PHILADELPHIA — Just ahead of the 2025 Ƶ wrestling tournament, four former Ƶ champions — Carter Starocci of Penn State, AJ Ferrari of Cal State Bakersfield, Gable Steveson of Minnesota and Keegan O'Toole of Missouri — took to the podium to speak about their mindset heading into competition, their goals for the tournament and their final thoughts before action kicks off tomorrow.
Here are some of the most notable topics discussed and what each athlete had to say to the group of reporters in Philadelphia this afternoon:
Current health heading into the tournament after a tough season
O'TOOLE: My health is as good as it will be for the time being. My match in December [against No. 2 Levi Haines] was just, it was a fight. That's all that I learned and obviously it's something I need to go back and look at. Overall, it made me stronger mentally.
#2 Keegan O'Toole (Missouri) secures a sudden victory takedown to defeat #1 Levi Haines (Penn State) and claim the top spot in the country!
— Saturday Night Lights (@WrestlingSNL)
Keeping the tournament fresh and exciting every year
STAROCCI: For me, it's never really about the tournament or just year after year for me, I just really love dominating. And for me that's kind of a big reason why I chose to come back this year was obviously last year, dealing with the injury and things like that. And it wasn't the way I wanted to finish up. So now I'm looking to finish this thing off the way I intended to, healthy and stuff and dominant.
FOUR TIMER AND COUNTING: Everything you need to know about Carter Starocci's career at Penn State
STEVESON: Pretty much the same answer as Carter. [I] want to finish off the tournament in dominating fashion. I did it for a long time. I can do it again. And I think this year I'm going to do it in such a way that people aren't even going to fathom what I'm about to do. But I let the wrestling speak for itself. But I'm happy to be here, grateful for the opportunity. It's a big tournament. And the main reason why I came back was to help the Minnesota team and put them in a good spot. And now it's time to put them in a good spot leading them into next year and giving them the best show they can ever see.
O'TOOLE: ...It's exciting to be here. Wrestling down on those mats, they're a lot better than any Big 12 mats or anything like that. They're just nice and saturated in color. They're squishy. [It's] pretty fun to be out there, especially when the crowd goes crazy. I'm looking forward to it.
Competing in their final folkstyle tournament
STAROCCI: It's not my final tournament. I'll always be competing. So for me it's not necessarily this is my last time. It's really not — all this stuff I practiced for and there's always the next time...It's not about wrestling our opponents now, it's about wrestling for the next time and making sure we wrestle again. And if you take that mindset it will help you in life too.
STEVESON: I don't think this is all of our last time. Kind of going off what [Starocci] said, if you all see me competing 'til I die, take me...off the mat before that. That's too long for me. Like I said, I'm happy to be here. I'm going to compete, have a great time and put a smile on my face and let the crowd see that we're happy to be here too.
O'TOOLE: All good things come to a end. We're kind of at the end, us three out here. But we're going to be competing in the future. On top of that it's a little bit bittersweet, but we have five matches to wrestle. Not thinking about that too much.
Penn State's success
STEVESON: I think it's fantastic. What [head coach] Cael [Sanderson] has done for the program is mindboggling. Seeing a coach bring a group of guys together and dominate a collegiate sport is crazy. It reminds me just like Alabama football or Coach K at Duke basketball — just taking over a game. And just watching that from a third person while being here and wrestling against a lot of his guys it's crazy to see. Shoutout to them. And I think they're looking to break the team point record again this year, which is going to be a crazy thing. If they can keep doing that, that's a cool thing. Fantastic to — just hard to put words on what he's done what. And what this guy [Starocci] has done, too, leading into his fifth national title, fourth straight. If he — when he — wins Saturday night, he's going to go out there and be a five-time national champion. It's going to blow the world up. Shoutout to him and shoutout to Penn State.
PENN STATE WRESTLING: Results, records and championships from the Nittany Lion legacy
O'TOOLE: I think it's extremely impressive. Obviously we're always trying to beat [them]. But, again, they've proven that they're on top and so it's just — yeah, you draw parallels with Coach Saban at Alabama. It's a dynasty.
Transfer portal and NIL changes
STEVESON: This is a great time for all collegiate sports. Guys that are going after big NIL deals and buying fancy cars...and all those guys living luxurious lives. I think it's cool for athletes to go out and get what they deserve and get their checks in and cash them too. It's the same thing with us. We're going to go out there and handle business and take care of everything that needs to be taken care of. I think the angle for a lot of us is how can we live a better life instead of just living day to day. It's a big step for all of us, and I think it's a great thing. And I'm happy that we're accumulating what we're accumulating, and hopefully it keeps going for everybody else.
O'TOOLE: It's kind of a crazy world out there just seeing everything that's happening over the years. I love where I started... [I] built a lot of relationships and happy with those over just people and things like that. Not that that's important. But at the same time I met my wife at Columbia, that type of thing is more important than money.
STAROCCI: I think it's one of the biggest experiences for me. It's one of the things the program does really well on. As far as NIL goes, I think that's something that's really great for all sports, especially wrestling, I think it's something that it should continue to grow. And I think for as far as that, I think with management and things like that, I feel like we need to get some things going on their end to make sure that wrestling is getting more access and more eyes and things like that and kind of having a little more open mind and not having like the wrestling sport be a grind, and we love wrestling. It's always going to be about that. But I think it's a good way to make sure that we open more doors for the future.
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AJ Ferrari spoke out at the Ƶ Pre-Championships Press about how to grow Ƶ Wrestling and his mindset heading into this weekend's Championships.
FERRARI: I think it's growing at a great rate...wrestling is growing and going to take over sports in the future. I think we need to embrace big personalities like myself big matches. And I think at the end of the day growing our sport is going to be key to have good personalities that show themselves.
Competitive weight classes at the Ƶ tournament
O'TOOLE: ...Just throughout the time I've been wrestling college, I've obviously been in some wars with really good wrestlers...those battles made me so much better....I was always hungry, never satisfied. That's kind of my mentality through not only wrestling but life. Continually improving mentally and physically, understanding it's a process, doesn't mean you didn't make improvements.
Legacy in college wrestling
STAROCCI: For me it's not necessarily about these next three days. I feel like your career isn't just based on a three-day span. I think it's about going out there every single time you have the chance to compete, no matter if you're sick or hurt, just putting it all on the line. I feel it's something I've done every single time. As far as all the other stuff, I mean, for me just, like I said, it's just about dominating. It's not just about winning and things like that. These next three days are another opportunity for me to go out and do that and prove that I'm the best. It's one thing to be the best whether it's one year, two years, but it's another thing to be the best for half a decade, not only yourself and it's your team. I feel a lot of times I get asked, you have a target on your back, this and that, but for me that's the whole way around. For us, we always are the guys hunting. That's how we approach it.
Returning to the mat after time off
FERRARI: Same old, same old. Business is business. Here to perform, show out. Here for me to have fun, embrace the spotlight. I love performing, wrestling at the highest level. Show them the best. Win the national title at 197 and win two, three more. I want to cement my legacy, have fun, give God all the glory. Super grateful for all the support I have all throughout the world. A lot of prayers, big support system is why I'm here.
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