells Fargo Center.

Mitchell Mesenbrink

The redshirt sophomore has rolled through the bracket, with two technical falls and a major decision in four bouts. Mesenbrink (26-0) will meet Iowa’s Mike Caliendo, whom he has beaten five times in the past two seasons.

On Caliendo changing his strategy for the final: “Hopefully he would try. I feel like every time you step out to someone, if you’re wrestling them for the first time or you’re not, your efforts will be there. And he’s a guy that will. You would hope on this level of wrestling that every time you get someone’s best effort, right? So that’s fun. That makes it a battle of the wills.”

On wearing a T-shirt that read “Win Mitchell Win:” “There is only one end goal that’s promised,
and that’s death. So it’s kind of, just go out there and bring it. That’s what I’m thinking, right? If I go out there and I win, but I don’t bring it, I would rather bring it and lose, which sounds insane, but that’s it. … I enjoy the process more than winning, but it’s a subtle reminder on the sides here and stuff like that.”

On wrestling with President Donald Trump in the crowd Saturday: “If you put politics aside, no
matter if you’re conservative or liberal or whatever, to have the President of the United States be at something that we want to get people to watch, right? We want people to watch wrestling. We want people to be able to funnel not just money but people’s time, and their attention, and that
is money.”

Carter Starocci

Penn State’s four-time NCAA champ said he, and the team, haven’t allowed him to think yet about five titles. “I don’t think that’s ever been a conversation for the team, honestly,” Starocci said.

Starocci is 24-0 in five NCAA tournaments with one bout left. He will face defending champ Parker Keckeisen of Northern Iowa in the final. Starocci beat Keckeisen in Novemer in an exhibition match in State College.

On the rematch with Keckeisen: “He’s obviously a tough kid, but to be a national champ, it takes a
lot more than toughness. So we will find out tomorrow night.”

On the weight-cutting process: “I’m cutting a good amount of weight. I think in the years prior [at 174 pounds], maybe I was leaner, and so my body was fighting against it a little bit. It’s always tough. But for me, I use those moments because it helps you dial in. When you’re getting the weight off and things like that, it gives you a little edge and gives you a mental peace. Like I’m doing all this, not just to make the weight. I’m going out there to smash your face in.”

On Penn State having 10 All-Americans: “I think being a part of this team is always special, and our
coaching staff, and even our practice partners, those guys are in the trenches I would say a lot more than we are because they do all the grunt work and the work that no one wants to do. It’s one thing getting up at 6 a.m. in the morning and having to cut weight and go through the motions. But you get to be out there competing, and those guys are up, and that’s it. … So a big shout out to everyone that’s involved.”

Josh Barr

Barr reached the title match at 197 in his first season in Penn State’s starting lineup and following an injury at the Big Ten Championships. Barr didn’t want to discuss that much beyond saying he’s “grateful” to be in this position.

Barr also gets a title rematch vs. Iowa’s Stephen Buchanan, who handed Barr the first loss of his college career in January.

On recovering from the injury at Big Tens: “I won’t speak on it too much. It doesn’t matter, really, to me. That stuff is all in the past; Big Ten [tournament] is in the past. Whatever happened between then and now, it’s all in the past. I’m right here. I’m grateful. Our God is a good God, whether I’m sitting here or I went 0-2 this tournament. He’s the same. So just grateful that obviously I have the opportunity to be in this position, and all glory to God for that. I couldn’t have done it by myself. I couldn’t have done it. It was all God. It was zero part of me.”

On the rematch with Buchanan: “Tough dude. Penn State, Iowa. He got me once this season. Just excited. He’s a man of God, so I’m grateful I get to compete against another man with strong faith. And I’m grateful we get to put on for the Kingdom of Heaven tomorrow, and I hope it’s a good show.”

The finals of the NCAA Wrestling Championships begin at 8 p.m. ET Saturday at Wells Fargo Center.