North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State Wrestling Travels To No. 4 Iowa On Thursday
12/6/2006 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
RALEIGH, N.C. — After dropping three dual matches to Big Ten teams on November 18 in Chapel Hill, the NC State wrestling team will take on its fourth Big Ten opponent in a row on Thursday when it squares off against fourth-ranked Iowa in Iowa City.
The Hawkeyes (5-0), ranked fourth in the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association poll, feature seven ranked wrestlers in their lineup, including five ranked in the top 10. Mark Perry, 3-0 and ranked No. 2 at 165 pounds; Matt Fields, 6-1 and ranked No. 4 at heavyweight; and Eric Luedke, 7-1 and ranked No. 5 at 174; are among the headliners in the Iowa lineup.
“In my 21 years of coaching, Dan Gable was one of my heroes,” Wolfpack coach Carter Jordan said of the legendary former Iowa head coach, who now assists first-year head coach Tom Brands. “Iowa is one of those traditional powers that automatically come to mind when you think about college wrestling. They have an outstanding lineup and I’m certain that they will present us with a tremendous challenge, especially at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.”
Senior heavyweight Jainor Palma leads the Wolfpack with a 5-0 mark and leads all current Wolfpack wrestlers in career victories with a 56-41 mark. Junior 157-pounder Kody Hamrah (3-2) and sophomore 165-pounder Obie Simpson (3-1) have given the Wolfpack strong performances as well.
Freshman 125-pounder Taylor Cummings (2-1), senior 133-pounder Garrett Cummings (2-3) and sophomore 149-pounder Joe Caramanica (2-2) have been solid for the Wolfpack, which opened the season with easy wins over Campbell and Liberty before dropping matches to Wisconsin, Purdue and Northwestern in the ACC / Big Ten Clash on Nov. 18.
“We’ve been inconsistent in our intensity so far, and that’s my biggest concern going into a match like Iowa,” Jordan said. “I know that they’ll come after us for seven minutes each match, and our kids have to learn how to match that intensity for the full seven minutes. We had some encouraging performances in the ACC / Big Ten Clash, but we also had some guys who didn’t wrestle well, who didn’t show that intensity. We have to correct that.”
Following are the probable starters for the NC State-Iowa match:
125 - Taylor Cummings (2-1) vs. Charlie Falck (2-1) or Lucas Magnani (2-1)
133 - Garrett Cummings (2-3) vs. No. 6 Mario Galanakis (7-1)
141 - Darrion Caldwell (4-1) vs. No. 9 Alex Trirtsis (6-2)
149 - Joe Caramanica (2-2) vs. Alex Grunder (4-4)
157 - Kody Hamrah (3-2) vs. No. 12 Rtan Morningstar (6-3)
165 - Obie Simpson (3-1) vs. No. 2 Mark Perry (3-0) or Ben Stedman (3-2)
174 - Rick Brownlee (0-3) vs. No. 5 Eric Luedke (7-1)
184 - Jeremy Colbert (0-3) or Mark Jahad (2-3) vs. No. 13 Phillip Keddy (4-3)
197 - Ryan Goodman (0-0) vs. Dan Erekson (6-1)
Hwt - No. 18 Jainor Palma (5-0) vs. No. 4 Matt Fields (6-1)
