North Carolina State University Athletics
Wrestling Hosts Mat Jam Saturday
3/2/2007 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
RALEIGH, N.C. — NC State won the Atlantic Coast Conference wrestling tournament the last time it hosted the event, in 2002. The Wolfpack is looking for a repeat on Saturday, when Reynolds Coliseum will be the site of both the ACC and the Southern Conference Wrestling Championships.
First-round matches begin at 11 a.m., followed by the semifinals at 1 p.m., the consolation semifinals at 3:30 p.m., the consolation finals at 5 p.m., and the championship round at 7 o’clock.
Admission is $10 for adults, and $5 for college students with a student ID and for senior citizens. Children under 10 will be admitted free.
NC State will be among the favorites on Saturday, along with Maryland and North Carolina. Maryland finished first in the regular-season’s dual-meet standings with a perfect 5-0 mark. The Terps finished 17-5 overall. NC State and North Carolina tied for second with a 4-2 conference mark. The Wolfpack was 13-7 overall, the Tar Heels 9-7.
The Wolfpack finished the regular season hot, however, winning its last six matches in a row, and four NC State wrestlers — Darrion Caldwell at 141 pounds, Kody Hamrah at 157, Ryan Goodman at 197 and Jainor Palma at heavyweight — enter the tournament ranked nationally and either favored in their weight class or among the co-favorites. Several other Wolfpack wrestlers could score significant points, especially in the wrestle-backs.
“I like the way this team has come together down the stretch,” Wolfpack head coach Carter Jordan said. “Our lineup is solid from top to bottom, and we have several guys who are capable of winning their weight. They’ve worked really hard from the beginning of the school year, and that hard work has really paid off.”
Palma, a senior from Cary, enters the postseason with a 23-5 record and ranked No. 9 in the latest national poll by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA). Palma has a 4-2 record vs. ranked opponents and is 5-1 against conference opponents. Palma has won six matches in a row and 13 of his last 15.
Caldwell, a true freshman from Rahway, N.J., has been spectacular for the Pack. He enters the conference tournament at 15-4 and ranked No. 20. He is 2-1 against ranked opponents and a 6-0 mark against ACC opponents. Caldwell leads the team with eight pins, a school record for freshmen. Caldwell has won eight of his last nine matches and 11 of his last 13.
Hamrah, a junior from Middlesex, N.J., is ranked No. 19 by the NWCA and is 19-6 on the season. He also is a perfect 6-0 against conference opponents. Hamrah was the 2005 ACC Rookie of the Year and is the defending conference champion at 157. Hamrah has won five matches in a row and 13 of his last 14.
Goodman, a redshirt-sophomore from Cape May, N.J., is 18-2 on the season and ranked No. 16 nationally. Both of Goodman’s losses came at the hands of Maryland’s Hudson Taylor, who is ranked 15th by the NWCA. Goodman and Taylor split two matches at the Southern Scuffle back in December, and Taylor won the rubber match 5-4 on January 27 with a late takedown. Goodman is the defending conference champion at 197 and was named Most Outstanding Wrestler of the 2006 ACC Tournament. Goodman has won five in a row since losing to Taylor in January, and 15 of 16 since losing to Taylor at the Southern Scuffle.
Those four lead the way for the Wolfpack, but senior Garrett Cummings (15-10 at 133), sophomore Joe Caramanica (16-8 at 149), sophomore Obie Simpson (9-10 at 165), senior Rick Brownlee (6-8 at 174) and junior Jeremy Colbert (7-11 at 184) all are capable of scoring points for the Pack. Colbert is the defending conference champion at 184, while Caramanica earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament as a true freshman a year ago. Cummings is a veteran senior with 55 career wins.
“We’ve had several contenders the last few years, but we also had some weight classes that didn’t score many points for us and that’s hurt us in the conference tournament,” Jordan says. “We don’t have many holes in this lineup. We’re capable of scoring points at every spot in the lineup.”
Following is the probable lineup for NC State in the ACC Wrestling Championships:
125 - Taylor Cummings, R-Fr., 9-13
133 - Garrett Cummings, R-Sr., 15-10 (15-11)
141 - Darrion Caldwell, Fr., 15-4
149 - Joe Caramanica, So., 16-8
157 - Kody Hamrah, Jr., 19-6
165 - Obie Simpson, So., 9-10
174 - Rick Brownlee, Sr., 6-8, or Randy Goodman, R-Jr., 2-9 (2-10)
184 - Jeremy Colbert, Jr., 7-11
197 - Ryan Goodman, R-So., 18-2
Hwt - Jainor Palma, Sr., 23-5
First-round matches begin at 11 a.m., followed by the semifinals at 1 p.m., the consolation semifinals at 3:30 p.m., the consolation finals at 5 p.m., and the championship round at 7 o’clock.
Admission is $10 for adults, and $5 for college students with a student ID and for senior citizens. Children under 10 will be admitted free.
NC State will be among the favorites on Saturday, along with Maryland and North Carolina. Maryland finished first in the regular-season’s dual-meet standings with a perfect 5-0 mark. The Terps finished 17-5 overall. NC State and North Carolina tied for second with a 4-2 conference mark. The Wolfpack was 13-7 overall, the Tar Heels 9-7.
The Wolfpack finished the regular season hot, however, winning its last six matches in a row, and four NC State wrestlers — Darrion Caldwell at 141 pounds, Kody Hamrah at 157, Ryan Goodman at 197 and Jainor Palma at heavyweight — enter the tournament ranked nationally and either favored in their weight class or among the co-favorites. Several other Wolfpack wrestlers could score significant points, especially in the wrestle-backs.
“I like the way this team has come together down the stretch,” Wolfpack head coach Carter Jordan said. “Our lineup is solid from top to bottom, and we have several guys who are capable of winning their weight. They’ve worked really hard from the beginning of the school year, and that hard work has really paid off.”
Palma, a senior from Cary, enters the postseason with a 23-5 record and ranked No. 9 in the latest national poll by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA). Palma has a 4-2 record vs. ranked opponents and is 5-1 against conference opponents. Palma has won six matches in a row and 13 of his last 15.
Caldwell, a true freshman from Rahway, N.J., has been spectacular for the Pack. He enters the conference tournament at 15-4 and ranked No. 20. He is 2-1 against ranked opponents and a 6-0 mark against ACC opponents. Caldwell leads the team with eight pins, a school record for freshmen. Caldwell has won eight of his last nine matches and 11 of his last 13.
Hamrah, a junior from Middlesex, N.J., is ranked No. 19 by the NWCA and is 19-6 on the season. He also is a perfect 6-0 against conference opponents. Hamrah was the 2005 ACC Rookie of the Year and is the defending conference champion at 157. Hamrah has won five matches in a row and 13 of his last 14.
Goodman, a redshirt-sophomore from Cape May, N.J., is 18-2 on the season and ranked No. 16 nationally. Both of Goodman’s losses came at the hands of Maryland’s Hudson Taylor, who is ranked 15th by the NWCA. Goodman and Taylor split two matches at the Southern Scuffle back in December, and Taylor won the rubber match 5-4 on January 27 with a late takedown. Goodman is the defending conference champion at 197 and was named Most Outstanding Wrestler of the 2006 ACC Tournament. Goodman has won five in a row since losing to Taylor in January, and 15 of 16 since losing to Taylor at the Southern Scuffle.
Those four lead the way for the Wolfpack, but senior Garrett Cummings (15-10 at 133), sophomore Joe Caramanica (16-8 at 149), sophomore Obie Simpson (9-10 at 165), senior Rick Brownlee (6-8 at 174) and junior Jeremy Colbert (7-11 at 184) all are capable of scoring points for the Pack. Colbert is the defending conference champion at 184, while Caramanica earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament as a true freshman a year ago. Cummings is a veteran senior with 55 career wins.
“We’ve had several contenders the last few years, but we also had some weight classes that didn’t score many points for us and that’s hurt us in the conference tournament,” Jordan says. “We don’t have many holes in this lineup. We’re capable of scoring points at every spot in the lineup.”
Following is the probable lineup for NC State in the ACC Wrestling Championships:
125 - Taylor Cummings, R-Fr., 9-13
133 - Garrett Cummings, R-Sr., 15-10 (15-11)
141 - Darrion Caldwell, Fr., 15-4
149 - Joe Caramanica, So., 16-8
157 - Kody Hamrah, Jr., 19-6
165 - Obie Simpson, So., 9-10
174 - Rick Brownlee, Sr., 6-8, or Randy Goodman, R-Jr., 2-9 (2-10)
184 - Jeremy Colbert, Jr., 7-11
197 - Ryan Goodman, R-So., 18-2
Hwt - Jainor Palma, Sr., 23-5
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