Marcus Blaze, one of the top recruits of Penn State wrestling’s 2025 class, made his first U.S. Senior National Team on Saturday with an impressive victory at Final X. Blaze, who recently completed his high school wrestling career in Ohio, defeated 2025 NCAA runnerup Brock Hardy 8-2 for third place at the 65 kg men’s freestyle weight class.
With the victory, Blaze earned true third in the weight class and a spot on the U.S. Senior National Team. That’s a huge accomplishment for Blaze, who will earn financial support from USA Wrestling along with increased national and international opportunities. Among them: Blaze, who already has qualified for the U20 World Championships, becomes eligible to compete for a spot on the U23 national team as well.In addition, Carter Starocci, Penn State’s five-time NCAA champion, earned a spot on the U.S. Senior National Team with a true-third victory over Parker Keckeisen at 86 kg.
Blaze, a four-time Ohio state high school champion at Perrysburg High, wrestled a strong match against Hardy, a three-time NCAA All-American at Nebraska. Blaze led 4-0 after one period, scoring three step-out points and one point via a shot-clock violation. He took command of the match with two second-period takedowns.
The victory was more impressive considering that Blaze was wrestling up four kg after winning the U20 national title at 61 kg just two weeks ago. Blaze is headed to a world championships event for the third straight year. He won a U17 world title in 2023 and a bronze medal at the U20 worlds in 2024. 86 kg, Starocci and Keckeisen wrestled a rematch of their 2025 NCAA final, which Starocci won 4-3 for his landmark fifth NCAA title. They wrestled to the same score Saturday at Final X, with Starocci scoring all four points in the first period, including one takedown. Keckeisen put three step-out points on the board in the second period but could not get to a takedown vs. Starocci.
The third-place matches preceded the men and women’s freestyle event at Final X to determine the U.S. team that will compete at the 2025 World Wrestling Championships in Croatia.
