Sophomore 149-pounder Darrion Caldwell defeated his third top-10 opponent in a week’s time Saturday, his second in a span a few hours, to win the individual 149-pound championship at the 2007 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Caldwell, ranked No. 6 in the latest NCWA coaches poll, won the championship with an 8-6 decision over third-ranked J.P. O’Connor of Harvard. Earlier in the day, Caldwell routed second-ranked Josh Churella of Michigan with a 12-3 major decision.
Caldwell rolled through the tournament’s first three rounds on Friday, pinning Sean Flynn of College of New Jersey in 74 seconds, than winning a 4-1 decision over No. 19 Cesar Grajales of Penn and a 4-2 decision over Ryan Etherton of Nebraska-Kearney. Caldwell is now 13-1 for the 2007-08 season with seven pins and five victories over ranked opponents.
Meanwhile, junior 141-pounder Joe Caramanica finished fourth in his weight class after dropping a 6-4 decision to fourth-ranked Charles Griffin of Hofstra. Caramanica, who lost in the second round of the tournament on Friday, worked his way through the wrestlebacks by winning five bouts in a little more than 24 hours, including a 6-4 decision over No. 11 Kyle Ruschell of Wisconsin. With his fourth-place finish, Caramanica is now 10-3 on the season with two pins and three wins over ranked opponents.
NC State now will take most of the next month off from competition, then will return to action December 28-29 at the Southern Scuffle in Greensboro.
Following are results for NC State from the Saturday session at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational:
141 pounds
#14 Joe Caramanica won by default over Troy Tirapelle (Illinois)
#14 Joe Caramanica dec. Marcus Hoehn (Missouri), 5-4
#14 Joe Caramanica dec. #11 Kyle Ruschell (Wisconsin), 6-4
#3 Charles Griffin (Hofstra) dec. #14 Joe Caramanica, 6-4
Caramanica finishes in 4th place
149 pounds
#6 Darrion Caldwell major dec. #2 Josh Churella (Michigan), 12-3
#14 Darrion Caldwell dec. #3 J.P. O’Connor (Harvard), 8-6
Caldwell wins championship at 149
184 pounds
#10 Trevor Brandvold (Wisconsin) dec. Ryan Goodman, 7-2
Ryan Goodman eliminated
Following are complete results for NC State from the Friday session at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational:
125 pounds
Taylor Cummings dec. Mitchell Johnson (UNC Grensboro), 4-1
Taylor Cummings dec. Cory Johnston (Dickinson State), 7-2
Tony Pescaglia (Missouri) major dec. Taylor Cummings, 11-2
Tony Mustari (Northern Colorado) dec. Taylor Cummings, 8-1
Cummings eliminated
133 pounds
Darrius Little dec. Francisco Manriquez (California-Davis), 5-4
#4 Jimmy Kennedy (Illinois) dec. Darrius Little, 8-1
Jeremy Shaw (North Carolina) dec. Darrius Little, 3-2
Little eliminated
141 pounds
#14 Joe Caramanica pinned Kody Kramer (Pacific), at 1:55
Heinrich Barnes (Oregon State) dec. #14 Joe Caramanica, 7-5
#14 Joe Caramanica major dec. Cole Dallaserra (Wyoming), 11-2
#14 Joe Caramanica dec. Elijah Nacita (Cal State-Bakersfield), 4-0
149 pounds
#6 Darrion Caldwell pinned Sean Flynn (College of New Jersey), at 1:14
#6 Darrion Caldwell dec. #19 Cesar Grajales (Penn.), 4-1
#6 Darrion Caldwell dec. Ryan Etherton (Nebraska-Kearney), 4-2
157 pounds
Noomis Jones (Adams State) dec. Anthony Badaracco, 4-2, 2ot
Nate Kearsley (Utah Valley State) dec. Anthony Badaracco, 8-1
Badaracco eliminated
174 pounds
James Williamson (Missouri) dec. Randy Goodman, 3-2
Randy Goodman major dec. Frankie Colletta (Harvard), 8-0
Justin Peterson (Wisconsin) dec. Randy Goodman, 6-2
Randy Goodman eliminated
184 pounds
Ryan Goodman dec. Jared Deaguero (Adams State), 10-6
Vince Jones (Nebraska) pinned Ryan Goodman, at 0:29
Ryan Goodman dec. Travis DeGroat (Embry Riddle), 11-0
Ryan Goodman dec. Robert McCarthy (North Carolina), 8-0
197 pounds
Dave Crowell (Pittsburgh) dec. Mark Jahad, 10-5
Branden Stearns (Brown) dec. Mark Jahad, 6-2
Jahad eliminated
Heavyweight
Ed Pendergast (Navy) pinned Bobby Isola, at 1:42
Jason Marshall (Ohio University) dec. Bobby Isola, 3-1
Isola eliminated
