"Carter Starocci got robbed" - Penn State Wrestling fans react as Wyatt Hendrickson wins Dan Hodge Trophy 

By Zahid Rashid Dar

Modified Apr 01, 2025 16:29 GMT

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Penn State Wrestling fans were far from pleased when Wyatt Hendrickson was awarded the 2025 Dan Hodge Trophy over newly crowned five-time National champion Carter Starocci. Starocci won his fifth NCAA title by winning the 184 lbs category while Hendrickson won 285 lbs at the NCAA Wrestling Championships last month.

The Dan Hodge Trophy is awarded to the nation's best wrestler of the season, and while both wrestlers went undefeated through the season, Hendrickson won in what was the second-closest race in history. The former Air Force wrestler received 30 votes, while Starocci got 26.

While wrestling fans, in general, were divided over the deserving winner, Penn State fans were left infuriated, with one claiming that Starocci was robbed of the award, which would have been his first.

"Carter Starocci got robbed. This is BS," they wrote.

"Bulls**t. A 5 time champion doesn’t get it?," another fan wrote.

Penn State wrestling and football legends Bo Nickal and Micah Parsons also expressed their disappointment over Hendrickson's win over Starocci.

"Can’t lie man congrats but I’m call bullshi# snubbing a undefeated 5 time national champion is so absurd! Do better ncaa wrestling," Parsons wrote.

"The Hodge Trophy should go to the BEST wrestler in the NCAA. I think Wyatt is an amazing, amazing wrestler and had an incredible moment that we will never forget. That being said Carter is the best wrestler in the NCAA. I don’t think the award has been given to the best wrestler of the year consistently and that’s all I really want. Whoever is the best should get it no matter what team or criteria," Nickal said.

Here are a couple of more reactions from the Nittany Lions fans:

"Not only is Starocci the best wrestler in 2025. Carter would beat Hendrickson 10 out of 10 times. Not even close," one user wrote.

"But starocci still has a higher win bonus percentage. Plus everyone knew Carter would win, no one thought Wyatt would- proves that Carter is the PFP best wrestler this year. Carter wrestling first and Wyatt wrestling last has a big factor too," another fan argued.

Both Starocci and Hendrickson were fifth-year seniors and closed out their collegiate careers with historic feats. While Starocci became the first wrestler in history to win five NCAA titles, Hendrickson registered an all-timer upset against the Tokyo Olympic champion Gable Steveson.

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"It’s never the titles or accolades or any of that for me" - Carter Starocci

Carter Starocci at the Division I Championships - Source: Getty

While Carter Starocci knows the magnitude of his achievement of winning five consecutive national titles, he has repeatedly made it clear that he isn't after the titles and awards. After concluding his career with the Nittany Lions last month, Starocci reiterated his words and suggested he was more interested in the process than the results.

"It’s never the titles or accolades or any of that for me, sure winning 9 National Championships is fun.But it’s the hunt for me.Seeing how far I’m willing to go get it. Putting it all on the line every time. There’s really no end, because there’s always the next mountain. All day," Carter Starocci wrote.

Losing out on the Dan Hodge Trophy shouldn't matter much to Starocci, then. He, nevertheless, finishes off as one of the greatest in history with five national titles, three Big Ten trophies, and four NCAA team titles.