North Carolina State University Athletics
Carter Jordan Made Permanent Wrestling Coach
6/30/2005 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
June 30, 2005
RALEIGH, N.C. - In his first season as NC State's head wrestling coach, Carter Jordan put together an 8-8 dual-meet season despite having the youngest Wolfpack wrestling team in decades. Jordan also laid the foundation for the program to return to national prominence with an outstanding recruiting class that should pay immediate dividends in 2005-06.
So it was only fitting that on June 3, NC State Athletics Director Lee Fowler changed Jordan's status from interim head coach to permanent head coach. An NC State graduate and an assistant under former head coach Bob Guzzo for six years, Jordan was a natural fit to take over the program when Guzzo retired following the 2003-04 season, his 30th as the Wolfpack's head coach.
"I'm happy to be elevated to permanent head coach, but I never thought of myself as an interim coach," Jordan said. "To run this or any program, you have to think well beyond just one year, so I went about my business as if I was going to be here for the long term. To think just one year ahead and not plan beyond that would be detrimental for the long-term health of the program."
The team that Jordan took over this past season was talented, but extremely young. The 200405 Wolfpack was the first NC State wrestling team in more than a decade and only the second since the early 1980s that did not have a reigning Atlantic Coast Conference champion in the starting lineup. Most of the season, Jordan used eight freshmen and/or sophomores in the 10-man starting lineup.
It was not exactly a recipe for success, but the Wolfpack battled through an up-and-down regular season to finish with an 8-8 overall record in dual meets, and, most importantly, finished 4-2 in the ACC and took second place in the regular season's final standings. Freshman 157-pounder Kody Hamrah finished the year 17-10 after starting 9-9, and was named ACC Rookie of the Year.
"It wasn't the kind of successful season that we've become accustomed to at NC State, but there were plenty of positive things to build on, and we will," Jordan said. "We have a tremendous amount of work to do to get this program to where it should be, but how hard we work is the one thing we control. I'm confident and excited about the future of this program."
