North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State Wrestling Signs Two In Fall Signing Period
11/12/2004 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Nov. 12, 2004
RALEIGH, N.C. - In his first fall recruiting period as head wrestling coach at NC State, Carter Jordan only enhanced his reputation as a top recruiter, signing a pair of highly regarded high school wrestlers to national letters of intent.
Jordan, who put together several nationally ranked recruiting classes as the Wolfpack's top assistant coach the last six years, signed 135-pound Pennsylvania state champion Joe Caramanica of Nazareth High School, and 145-pound North Carolina state champion Jake Smith of Fayetteville's Jack Britt High School.
Jordan signed just two recruits this fall because his entire 2004-05 team returns intact next season. The Wolfpack has just one senior on this year's roster, and he is redshirting. That enabled Jordan to recruit quality instead of quantity, and he definitely landed quality.
Caramanica, wrestling for national coach of the year Dave Crowell, won the Pennsylvania state championship at 135 pounds as a junior in 2004. He enters the 2004-05 season ranked as the 83rd best high school wrestler in the country, regardless of weight class, by IntermatWrestle.com, one of the nation's leading authorities on high school and college wrestling. Wrestling USA ranks Caramanica the No. 11 wrestler in the country in the 140-pound weight class.
Smith, who was a teammate of current Wolfpack 125-pounder Jalil Dozier, won the North Carolina 4-A championship at 145 pounds as a junior in 2004, and had a won-lost record of 59-2. He committed to the Wolfpack at the start of the current school year.
Caramanica projects as a 141-pounder in college, while Smith most likely will wrestle at 149 or 157 pounds.
"We're really excited to sign to kids of the caliber of Joe Caramanica and Jake Smith," Jordan said. "Joe is one of the best high school wrestlers in the country from one of the best high school wrestling programs in the country. He's a great kid and a great student. Jake is an extremely tough wrestler, and very athletic."
