Manifestation, there must be something to it, and we certainly hope for the sake of Iowa’s Gabe Arnold that it works this time! The 184-pounder just released a long Instagram statement a few days after his competitor, and dominator of the weight class, Carter Starocci, officially exited Penn State. In the statement, Gabe Arnold takes full responsibility for his loss at the NCAA National Championships.
Arnold, who had set himself up for big wins this year, ended up losing in round 3 to Oklahoma’s DJ Parker, and all the promise of his early year expectations seemed to crash to the ground, symbolic, yes, because so did Arnold in that final NCAA game. DJ Parker won by a fall over 48 seconds into the 3rd round.
Anyway, none of this went unaddressed by Arnold, who wrote in all sincerity on his Instagram account, “Could have. Should have. Would have. But, I didn’t. I didn’t train hard enough. I didn’t live right. I didn’t do what needed to be done to be on top of the podium or even on the podium at all. Walking away, empty handed, from the national tournament was never a feeling I thought I’d feel. A wise man once told me, “You get what you earn,” and I did. I got what I earned.” Which is an honest, unusual, and commendable exploration of loss. What is even more commendable, however, is how Arnold went on to share more insight into his mental state leading up to the finals.
“That’s just the short story though. But the long one?” Gabe Arnold continued in the post, “On December 30th,2024, I found myself in the hospital. Questioning my worth, my ability, my will to live, everything. The only answer I could come up with was simply just not being alive. I didn’t want to deal and live with the hurt, pain, and regret that had been swirling around and around my head for years upon years. I was lost, nowhere to turn, no want to fight anymore. The demons were winning. I had given up, I was exhausted of fighting this so called “good fight”.”
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The pressure of professional sports is often downplayed for the sake of the game, but Arnold brought attention to his own personal struggle building up to the make-or-break moment that he had set up for himself a little earlier in the year. It makes one question how far athletes should push the competitive edge while still prioritizing their own health. And despite Carter Starocci’s exit, Gabe Arnold has set himself up for next year yet again!
Gabe Arnold’s reputation for setting high expectations for himself
Though one can say that the fans, the coaches, and the general expectations are pressure enough, Gabe Arnold also set himself up with high expectations earlier this year when he said in January, “We got Penn State next week, and we didn’t get the job done last year, and that kind of sucks. But we’re gonna get it done this year. This year, we’re gonna be in your home dojo, and I promise you, your head’s mine.”
This statement, again, seemingly an optimistic manifestation, was partly made in response to Iowa’s catastrophic loss to PSU the year prior. The Lions managed to beat the Hawks 29-6 in the Hawks own dojo, so Arnold’s statement was a classic wish for a comeback.
However, things didn’t pan out that way, with Penn State not only winning the National Championship team title for the fourth year in a row, but also Carter Starocci winning his fifth title in the 184-pound category. So, it’s no surprise that Gabe Arnold’s long Instagram post comes just a few days after Carter Starocci’s official exit from his alma mater. “My time is officially up. It was an honor to help lead these teams.” Starocci wrote on X this past week.
Which may have at least played some role in what prompted Arnold to include towards the end of his post, “2026 National Champion, it’s time to start writing the next chapter of my story :)” However, even without Carter Starocci on the circuit next season, this may prove to be a tough one for the Hawks, who have till now been one of PSU’s top competitor, with Lee Roper, an integral part of their coaching team, moving to David Taylor’s OSU! Either way, we do hope manifestation works, and that Gabe Arnold doesn’t put too much pressure on himself this time around. You’re already doing amazing, Gabe!
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