Carter Starocci pens emotional message after receiving major honor in his city for impact as a wrestler

American wrestling champion Carter Starocci was recently given a unique honor by the city of Erie. For the uninitiated, Carter Starocci was raised in Erie, Pennsylvania.

Starocci shared some photos from his hometown on his Instagram police, where a street was named in his honor. The NCAA champion also posed for the camera with his achievement.

Starocci thanked the city of Erie for this rare honor. In a long and emotional Instagram post, the 24-year-old wrestler wrote,

"Milestone Complete: ✅• Street Named in honor of me • Key to the City. I want to begin by saying thank you — to everyone showing up, and to the City of Erie for this incredible honor. Having a street named after me is something I always envisioned and it’s a moment that truly humbles me."

Starocci further mentioned about the importance of his hometown Erie, as he added,

"This city is where my story began. It’s where I grew up, where I learned what that ‘mirror’ is ALL ABOUT, where I found my love for life — and for greatness. Erie taught me that success doesn’t come easy, but neither does hard times. It takes sacrifice, commitment, and the ability to see the end before the beginning."

Carter Starocci retired from collegiate wrestling this year after winning his fifth and final title for his team, the Penn State Nittany Lions. He defeated Parker Keckeisen of the Northern Iowa Panthers to achieve this historic feat.

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When Carter Starocci talked about balancing MMA training with wrestling

Carter Starocci in action during the finals of 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships [Image Source: Getty]

Carter Starocci previously opened up about his MMA training, and how he balanced it with his wrestling. The NCAA champion talked about it in a conversation on the 'Martial Breakdowns' podcast as he said,

"So, even when I'm in wrestling season, I was training MMA. I know a lot of guys, they'll hop on a treadmill or they'll hop on a bike to get weight down, but for me, I'll do MMA training because it's more fun. And it's more athletic related. I'm not on a treadmill running. So, I actually train MMA. It was during the wrestling season all year." [18:10 onwards]

There are strong rumors that Carter Starocci might switch to MMA, although an official confirmation is yet to come. Starocci further mentioned in the interview,

"And I like MMA training. I mean, I feel it's good. I think that builds your confidence in a match too, because I know some guys are scared of like something, but in my head I'm like, 'All right, if this match gets it gets carried away and it goes down into a fight, I mean, I've been training fighting all year, so I'm pretty comfortable there.' So, I just know that wherever it goes, I'm good. I feel like that builds confidence. I like MMA training and I want to be a UFC champion as well."

Apart from winning five consecutive NCAA titles, Carter Starocci has also won three gold medals and a silver medal at the Big Ten Conference Championships. Starocci won a bronze medal for the USA at the 2022 U23 World Championships.

Edited by Animesh Pandey