North Carolina State University Athletics
Caldwell, Jordan Sweep ACC Wrestling Honors
3/22/2007 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
RALEIGH, N.C. — After winning the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships by a lap and a half, NC State swept the conference’s two top individual awards today when freshman 141-pounder Darrion Caldwell was named ACC Wrestler of the Year and Rookie of the Year, and head coach Carter Jordan was named ACC Coach of the Year in a vote of the league's six head coaches.
Caldwell, NC State’s first ACC Wrestler of the Year since Sylvester Terkay in 1993, fashioned a 20-6 overall record with 10 pins, an NC State record for pins by a freshman. He went 12-2 in dual matches and a perfect 9-0 against ACC opponents. He was 4-2 vs. ranked opponents.
After winning the conference championship at 141 pounds, Caldwell advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships by defeating the No. 9 seed by fall (in 28 seconds) and the No. 8 seed by injury default, a match Caldwell was winning handily at the time the bout was stopped.
Caldwell missed making All-America by one bout, however. His quarterfinal match with top-seeded Ryan Lang of Northwestern has become something of an urban legend and was a huge favorite on YouTube for several days following the tournament. Lang pinned Caldwell in 1:40, but not before Caldwell built an 8-2 lead and nearly pinned the returning All-American after throwing him and taking him to his back for a near fall. By the end of the bout, the two wrestlers had combined to score 15 points in 100 seconds and received a standing ovation when the bout was over.
Caldwell is NC State’s second ACC Rookie of the Year in the last three seasons, joining Kody Hamrah (2005). He is the first freshman ever to win ACC Wrestler of the Year.
Jordan, who has a three-year record of 32-20-1 as NC State head coach, had his team at its peak when it mattered most. Following a 2-4 start in dual matches against a rigorous early-season schedule, the Pack won 11 of its last 14 matches, including its last six in a row, and then won the conference tournament in a runaway, advancing eight wrestlers to the finals and clinching the team championship before the individual championship round even started.
Caldwell, NC State’s first ACC Wrestler of the Year since Sylvester Terkay in 1993, fashioned a 20-6 overall record with 10 pins, an NC State record for pins by a freshman. He went 12-2 in dual matches and a perfect 9-0 against ACC opponents. He was 4-2 vs. ranked opponents.
After winning the conference championship at 141 pounds, Caldwell advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships by defeating the No. 9 seed by fall (in 28 seconds) and the No. 8 seed by injury default, a match Caldwell was winning handily at the time the bout was stopped.
Caldwell missed making All-America by one bout, however. His quarterfinal match with top-seeded Ryan Lang of Northwestern has become something of an urban legend and was a huge favorite on YouTube for several days following the tournament. Lang pinned Caldwell in 1:40, but not before Caldwell built an 8-2 lead and nearly pinned the returning All-American after throwing him and taking him to his back for a near fall. By the end of the bout, the two wrestlers had combined to score 15 points in 100 seconds and received a standing ovation when the bout was over.
Caldwell is NC State’s second ACC Rookie of the Year in the last three seasons, joining Kody Hamrah (2005). He is the first freshman ever to win ACC Wrestler of the Year.
Jordan, who has a three-year record of 32-20-1 as NC State head coach, had his team at its peak when it mattered most. Following a 2-4 start in dual matches against a rigorous early-season schedule, the Pack won 11 of its last 14 matches, including its last six in a row, and then won the conference tournament in a runaway, advancing eight wrestlers to the finals and clinching the team championship before the individual championship round even started.
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