LYNCHBURG,
Va. Liberty won six of 10 matches, including the finale at 157, and came away with an 18-18 tie against NC State on Saturday at the
Vines Center. The Wolfpack now is 5-5-1 on the season, while the
Flames are 3-5-1.
Liberty won four of the first five matches and built a 12-5 lead midway through the match. NC State’s lone victory in that stretch was Ryan Goodman’s 16-1 technical fall against Kyle Walters, the end coming at the 6:34 mark.
The Pack began to claw back into the match with Taylor Cummings’ 10-0 major decision over Sean Katz at 125 pounds. Darius Little then tied the team score at 12-12 with a 7-3 decision over Christian Smith at 133.
The key bout turned out to be 141, when neither team’s expected starter was able to go. Liberty’s Tim Harner at 17-9 is the Flames’ winningest performer, but NC State’s Joe Caramanica, ranked No. 8 nationally and 20-4 on the season, would have been heavily favored had the two met. Instead of those two squaring off, however, Liberty’s Collin Lewis took a 3-2 decision over Josh Langholtz to give the Flames a 15-12 lead.
Darrion Caldwell, ranked No. 9 at 149 pounds, improved his season’s record to 21-3 by pinning Scottie Clymer at the 5:35 mark. The pin was Caldwell’s 13th of the season and the 23rd of his career. He now is tied with Jim Best (1985-86, 1988-89) for sixth place in Wolfpack history for career falls.
The match came down to 157 pounds, with NC State needing a win to secure the team victory, and Liberty needing a decision to tie or a major decision or greater to pull off the upset. And Shaun Smith improved to 9-12 on the season with a 4-1 decision over Anthony Badaracco.
NC State will return to action on Sunday, January 20, at Ohio University. That match is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.
NC State 18, Liberty 18
165 Chad Porter (LU) dec. Jalil Dozier, 9-5
174 Aaron Kelley (LU) dec. Randy Goodman, 6-2
184 Ryan Goodman (NCS) tech fall Kyle Walters, 16-1, at 6:34
197 Patrick Hogan (LU) dec. Mark Jahad, 6-4, sv
Hwt Patrick Walker (LU) dec. Bobby Isola, 10-4
125 Taylor Cummings (NCS) major dec. Sean Katz, 10-0
133 Darius Little (NCS) dec. Christian Smith, 7-3
141 Collin Lewis (LU) vs. Josh Langholtz, 3-2
149 Darrion Caldwell (NCS) pinned Scottie Clymer, at 5:35
157 Shaun Smith (LU) dec. Anthony Badaracco, 4-1
