Carter Starocci mocks Pat Downey while backing Penn State freshman amid Kyle Snyder situation

Former Penn State wrestler Carter Starocci recently gave a mocking reply to former NJCAA champ Patrick Downey. This came after Downey heckled young Nittany Lions wrestler Josh Barr.

Starocci and Downey have a bit of history between them already since last year when the former defeated Downey at the 2024 US Olympic Team Trials via 12-4 decision. The two wrestlers got into a tussle once again on social media, with Downey initially targeting Barr.

Barr shared a post on his X handle, expressing his faith in God and elaborating on the importance of spreading love to bring out some positivity amidst the Kyle Snyder situation after prostitution charges against the latter. In reply to this, Downey referred to Snyder's situation and heckled Barr for his post. He wrote:

"lmfao this cult water brazy bruh just get some sloppy toppy @ a strip club like a normal man!!! oh yeah & remember to wrap it up!"

Starocci replied and made sure to remind Downey to remember about the defeat he handed him last year. He wrote:

"No that burning feeling is still in your lungs and body when I smashed your face in. You were looking like a prostitute after that beat down. Lay off the drugs pal."

Notably, just hours after the disclosure of Kyle Snyder's arrest, Carter Starocci had shared a cryptic message for the former.

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Carter Starocci on his future plans to be involved in MMA

Carter Starocci (Image via Getty)

Carter Starocci shared his thoughts on a probable stint in MMA after the conclusion of his collegiate career with the Penn State Nittany Lions. The 24-year-old concluded his stint in 2025, having won NCAA Championships in all of his 5 collegiate years.

In an interview with Bo Nickal, Starocci said that the MMA training is quite exciting and fun for him. He also mentioned that MMA is something that he has always had in his plans. Starocci said (58:00 onwards):

"I mean when I am training MMA, it's funny because I'm almost thinking like dang, I'm having more fun doing this. I mean I love MMA a lot, I mean it's something that I've always wanted to do and things like that so I look to make my debut probably next year."

Speaking about probable amateur wrestling after college, Starocci said further:

"Yeah I was thinking about like how you did things, I'm going to take more time to kind of really develop my skills."

During the conversation, Starocci also remarked that before stepping into the MMA domain, he wants to fully understand this sport and enhance his skills.