MONDAY MARCH 11 2019
COM/CENTREDAILY
CENTREDAILY.COM
Sports
Penn State wrestling claims Big
Ten title for first time since 2016
Penn State's Anthony Cassar scores the winning takedown on Minnesota's Gable Steveson during the 285-pound finals bout of the Big Ten Championships on Sunday in Minneapolis.
Cassar stuns Big Ten
— but not himself
BY LAUREN MUTHLER
lmuthler@centredaily.com
MINNEAPOLIS
Anthony Cassar’s path in
wrestling couldn’t be any
more different than that of
the heavyweight opponent
he upset for his first Big
Ten title on Sunday in
Williams Arena.
Minnesota’s Gable Steve-
son is a true freshman
phenom, who at this time
last year, just won his
fourth Minnesota state title
with Apple Valley High
School — capping off his
storied 210-3 high school
career with a backflip on
the mat.
At this time last year,
Cassar was “severely de-
pressed,” he told reporters
last week, ahead of the
tournament. At 197
Here are Centre County’s
wrestling leaders
BY NATE COBLER
ncobler@centredaily.com
It is hard to believe that
the high school wrestling
season is finished.
Centre County wrestlers
amassed nine PIAA medals
with six of those medals
coming in the top five in
the state.
Here’s a look at who
finished at the top:
WINS
It is no surprise that St.
Joseph’s Catholic Acade-
my’s Kolby Franklin didn’t
get caught by the rest of
the pack.
The freshman phenom
finished with 44 wins on
the year. He was also the
highest finisher from the
county with a silver medal
1B
pounds, Cassar had wres-
tled nearly a full season for
the first time since arriving
on Penn State’s campus in
2014, only to lose out on a
trip to the postseason to
close friend and teammate
Shakur Rasheed.
Yet it was Cassar who
was able to shock the fresh-
man 4-3 in front of his
home crowd on Sunday.
“I haven’t been able to
put this Penn State singlet
on and wrestle at Big Tens
or nationals, and that’s
been hard,” Cassar said
after his win. “I’ve been
close numerous times, but I
was able to do it today. So I
was just grateful to God,
and it’s disrespectful to
him and everyone who
supports me if I don’t give
my best out there, so that’s
SEE CASSAR, 4B
St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy’s Kolby Franklin led the
county with 44 wins and 11 major decisions this year. He
also had the highest finish at the PIAA Championships with
a silver medal at 195 pounds.
in the 195-pound weight
class.
However, Franklin didn’t
JEN TATE YORKS For the CDT
Penn State’s Bo Nickal fights off a shot attempt from Ohio
State’s Kollin Moore during their 197-pound finals bout of
the Big Ten Championships on Sunday.
fus, who finished second
and third, respectively, in
wins. Dowling ended the
season with 43 wins with
Stoltzfus at 42. Those three
were the lone wrestlers to
reach the 40-win mark, but
a couple of others came
close.
Penns Valley’s Baylor
Shunk and the Wolves’
Keegan Rothrock each
came up a win shy of get-
ting No. 40.
Shunk collected four in
the PIAA championships
on the way to finishing
seventh at 120 pounds and
collecting his second state
medal. He also tied the
Rams’ all-time wins mark
with 132, matching Curtis
Decker.
ABBY DREY adrey@centredaily.com Rothrock picked up five
wins to finish third in the
state at 152 pounds. He
improved upon last year’s
mark of 27 wins. The junior
will look to add to his ca-
reer victories next season.
have a big gap from two of Another interesting stat
his teammates in Caleb
Dowling and Tyler Stoltz- SEE LEADERS, 5B
FACEBOOK.
TWITTER.COM/CENTREDAILY
MORE WRESTLING
ERIE CATHEDRAL PREP’S
CARTER STAROCCI WINS
ANOTHER PIAA TITLE, IS
EAGER TO GET TO PSU 4B
Cassar pulls an upset; Hall
and Nolf earn second titles
and Nickal claims his third
BY NATE COBLER
ncobler@centredaily.com
MINNEAPOLIS
Penn State wrestling fans
can breathe a sigh of relief
— the Nittany Lions were
finally able to claim their
first Big Ten title since 2016.
Penn State coach Cael
Sanderson, who was
named the conference’s
coach of the year, chuckled
Sunday night when asked if
the monkey was off the
back after not winning the
conference the previous
two seasons.
“This is a tough tourna-
ment,” Penn State coach
Cael Sanderson said. “It
depends on the makeup of
your team. There have just
been some outstanding
teams. It’s a honor to be a
OT win vs. Wisconsin
propels PSU into
Big Ten hockey semis
By CDT staff reports
The Penn State hockey
team’s hope at a Big Ten
title and a berth in the
NCAA tournament remains
alive.
The Nittany Lions ad-
vanced to the Big Ten
semifinals Sunday night
with a 4-3 overtime win
against Wisconsin in the
deciding contest of the
three-game series at Pegula
Ice Arena. Wisconsin took
Game 1, 4-3, on Friday and
Penn State won 6-2 Sat-
urday.
The No. 4-seed Lions
will next face top-seed
Ohio State in a single-
elimination semifinal game
March 17.
JEN TATE YORKS For the CDT
part of this conference and
add to the depth to a tough
conference.”
The Nittany Lions
claimed four Big Ten cham-
pions along the way in Jason
Nolf, Mark Hall, Bo Nickal
and Anthony Cassar.
As for the that team race,
Penn State ran away with
the title. The Nittany Lions
scored 157 points, which is
the most in program histo-
ry. It was 6.5 points more
than the last Big Ten title-
clinching team.
Ohio State finished in a
distant second, 35 points
behind. Iowa (107.5) and
Minnesota (103.5) were the
only other schools to score
more than 100 points.
“I think the guys wres-
tled pretty well,” Sand-
SEE PSU, 3B
Penn State junior Liam
Folkes played the role of
hero yet again Sunday
night — a role he’s become
accustomed to against
Wisconsin. In 2017, he
scored on a breakaway
against the Badgers in the
second overtime to win the
Big Ten title. Last year, in
the regular season, he was
the only Penn State player
to score in a shootout dur-
ing a win.
And, on Sunday night,
Folkes recorded two goals
and an assist. And, of
course, he nailed the game-
winner in overtime. His
nine points in the Big Ten
tournament so far are al-
ready a school record.
SEE HOCKEY, 2B
4B
Scoreboard MONDAY MARCH 11 2019
CENTREDAILY.COM

NATIONAL SCOREBOARD F. Quinn, $74,400 ..................64-67-74—205

D. Garwood, $54,000 .............66-71-69—206
Detroit at Brooklyn, 7:30 p.m.
L. Janzen, $54,000 .................71-70-65—206
P. Broadhurst, $41,400 ..........71-69-67—207
TRANSACTIONS
Charlotte at Houston, 8 p.m. F. Couples, $41,400................68-70-69—207
BASEBALL Oklahoma City at Utah, 9 p.m. D. McKenzie, $41,400.............68-66-73—207 BASEBALL
Boston at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m. S. Verplank, $41,400..............73-64-70—207 American League
M. Angel Jimenez, $34,200....69-68-71—208 BALTIMORE ORIOLES — Optioned RHP
MLB SPRING TRAINING COLLEGE MEN B. Andrade, $25,660 ..............67-74-68—209 Dillon Tate to Bowie (EL) and LHP Luis Ortiz
TOP 25 SCHEDULE M. Dawson, $25,660 ..............71-71-67—209 and OF DJ Stewart to Norfolk (IL). Reas-
American League W L Pct. B. Estes, $25,660 ...................71-69-69—209
Sunday signed C Martin Cervenka, INF Ryan
Toronto 9 6 .600 No. 12 Houston 85, No. 20 Cincinnati 69 B. Mayfair, $25,660................70-68-71—209 Mountcastle, OF Yusniel Diaz, LHP Sean
Oakland 10 7 .588 No. 21 Wisconsin 73, Ohio St. 67 (OT) M. O’Meara, $25,660..............71-73-65—209 Gilmartin and RHP Bo Schultz to their minor
Kansas City 10 7 .588 No. 22 Wofford 81, ETSU 72 C. Pavin, $25,660...................67-71-71—209 league camp.
New York 8 6 .571 K. Tanigawa, $25,660 ............69-74-66—209 KANSAS CITY ROYALS — Optioned RHPs
Baltimore 9 7 .563 OTHER SUNDAY SCORES
E. Toledo, $25,660 .................70-65-74—209 Arnaldo Hernandez, Ben Lively and Jake
Cleveland 9 7 .563 EAST
D. Toms, $25,660 ...................67-67-75—209 Newberry to Omaha (PCL). Assigned LHP
Minnesota 8 7 .533 Penn St. 72, Illinois 56
SOUTH Jake Kalish and RHP Andres Machado to
Houston 8 7 .533 minor league camp.
Los Angeles 9 8 .529 SMU 77, South Florida 71
UConn 82, East Carolina 73 LOS ANGELES ANGELS — Optioned LHP Jose
Seattle 7 7 .500
Detroit 7 9 .438 UNC-Greensboro 66, Furman 62
MIDWEST
HOCKEY Suarez to Salt Lake (PCL), RHP Jesus Castillo
to Mobile (SL) and RHP Luis Madero to
Tampa Bay 7 9 .438 Inland Empire (Cal). Reassigned RHPs Griffin
Chicago 6 9 .400 Indiana 89, Rutgers 73
ABBY DREY adrey@centredaily.com
Boston 6 10 .375 Nebraska 93, Iowa 91, OT NHL Canning and Miguel Almonte to minor
Cathedral Prep’s Carter Starocci celebrates his win over FAR WEST Eastern Conference league camp.
Texas 5 9 .357
San Diego 80, BYU 57 NEW YORK YANKEES — Optioned RHP Albert
Mount Lebanon’s Luke Stout in the 182-pound bout March 9. National League W L Pct. Atlantic GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Abreu to Trenton (EL).
CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS x-Tampa Bay 69 52 13 4 108 266 181 SEATTLE MARINERS — Agreed to terms with
San Diego 10 5 .667 Atlantic Sun, Championship
Chicago 11 7 .611 Boston 69 42 18 9 93 207 173 OFs Braden Bishop, Mitch Haniger and
Liberty 74, Lipscomb 68

Starocci wins
Los Angeles 9 6 .600 Toronto 68 42 21 5 89 244 193 Mallex Smith;Cs David Freitas and Omar
Big South, Championship Montreal 69 36 26 7 79 208 207 Narvaez;INFs Kristopher Negron, J.P.
Philadelphia 9 6 .600 Gardner-Webb 76, Radford 65
Atlanta 9 7 .563 Florida 69 30 27 12 72 224 234 Crawford, Joey Curletta, Daniel Vogelbach,
Colonial Athletic, Quarterfinals Buffalo 68 30 29 9 69 194 219 Ryon Healy and Shed Long;LHPs Ricardo
Washington 8 7 .533 Delaware 85, William & Mary 79
Milwaukee 9 8 .529 Detroit 69 24 35 10 58 188 238 Sanchez and Justus Sheffield;and RHPs Dan
Hofstra 76, James Madison 67 Ottawa 69 23 40 6 52 203 258 Altavilla, Shawn Armstrong, Gerson Bautis-
Arizona 8 8 .500

another PIAA
Northeastern 80, UNC Wilmington 59 Metropolitan GP W L OT Pts GF GA ta, Chasen Bradford, Brandon Brennan, Matt
New York 8 8 .500 Coll. of Charleston 73, Drexel 61
Pittsburgh 7 9 .438 Festa, Erik Swanson, Sam Tuivailala, Max
Metro Atlantic Athletic, Semifinals Washington 69 41 21 7 89 237 212
St. Louis 6 8 .429 N.Y. Islanders 68 39 22 7 85 198 168 Povse and Nick Rumbleow on one-year
Iona 73, Siena 57 contracts. Reassigned OF Dom Thompson-
Miami 7 10 .412 Monmouth 73, Canisius 59 Pittsburgh 69 37 23 9 83 237 210
Colorado 6 10 .375 Carolina 68 37 24 7 81 205 191 Williams, LHP Matt Tenuta and RHPs Ryan
Missouri Valley, Championship

title, eager to
San Francisco 5 10 .333 Columbus 68 38 27 3 79 209 202 Garton, Tyler Danish and Robinson Leyer to
Bradley 57, N. Iowa 54 minor league camp.
Cincinnati 4 10 .286 Patriot League, Semifinals Philadelphia 68 33 27 8 74 209 226
Note: (ss) — split squad N.Y. Rangers 68 28 28 12 68 196 224 TAMPA BAY RAYS — Optioned 3B Christian
Bucknell 97, Lehigh 75 Arroyo, C Nick Ciuffo, INF-OF Andrew
Sunday Colgate 80, Navy 70 New Jersey 69 25 35 9 59 191 232
Grapefruit League (Florida) Velazquez, RHPs Jake Faria, Andrew Moore,
Southern, Semifinals Western Conference

get to PSU
N.Y. Yankees (ss) 6, Pittsburgh 5 Brent Honeywell and Ian Gibaut and OFs
Wofford 81, ETSU 72 Central GP W L OT Pts GF GA Jesus Sanchez and Joe McCarthy to Durham
Miami 5, Atlanta 2 Summit League, First Round
Tampa Bay 8, Boston 1 Winnipeg 68 40 24 4 84 233 202 (IL). Reassigned RHPs Tyler Cloyd and Ian
N. Dakota St. 86, Oral Roberts 73 Gardeck, INF Jake Cronenworth, and INF
N.Y. Yankees (ss) 2, Detroit 2 Nashville 70 39 26 5 83 210 189
Toronto 10, Minnesota 1 St. Louis 68 36 25 7 79 198 188 Nick Solak to their minor league camp.
Philadelphia 8, Baltimore 5 Dallas 68 35 28 5 75 172 172 TEXAS RANGERS — Assigned INF Christian
Lopes to their minor league camp.

‘‘
Washington 6, Houston 4 Minnesota 69 33 28 8 74 191 202
N.Y. Mets 9, St. Louis 1
Cactus League (Arizona)
GOLF Colorado
Chicago
69
68
30
29
27
30
12
9
72
67
223
227
215
255
National League
LOS ANGELES DODGERS — Optioned RHPs
BY BRIAN CARSON Oakland (ss) 5, S.F. (ss) 4 Pacific GP W L OT Pts GF GA Yadier Alvarez and Josh Sborz and LHP
Arizona (ss) 3, Cincinnati 2 PGA TOUR Donnie Hart. Reassigned RHP Mitchell White
For the CDT San Diego 11, Kansas City 6 ARNOLD PALMER INVITATIONAL San Jose 68 41 19 8 90 246 210 and INFs Omar Estevez and Gavin Lux to
Texas 7, S.F. (ss) 6 Sunday at Bay Hill Club & Lodge Calgary 68 41 20 7 89 235 196 their minor league camp.

HERSHEY
While Penn State was out
crushing the competition at
the Big Ten Wrestling
Championships, Nittany
I’LL BE READY TO Oakland (ss) 7, Chi. White Sox 6
Milwaukee 7, Chi. Cubs 5
Orlando, Fla.
Purse: $9.1 million
Vegas
Arizona
69 38 26 5 81 209 190
68 34 29 5 73 183 188
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES — Optioned RHP
Adonis Medina to Reading (EL).
GO AND WIN AN Seattle (ss) 9, L.A. Angels 9
L.A. Dodgers 3, Colorado (ss) 1
Yardage: 7,454; Par 72
Final Round
Edmonton
Vancouver
68 30 31 7 67 192 221
69 28 32 9 65 187 217
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS — Optioned RHPs
Melvin Adon and Jose Lopez to Sacramento
NCAA TITLE NEXT Cleveland 16, Seattle (ss) 2 F. Molinari, $1,638,000 ....69-70-73-64—276 Anaheim 69 27 33 9 63 159 211 (PCL).
Los Angeles 68 24 36 8 56 161 218
Arizona (ss) 5, Colorado (ss) 2 M.Fitzpatrick,$982,800 ....70-70-67-71—278 WASHINGTON NATIONALS — Released LHP
YEAR, BUT IF I Monday
Grapefruit League (Florida)
R. Cab. Bello, $473,200....65-75-70-69—279
T. Fleetwood, $473,200....69-66-76-68—279
NOTE: Two points for win, one for OT loss.
x-clinched playoff spot
Sammy Solis.

Lions commit Carter Staroc-
ci pulverized the 182-pound
field at the PIAA Class 3A
tournament Saturday for his
FOOTBALL
Sunday
REDSHIRT, I Pittsburgh vs. Atlanta, 1:05 p.m.
Detroit vs. Minnesota, 1:05 p.m.
N.Y. Mets vs. Houston, 1:05 p.m.
S. Im, $473,200 ...............71-69-71-68—279
S. Kang, $294,613............69-72-71-68—280
R. McIlroy, $294,613........72-70-66-72—280
Florida 6, Detroit 1
Washington 3, Winnipeg 1
National Football League
REDSHIRT. IF I Washington vs. St. Louis, 1:05 p.m.
Tampa Bay vs. Philadelphia, 1:05 p.m.
K. Mitchell, $294,613 .......71-68-75-66—280
M. Wallace, $294,613.......71-69-69-71—280
Pittsburgh 4, Boston 2
Vegas at Calgary, late
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS — Released LB Justin
Houston.

second state title. DON’T, I DON’T. Cactus League (Arizona)

Cincinnati vs. Cleveland, 4:05 p.m.
B. Hun An, $209,300........72-72-69-68—281
L. Glover, $209,300 ..........70-71-71-69—281
Los Angeles at Anaheim, late
Monday
HOCKEY

EVERY PARTNER I Ottawa at Philadelphia, 7 p.m. National Hockey League

The Erie Cathedral Prep
senior destroyed his oppo-
nents in methodical fash-
ion, scoring two falls, a
major decision and a dom-
inant 7-1 win in the finals
over Mount Lebanon’s
Luke Stout. Starocci fin-
ishes his senior season at a
perfect 41-0. He also ends
an impressive career with a
159-10 record and two
L.A. Angels vs. Texas (ss), 4:05 p.m. J. Kokrak, $209,300..........70-73-68-70—281
Tampa Bay at Toronto, 7 p.m. NHL — Suspended Philadelphia F Jakub
S.F. vs. L.A. Dodgers, 4:05 p.m. L. List, $209,300 ..............70-72-68-71—281
Voracek two games for interference against
HAVE IS GOING TO Chi. White Sox vs. Milwaukee, 4:05 p.m.
Oakland vs. Colorado, 4:10 p.m.
A. Long, $209,300............74-71-69-67—281
C. Howell III, $159,250 ...74-67-69-72—282
Columbus vs. N.Y. Islanders, 7 p.m.
San Jose at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Arizona at Chicago, 8:30 p.m.
New York Islanders D Johnny Boychuk during
a March 9 game. Suspended Buffalo F Jack
BE A BLESSING. IT’S Kansas City (ss) vs. Seattle, 9:40 p.m.
Kansas City (ss) vs. Texas (ss), 10:05 p.m.
C. Kirk, $159,250 .............71-73-66-72—282
R. Blaum, $123,153..........73-72-70-68—283
B. Steele, $123,153 ..........70-71-72-70—283
N.Y. Rangers at Edmonton, 9 p.m.
Carolina at Colorado, 9 p.m.
Eichel two games for an illegal check to the
head of Colorado F Carl Soderberg during a
GOING TO BE A. Baddeley, $123,153 .....70-70-69-74—283
C. Hadley, $123,153 .........71-71-71-70—283
March 9 game.
BUFFALO SABRES — Recalled F Alexander
AWESOME GOING BASKETBALL
H. Stenson, $123,153.......77-66-69-71—283 Nylander from Rochester (AHL).
CALGARY FLAMES — Recalled F Alan Quine
B. Watson, $123,153........68-72-71-72—283
MOTORSPORTS
INTO THAT ROOM NBA
K. Aphibarnrat, $78,715...71-70-72-71—284
K. Kisner, $78,715 ............70-69-70-75—284
from Stockton (AHL).
NEW JERSEY DEVILS — Assigned F Brandon
Gignac to Binghamton (AHL).
AND GETTING EASTERN W L Pct GB
M. Leishman, $78,715 ......72-70-72-70—284
I. Poulter, $78,715 ...........73-68-73-70—284
NASCAR MONSTER ENERGY
TICKETGUARDIAN 500
OTTAWA SENATORS — Assigned G Filip
Gustavsson from Belleville (AHL) to Bramp-
BETTER EVERY DAY. x-Milwaukee
Toronto
50
48
17
19
.746
.716
—
2
R. Sloan, $78,715 .............70-69-74-71—284
J. Vegas, $78,715 .............69-70-75-70—284
T. Hatton, $60,515 ...........70-75-66-74—285
Sunday at ISM Raceway
Avondale, Ariz.
ton (ECHL).

PIAA titles, along with a Indiana 42 25 .627 8 C. Ortiz, $60,515 ..............72-71-70-72—285

Lap length: 1 mile
Philadelphia 42 25 .627 8 (Start position in parentheses)
runner-up and an eighth- Carter Starocci Boston 41 26 .612 9
A. Schenk, $60,515 ..........70-73-71-71—285 1. (4) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 312.
place finish. Detroit 34 31 .523 15
H. Swafford, $60,515 .......70-74-73-68—285
A. Hadwin, $47,060..........70-75-68-73—286
2. (9) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 312. PREGAME.COM LINE
Starocci, ranked by In- Brooklyn 35 33 .515 15 ⁄2
1 3. (1) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 312. Home team in CAPS
S. Horsfield, $47,060........74-69-74-69—286 4. (14) Aric Almirola, Ford, 312.
Miami 31 35 .470 181⁄2
terMat as the nation’s my goals aligned with Penn Orlando 31 37 .456 191⁄2 M. Kaymer, $47,060 .........72-69-70-75—286 5. (3) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 312. NBA
H. Matsuyama, $47,060 ...72-70-71-73—286
second-best wrestler in his State with everything Charlotte 30 36 .455 191⁄2
R. Moore, $47,060............71-72-73-70—286
6. (31) Kyle Larson, Chevy, 312.
Monday
Washington 27 39 .409 221⁄2 7. (16) Kurt Busch, Chevy, 312.
current weight class, won a they’ve provided other peo- Atlanta 23 45 .338 271⁄2 S. Ryder, $47,060 .............74-69-74-69—286 8. (15) Jimmie Johnson, Chevy, 312. Favorite Line O/U Underdog
J. Wagner, $47,060...........71-72-72-71—286
2018 PIAA title at 160 ple who went there. It was Chicago 19 49 .279 311⁄2
R. Fowler, $35,490 ...........74-71-71-71—287
9. (8) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 312. Toronto 101⁄2 (222) CLEVELAND
Cleveland 16 50 .242 331⁄2 10. (12) Joey Logano, Ford, 312. WASHINGTON 2 (2411⁄2) Sacramento
pounds. an opportunity I wanted to New York 13 54 .194 37 Z. Johnson, $35,490 .........70-71-76-70—287 11. (26) Clint Bowyer, Ford, 312. BROOKLYN 2 (221) Detroit
“I felt really good this take,” Starocci said. “I chose H. Mahan, $35,490...........76-69-74-68—287 12. (18) Ryan Newman, Ford, 312. HOUSTON 9 (2251⁄2) Charlotte
WESTERN W L Pct GB S. Stallings, $35,490.........69-74-73-71—287 13. (19) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 312. UTAH 31⁄2 (227 ⁄2) Oklahoma City
1
weekend and I was healthy; it for many reasons. One, I Golden State 45 21 .682 — A. Wise, $35,490 ..............72-70-74-71—287 14. (2) Chase Elliott, Chevy, 312. Boston 11⁄2 (226) LA CLIPPERS
that’s the big thing,” Sta- feel I can accomplish my Denver 43 22 .662 11⁄2 V. Hovland, $0 ...................74-70-73-70—287 15. (20) Ty Dillon, Chevy, 312.
Houston 41 25 .621 4 K. Bradley, $27,391 ..........67-68-75-78—288 16. (22) Chris Buescher, Chevy, 312. COLLEGE BASKETBALL
rocci said. “I was excited to goals there. They have a Oklahoma City 40 26 .606 5 B. DeChmbeau,$27,391....75-70-74-69—288 17. (17) Paul Menard, Ford, 311.
wrestle. I knew it was my great coaching staff and a J. Niemann, $27,391 ........71-71-76-70—288 Monday
Portland 40 26 .606 5 18. (11) Daniel Hemric, Chevy, 311. Favorite Line Underdog
Utah 37 28 .569 7 ⁄2 P. Rodgers, $27,391 .........68-73-73-74—288
last time wrestling for great team there. I just feel San Antonio
1

38 29 .567 7 ⁄2 B. Horschel, $22,705 ........68-71-73-77—289

coach Mike Hahesy — he’s
like a second dad to me. I
wanted to go out there and
score as many bonus points
as I could for him to get the
team title, but we came up
a little short.”
Next on the agenda is a
date at the Dapper Dan
Classic this Friday at the
University of Pittsburgh’s
Fitzgerald Field House,
where he meets Iowa
recruit Abe Assad from
Illinois.
With his prep career
almost completed, it’s time
for Starocci to focus on
cracking a Penn State line-
up loaded with talent. Mark
Hall occupies 174 and
Shakur Rasheed may or
may not be back at 184,
depending on his NCAA
petition for another year.
Even if Rasheed doesn’t
return, Penn State has
Aaron Brooks coming in
after greyshirting.
It won’t be easy, but
Starocci — who’ll arrive on
campus later this year —
has loads of confidence in
his ability and the mindset
of a true competitor.
“My mentality is my
strength,” he said. “I feel I
have the same mentality
that they do at Penn State.
I don’t care who I’m wres-
tling, whether it’s Kyle
Snyder or Jordan Bur-
roughs or a 5-year-old kid,
I’m going out to crush you,
score points and try to pin
you. I can get better in all
areas — top, bottom and on
my feet. I can work on all
that and I need to score
more points in college.”
Starocci, ranked by
FloWrestling as the
nation’s No. 3 174-pound
prospect at the time of his
November commitment,
had offers from most of the
major wrestling programs
in the country. In the end,
he felt the decision to go to
Penn State gave him the
best opportunity to achieve
his goals.
“Talking to my family, all
it’s the best place for me.”
Starocci found his path to
the sport at an early age.
He watched his older
brother wrestle, and it
wasn’t long before he fell
in love with the sport him-
self.
He said the support from
his family only solidified
the fact he was on the right
path. His father and uncle
both watched him in Fargo,
N.D., where he was a dou-
ble winner in 2017 — and
they were on-hand again
Saturday to watch him win
gold.
That family dynamic
helped mold him into the
person he is today, which is
a good thing considering
Penn State coach Cael
Sanderson tested his self-
discipline during his first
recruiting visit during his
high school junior season.
“It was the first dual
where I had to make the
weight to go to states and
we went out to eat. He
knew I was over and had to
make weight for that Sat-
urday,” Starocci remem-
bered. “He ordered a large
basket of fried corn dogs.
He didn’t eat any of them
and asked me like 15 times
if I wanted to try one, and I
kept saying no. Finally, he
said, ‘Yeah, that’s not go-
ing to help you make
weight, is it?’ And I said,
‘Not at all.’ It was interest-
ing to see him do that.”
Starocci doesn’t know
the plans Sanderson and
his staff have for him next
season but, no matter what,
being part of the Penn
State machine will only
make him a better wrestler.
“I’m not sure what’s
going to happen. I’ll be
ready to go and win an
NCAA title next year, but if
I redshirt, I redshirt. If I
don’t, I don’t,” Starocci
said. “Every partner I have
is going to be a blessing.
It’s going to be awesome
going into that room and
getting better every day.”
1
L.A. Clippers 38 29 .567 71⁄2
Sacramento 33 32 .508 111⁄2
Minnesota 32 35 .478 131⁄2
L.A. Lakers 30 36 .455 15
New Orleans 30 39 .435 161⁄2
Memphis 28 40 .412 18
Dallas 27 39 .409 18
Phoenix 16 52 .235 30
x — clinched playoff spot
Sunday
Detroit 131, Chicago 108
Philadelphia 106, Indiana 89
Toronto 125, Miami 104
Atlanta 128, New Orleans 116
Memphis 105, Orlando 97
Houston 94, Dallas 93
Minnesota 103, New York 92
San Antonio 121, Milwaukee 114
Phoenix 115, Golden State 111
Monday
Sacramento at Washington, 7 p.m.
Toronto at Cleveland, 7 p.m.
FROM PAGE 1B
CASSAR
what I did.”
Although Steveson was the true
freshman and Cassar the fifth-year
season, it was the former that has the
more accomplished wrestling re-
sume.
Some would say Steveson was born
to wrestle, his mother naming him
after legendary Iowa State wrestler
and Iowa coach Dan Gable, as
reported by TwinCities.com. He won
two Cadet World Championships and
a Junior World Championship all by
the age of 18, and knocked off several
senior-level wrestlers on the freestyle
circuit last summer.
Cassar got his start in wrestling
late and, as a high school senior,
became the fourth person in New
Jersey history to win a state cham-
pionship having never previously
qualified for the tournament. Cassar
went on to win a spot on the 2015
Junior U.S. Freestyle Team, but then
suffered a shoulder injury that would
derail his next two years of competi-
tion at Penn State.
Despite the injury, Cassar said his
goals to compete for Penn State and
become a national champ never
changed. During that period when
Cassar was unable to wrestle, his
coach, Cael Sanderson, said his com-
mitment and dedication to the sport
really showed.
“He works very, very hard all the
time,” Sanderson said. “I watched
him for two years, coming back from
injury, and he didn’t skip a day where
19. (5) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 311.
C. MICHIGAN 11 W. Michigan
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P. Perez, $22,705 .............69-73-72-75—289 21. (13) Austin Dillon, Chevy, 311. E. MICHIGAN 21⁄2 Ball St
P. Reed, $22,705 ..............70-70-76-73—289 AKRON 6 Miami (Ohio)
B. Snedeker, $22,705 .......73-71-74-71—289
22. (23) Bubba Wallace, Chevy, 311.
N. ILLINOIS 4 Ohio
23. (28) Daniel Suarez, Ford, 311.
S. Burns, $21,173.............76-69-73-72—290 24. (7) William Byron, Chevy, 310. Hofstra OFF Delaware
S. Piercy, $21,173.............74-70-70-76—290 25. (29) David Ragan, Ford, 310. Wright St 6 Green Bay
G. McDowell, $21,173 ......68-75-69-78—290 26. (24) Corey LaJoie, Ford, 310. N. Kentucky 51⁄2 Oakland
27. (33) Ross Chastain, Chevy, 308. Gonzaga 231⁄2 Pepperdine
PGA CHAMPIONS 28. (25) Matt DiBenedetto, Toyota, 308. St. Mary’s CA 5 San Diego
HOAG CLASSIC
Sunday at Newport Beach CC
29. (10) Erik Jones, Toyota, 304. NHL
30. (35) Quin Houff, Chevy, 302.
Newport Beach, Calif. 31. (36) Bayley Currey, Ford, 301. Monday
Purse: $1.8 million 32. (34) Cody Ware, Chevy, 300. Favorite Line Underdog Line
Yardage: 6,584; Par 71 33. (32) Landon Cassill, Chevy, 267.
PHILA. OFF Ottawa OFF
Final Round 34. (21) a-Ryan Preece, Chevy, 229. TORONTO -114 Tampa Bay +104
x-Won on second playoff hole 35. (6) a-Alex Bowman, Chevy, 191. NY ISLANDRS -114 Columbus +104
x-K. Triplett, $270,000...........70-65-68—203 36. (27) a-Michael McDowell, Ford, 157.
W. Austin, $158,400 ..............68-67-68—203 Note: a — accident
San Jose -130 MINNESOTA +120
CHICAGO -125 Arizona +115
J. Maggert, $118,800.............76-63-65—204 COLORADO -107 Carolina -103
S. McCarron, $118,800 ..........64-72-68—204
S. Flesch, $74,400..................69-67-69—205
EDMONTON OFF NY Rangers OFF
P. Goydos, $74,400 ................69-68-68—205
he came in with a bad attitude; he room — finally paid off when Cassar
just kept plugging away.” got his hand raised as a Big Ten
Without the long resume to rely on,
Cassar said he just had to trust in his
training and “in the process” — no
champion.
And it wasn’t just Cassar who was
happy to see his hard work and dedi-
matter the opponent, no matter the cation over the past five years come
stage. to fruition.
“It was five long years of having Teammate and fellow senior Bo
the same exact goals since I stepped Nickal could hardly sit still during the
onto Penn State,” Cassar said. “And I heavyweight bout. He stood over by
was just training hard in the shadows, the winners’ podium, pacing back
and when it didn’t work out again and forth, at one point even crouched
last year, I just had to go back to what behind the podium, eyes glued to the
I was doing. And I was just consis- mat. When Cassar hit that final take-
tently training hard and 100 percent down to go ahead with 22 seconds
committed.” left in the bout, Nickal jumped to his
Cassar decided near the end of last feet, clenching his fists in celebra-
season that with his frame, he was tion.
tired of cutting weight and that “That was pretty exciting, just a
heavyweight would be a better option great match, two great competitors,”
for him. Over the summer, he packed Nickal said. “I was excited to see
on about 35 pounds. Anthony win. I knew he was ready
Weighing about 235 pounds for the match and ready to go this
throughout the season, Cassar has whole weekend. He was looking
typically weighed in about 20-50 good, and I was excited to see him
pounds lighter than most of his oppo- finish strong.”
nents. But the Rocky Hill, N.J., native Despite the win, Sanderson re-
who counts eating and lifting as two minded reporters after the match
of his favorite pastimes, gets offend- that this is just one victory, with the
ed when people refer to him as a overall goal — to get Cassar’s hand
“smaller” heavyweight. raised in Pittsburgh as an NCAA
He spent a lot of time in the weight champion — on the horizon.
room and said he maintained as Having beaten Steveson, but with
disciplined a diet as the one he had an earlier loss to Oklahoma State’s
when he was cutting to 197 — a char- Derek White, Cassar could find him-
acteristic Cassar said he believes self and Steveson on the same side of
separates him from other heavy- the bracket and hit in the semifinals.
weights. Sanderson couldn’t disagree. “He’s got some great competition,
“He’s just a kid who does every- but this is a conference meet,” Sand-
thing right,” Sanderson said. “He erson said. “We’re happy being the
eats as clean as anyone on our team, Big Ten champions. It’s important to
as a heavyweight, which is rare.” us and something to be pound of, but
All the discipline — in his diet, in the goal is to be a national champion
the weight room and in the wrestling in two weeks.”