North Carolina State University Athletics
2004-05 NC State Wrestling Outlook
9/15/2004 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Sept. 15, 2004
Carter Jordan takes over as head coach of the Wolfpack wrestling program this fall, and expects nothing less than to uphold the standards set over the past 30 years by his predecessor, the legendary Bob Guzzo. Those standards were simple: excellence and championships. Guzzo retired last spring after a dazzling career that included 356 dual-match victories, 13 Atlantic Coast Conference championships, four individual national champions, and a host of individual ACC champions and All-Americans.
That's a tough act to follow, but Jordan has been prepping for this opportunity. He spent the last six years as Guzzo's top assistant, and Guzzo not only tutored Jordan in the nuances of coaching, he gave him a wide range of responsibilities as well. As the program's lead recruiter the last five years, Jordan has helped to build and shape the roster he now is taking over. His hands-on coaching during practices and matches has helped the Wolfpack's wrestlers polish their skills and improve their techniques. The results are unmistakable. Since Jordan joined the coaching staff in the fall of 1998, the Wolfpack has compiled a dual-match record of 61-42, produced 20 individual ACC champions, and won three of the last four ACC team championships.
Guzzo went out in style a year ago, winning his 13th ACC championship with a team that featured three veteran seniors in Scott Garren, Jake Giamoni and Dustin Kawa. Between them, those three seniors won 231 matches and eight individual ACC championships. Life without them will not be the same.
Jordan's first NC State team will be one of the school's youngest wrestling teams ever. The Wolfpack will not have a single senior in the starting lineup this season, and will have just one senior on the entire roster ? 149-pounder Alex Hernandez, who will redshirt the season. As many as eight of the 10 starters could be freshmen or sophomores. At the same time, Jordan says, the Wolfpack will be talented and deep.The roster is dotted with former high school All-Americans and state champions. The expectations will be continued excellence and more championships.
"Yes, this is a young team, but at the same time that's a positive thing," Jordan says. "We're young but we're talented. My expectations are very high. What I have to do is make sure that their expectations are as high as mine, because we have a chance to be very good. It's going to take a lot of work, but I'm tremendously excited to get started with this team."
Jordan's excitement begins with the return of junior 174-pounder Kevin Gabrielson, a former two-time prep national champion who redshirted the 2003-04 season and was hampered by injuries the year before. Despite a deceptive career record of 15-17, Gabrielson is a highly skilled and polished wrestler, and is the centerpiece of Jordan's master plan for the '04-05 season.
"Kevin Gabrielson is as talented as any wrestler to come through this program in many years, certainly since I've been on the coaching staff," Jordan says. "He was a 157-pounder when he got here as a freshman, and his path to the starting lineup was blocked by Pierre Pryor and Scott Garren, two really good wrestlers. He moved up in weight as a sophomore, but had one nagging injury after another, and then we redshirted him last year. He's never had a chance to showcase his skills, but believe me, he has a chance to be an All-American."
Two-time junior college All-American Chris DeLuca should move right into the lineup at 149, giving the Wolfpack a seasoned newcomer at that spot in the lineup. That leaves redshirt-junior Daniel Humphries, who started at 197 as a freshman two years ago and then dropped down to 184 last season, as the only other "greybeard" pushing for a starting job this season. Humphries, with a career record of 22-24, is the most experienced wrestler on the NC State roster. The second most experienced is Hernandez, an NCAA qualifier a year ago who will sit out the season.
The rest of the Wolfpack falls into Dick Vitale's "diaper dandy" category. Ten freshmen saw action for the Wolfpack last season, including four who started ? 125-pounder Jeremy Hartrum, 165-pounder Rick Brownlee (at 174), 197-pounder Zach Garren and heavyweight Jainor Palma. Hartrum and Garren, who is Scott Garren's younger brother, qualified for the NCAA Tournament, the first pair of freshmen to qualify for nationals in the same year for the Pack in more than a decade. Garren was named to the Amateur Wrestling News All-Rookie Team for 2003-04.
Once again, the Wolfpack finds itself with as many as four freshmen competing for spots in the starting lineup. True freshman Jeremy Colbert was a high school All-American last year, and will challenge Humphries for the starting nod at 184. True freshmen Kody Hamrah and Chris Jensen were both nationally ranked as high school seniors ? Hamrah was an All-American ? and both will be in the thick of the competition for the starting job at 157. Redshirt-freshman Ryan Nowicki will push Brownlee at 165, and redshirt-freshman Ryan Wall will battle sophomore Rod McCollum at 141.
A talented but untested redshirt-sophomore, Jeff Breese, will start at 133. Breese began the year in the starting lineup at 125, moved up to 133, and then was injured and missed the last three months of the season. He was a heralded recruit two years ago, and if healthy is capable of big things. At 141, redshirt-sophomore Rod McCollum, a former state champion from North Carolina, has spent two years as a backup, but is ready to challenge for a spot in the lineup. Redshirt-freshman Ryan Wall and true freshman Travis Varner will challenge McCollum for the starting job.
Jordan is not afraid of putting freshmen on the mat, and he is undaunted by the youth of his first team as a head coach. In fact, his enthusiasm for the short-range potential of this team is boundless. This is a team he helped to build, and he is quite at ease with the makeup of the roster. Because of that, the transition from assistant to head coach should be an easy one.
"The cupboard is not empty," Jordan says. "The cupboard is well-stocked. I have some very big shoes to fill here and I'm very aware of that. At the same time, I have to cut my own path and I don't expect to change many things. If it's not broke, don't fix it. I'm not going to try to reinvent the wheel. I'm looking forward to putting my own stamp on NC State wrestling."
Following is a weight-by-weight look at the 2004-05 NC State wrestling team:
125 pounds: In Jeremy Hartrum, a redshirt-sophomore, the Wolfpack has one of the top recruits in the country from 2001-02. He was the top-ranked 112-pounder in the country as a senior in high school. He went 13-10 as a freshman a year ago, was runner-up at the ACC Tournament, and had a strong showing at the NCAA Championships. Redshirt-sophomore Garrett Cummings, an all-state wrestler in Pennsylvania as a high school senior, would be a starter for most programs and will push Hartrum for the starting nod. He went 8-9 a year ago, but was 7-5 at 125 and finished fifth at the Navy Invitational.
133 pounds: A two-time state champion in Pennsylvania and a former high school All-American, redshirt-sophomore Jeff Breese had a star-crossed first season, fighting injuries most of the year and ending his season in December due to injuries. Redshirt-sophomore Rod McCollum, a potential starter at 141, figures to be the back-up. Matthew Spengler, a redshirt-freshman, also will get a look at 133.
141 pounds: Senior Alex Hernandez started here and qualified for the NCAA Championships a year ago, but he has moved up a weight to 149 and will redshirt to the 2004-05 season, leaving the position wide open. Rod McCollum, redshirt-freshman Ryan Wall and true freshman Travis Varner all will vie for the starting nod.
149 pounds: Junior college All-American Chris DeLuca has a pair of top-three finishes at the NJCAA Championships to his credit, and comes to NC State with outstanding credentials. Hernandez is now a 149-pounder, but will not compete this season, barring the unforeseen.
157 pounds: True freshman Kody Hamrah's only regular-season loss as a high school senior was in the finals of the New Jersey state championship tournament. He went on to take fifth at the 2004 National High School Championships to earn All-America honors, and he began preseason workouts as the favorite at 157. Redshirt-junior Eric Heath has seen sporadic action as a backup the last two years, but has some seasoning to his credit. True freshman Chris Remsen was the New England champion at 152 pounds last year. Sophomore Cameron Reeves is a transfer from UT-Chattanooga who will challenge for time at 157 and 165.
165 pounds: Sophomore Rick Brownlee was forced into action at 174 pounds a year ago because of injuries, and struggled to a 3-12 mark. He is much better-suited to wrestle at 165 and will battle highly regarded redshirt-freshman Ryan Nowicki. Cameron Reeves will be in the mix as well, and redshirt-junior Eric Heath has experience at 157 and 165.
174 pounds: Only circumstance and injuries have prevented redshirt-junior Kevin Gabrielson from earning all-star honors already in his college career. A two-time prep national champion at DeMatha High School in Hyattsville, Md., Gabrielson went 180-11 in high school and has shown flashes of his potential at times at NC State. If he can only stay healthy, he will be the unquestioned starter at 174 pounds, and should contend for postseason honors. Rick Brownlee and Ryan Nowicki will be Gabrielson's principal backups.
184 pounds: A two-year starter with one year at 184, redshirt-junior Daniel Humphries took third place at last year's Navy Invitational en route to a 14-14 season. He is 22-24 for his career. Humphries will face a strong challenge, however, from true freshman Jeremy Colbert, a high school All-American and state champion from Oklahoma.
197 pounds: Recovering from a sluggish start, sophomore Zach Garren earned All-Rookie honors from Amateur Wrestling News a year ago by winning eight of his last 10 regular-season matches, taking second place at the ACC Tournament, and qualifying for the NCAA Championships. His 15-14 record belie how well he wrestled as a freshman.
Heavyweight: Then a true-freshman, Jainor Palma moved into the starting lineup from the beginning of the season and posted a respectable 11-16 record. He will be pushed this season by sophomore Dave Iobst, a former all-state performer from Pennsylvania who has grown into the heavyweight classification after wrestling one match last year at 197.
