NCAA wrestling champions shake hands with Trump after winning title bouts

Some assemblage wrestlers had their All-American moments Saturday night.

Just moments aft Penn State wrestler Carter Starocci made past by becoming the archetypal five-time nationalist champion successful NCAA history, helium walked implicit to the mat-side seats astatine Wells Fargo Arena successful Philadelphia to shingle hands with President Donald Trump. 

Starocci defeated Northern Iowa’s Parker Keckeisen, 4-3, to triumph the 184-pound title and his 5th NCAA title.

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Carter Starocci of Penn State during a 184-pound lucifer astatine the Division I men's wrestling title astatine the Wells Fargo Center March 21, 2025, successful Philadelphia.  (Isaac Wasserman/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

It is the archetypal and perchance past clip a assemblage wrestler achieves specified a feat.

Starocci had a 5th twelvemonth of eligibility aft taking portion successful the 2021 play erstwhile each athletes were fixed different twelvemonth owed to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Starocci's coach, Cael Sanderson, besides shook hands with the president Saturday night. 

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On Friday, different Penn State wrestlers spoke astir Trump attending the event. 

"It's a large grant for the athletics of wrestling," Penn State's Josh Barr told reporters. "The athletics of wrestling is successful a spot wherever it needs growth. It needs beingness and vigor down it, and President Trump brings it."

Mitchell Mesenbrink told reporters Friday that, careless of politics, helium believes Trump's attendance would assistance amended viewership. 

President Donald Trump speaks with Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., portion sitting adjacent to Tesla and SPaceX CEO Elon Musk and U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, arsenic they ticker NCAA wrestling contention astatine the Wells Fargo Center successful Philadelphia March 22, 2025.  (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

"We privation to get radical to watch, right? We privation radical to ticker wrestling. We privation radical to funnel, not conscionable money, but people's time, and attraction is money. So, I deliberation that's cool. And I deliberation if it was blimpish oregon liberal, it would beryllium truly really cool," Messenbrink said. 

"Democrat oregon Republican, whoever it is, it's the president of the United States. The person of the escaped satellite astatine our wrestling lawsuit is truly chill erstwhile you deliberation astir it that way." 

The wrestling championships are backmost astatine Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center for the archetypal clip since 2011, erstwhile Penn State won it all. That kick-started a ascendant tally by the Nittany Lions that continues. They've present won 12 of the past 14 titles, including 4 successful a row, aft clinching the squad title earlier Saturday. 

Trump met and celebrated with a fistful of different wrestlers aft their title victories arsenic well. 

Trump's beingness astatine the lawsuit brought a nationalist spotlight to the athletics of assemblage wrestling and an electrical vigor to the building. 

Trump walked into the Wells Fargo Center and was greeted by a raucous assemblage that chanted "U-S-A! U-S-A!"  A fewer fans booed erstwhile Trump walked in. 

Musk; OutKick laminitis Clay Travis; White House property caput Karoline Leavitt; Education Secretary and erstwhile WWE enforcement Linda McMahon; House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio; Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa.; and respective different Trump allies were successful the beforehand enactment to greet the president.  

President Donald Trump and Carter Starocci of the Penn State Nittany Lions clasp during the 2025 NCAA Division I men's wrestling championships astatine the Wells Fargo Center March 22, 2025, successful Philadelphia.  (Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

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Jordan was a wrestling champion successful precocious schoolhouse and astatine the University of Wisconsin-Madison, wherever helium won an NCAA Division I men's wrestling rubric twice. He was aboriginal an adjunct manager with Ohio State University's wrestling programme from 1987 to 1995.

It is the 2nd clip successful 3 years President Donald Trump has attended the NCAA wrestling championships. He besides attended successful 2023 successful Tulsa, Oklahoma.

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