Trump shakes hands with NCAA Wrestling Champion after title match

Some college wrestlers had a nationwide moment on Saturday night.

Shortly after Pennsylvania wrestler Carter Starch made history as the first five national champion in NCAA history, he walked to the matside seat at Wells Fargo Arena in Philadelphia to shake hands with President Donald Trump.

Stark beat Parker Kekkeisen (4-3) from northern Iowa to win the 184-pound championship and his fifth NCAA title.

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This is the first and perhaps the last time a college wrestler has achieved such a feat.

Starocci qualified for his fifth year after participating in the 2021 season.

Starocci coach Cael Sanderson also shook hands with the president on Saturday night.

The LA Times writer suggests that the World Series champion Dodgers should skip their White House visit: “Thank you, but no.”

On Friday, other Pennsylvania wrestlers spoke about Trump attending the event.

“It's a great honor for the sport of wrestling,” Pennsylvania's Josh Barr told reporters. “The sport of wrestling is where growth is needed. It requires the life and energy behind it, and President Trump brings it.”

Mitchell Mesembrink told reporters Friday that he believes Trump's attendance will help improve audiences, regardless of politics.

President Donald Trump speaks with Sens. Dave McCormick and R-Ohio while sitting next to Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

“We want people to see, we want people to see wrestling. We want people to see it, not just money, but people's time and attention, so I think it's cool.

“Democrats or Republicans, whoever it is, it's the president of the United States. The leader of our free world in wrestling events is really cool when you think about it.”

The Wrestling Championship is the first time it's returned to the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia since Pennsylvania won the entire championship in 2011. It kicked off the dominant operation of the continuing Nittany Lions. They now have won 12 of their last 14 titles in four straight years, after winning the team championship on Saturday.

Trump also met and celebrated several other wrestlers after his championship victory.

Trump's presence at the event brought electrical energy to the national spotlight and buildings to the sport of college wrestling.

Trump stepped into the Wells Fargo Center and was greeted by a loud crowd chanting “USA! USA!” When Trump came in, several fans booed.

Musk; Clay Travis, founder of Outkick; White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt; Secretary of Education and former WWE Executive Linda McMahon. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and R. Ohio. Senator Dave McCormick, R-PA. And several other Trump allies were in the front row to greet the president.

On March 22, 2025, President Donald Trump and Carter Stark of the Nittany Lions, Pennsylvania, embrace at the 2025 NCAA Division I Men's Wrestling Championships held at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. (Mitchell Lev/Getty Images)

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Jordan is a wrestling champion at the high school and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, winning the NCAA Division I Men's Wrestling title twice. He later served as assistant coach of Ohio State's wrestling program from 1987 to 1995.

This is the second time President Donald Trump has attended the NCAA Wrestling Championship in three years. He also attended in 2023 at Tulsa, Oklahoma.

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