Penn State wrestler Josh Barr has revealed he bought a cow from one of his teammates’ family farms in a desperate bid to bulk up in weight.
Barr, a four-time Michigan state champion who was an elite recruit in 2023, was slated to compete in the 174-pound weight class when he entered the college ranks, only to end up wrestling at 184 pounds as a true freshman.
However, he was left with a dilemma this season when superstar teammate Carter Starocci returned for his final season of college eligibility and moved up to the 184-pound division.
Barr could either stick around at 184 pounds and serve as backup to Starocci or move up even further to 197 pounds and compete with teammate Lucas Cochran.
In the end he chose the latter, and to help gain an extra 10-15 pounds the sophomore turned to teammate Tyler Kasak – whose family own a farm back home in Doylestown.
‘I became good friends with him, and I knew that he had a farm back home,’ Barr told reporters this week about Kasak.
Penn State wrestler Josh Barr has revealed he bought a cow from one of his teammates’ farms
‘And when I moved here, I found out that his dad would like just drive up beef, you know, so I was like hey, “I just bought a cow,” and it’s all good.’
So far Barr’s purchase has paid off, with the Nittany Lions wrestler now cutting a few pounds just to make the 197-pound limit.
He recently beat Cochran 10-1 in the finals of the Army Black Knight Invitational and will now face an even bigger test next time out against in-state rival Lehigh this Sunday.
Standing in his way of another victory will be sixth-year senior Michael Beard – a two-time All-American who also began his career at Penn State.
