North Carolina State University Athletics
Wrestling's Caldwell Invited to NWCA All-Star Classic
11/18/2008 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
RALEIGH, N.C. A year ago, Darrion Caldwell became NC State’s first All-American in 12 years. Now, Caldwell has become the first Wolfpack wrestler in 16 years to earn an invitation to the National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Star Classic.
The NWCA All-Star Classic, presented by the United States Marine Corps, normally pairs the top two college wrestlers in each of the 10 weight classifications. This year’s event will be hosted by Ohio State University at St. John Arena on Monday, November 24. Caldwell will face No. 1-ranked Brent Metcalf of Iowa at 149 pounds in what will be the one-year anniversary of their first meeting. Caldwell met Metcalf, then ranked No. 6, last November 24 in a dual match in Lakewood, Ohio. Caldwell stunned Metcalf by pinning him in 1:40.
Metcalf did not lose another match after his loss to Caldwell. He finished the season 35-1 and won the national championship. As of November 17, he had not seen action yet this season. Caldwell finished fifth in the nation a year ago at 149 to earn All-America honors. He is off to an 8-0 start with three falls, a technical fall, and three victories over ranked opponents. Caldwell is No. 4 in the latest NWCA rankings.
Bouts in the NWCA All-Star Classic are counted as exhibition matches only and will affect neither the national rankings or postseason seedings.
Exhibition or not, this will be Caldwell’s 13th career match vs. a top 10 opponent. As a freshman 141-pounder, he went 2-2 vs. top 10 foes. Since moving up to 149 pounds last season, Caldwell has wrestled eight matches against top 10 opponents and won all but two. He is 2-0 vs. top 10 opponents this season. He defeated fifth-ranked Lance Palmer of Ohio State 2-1 at the Wolfpack Open, then took an 8-4 decision over No. 7 Kyle Ruschell of Wisconsin at the ACC/Big Ten Challenge last weekend.
Caldwell is 64-11 for his career with 36 falls. He ranks fourth in NC State history in career winning percentage (.853), third in career pins, and needs eight more victories to crack the school’s top 20 for career victories.
The last NC State wrestler invited to participate in the NWCA All-Star Classic was Sylvester Terkay, who participated twice, in 1992 and 1993, and won both times.
Tickets for those fortunate enough to attend are $10 apiece. All children 6 and under are admitted free of charge. NWCA members receive a complimentary ticket when showing their NWCA membership card. Call TicketMaster at 614-431-3600 to order your tickets or visit www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com. ESPNU will air the event on tape delay. Dates and times will be announced once they become available.
Full line-ups (including exhibition bouts and honorary coaches):
125 - #2 Troy Nickerson (Cornell) vs. #3 Charlie Falck (Iowa)
133 - #1 Joey Slaton (Iowa) vs. #2 Jayson Ness (Minnesota)
141 - #1 J Jaggers (Ohio State) vs. #2 Nick Gallick (Iowa State)
149 - #1 Brent Metcalf (Iowa) vs. #4 Darrion Caldwell (NC State)
157 - #1 Jordan Leen (Cornell) vs. #3 Dan Vallimont (Penn State)
165 - #1 Nick Marable (Missouri) vs. #2 Mack Lewnes (Cornell)
174 - #1 Steve Luke (Michigan) vs. #2 Jay Borschel (Iowa)
184 - #3 Phil Keddy (Iowa) vs. #4 Louis Caputo (Harvard)
197 - #1 Jake Varner (Iowa State) vs. #2 Hudson Taylor (Maryland)
285 - #1 Jared Rosholt (Oklahoma State) vs. #3 Kyle Massey (Wisconsin)
Exhibitions:
133: #4 Jimmy Kennedy (Illinois) vs. #9 Reece Humphry (Ohio State)
165: #3 Moza Fay (Northern Iowa) vs. #15 Colt Sponseller (Ohio State)
Honorary Coaches: Tom Ryan (Ohio State), Mark Manning (Nebraska), Jim Makovsky (Minnesota State- Mankato), Dave Malecek (Wisconsin- LaCrosse)
Finished fifth at the 2008 NCAA Championships to become NC State’s first All-American since 1996
Is NC State’s first NWCA All-Star Classic participant since Sylvester Terkay in 1993
Is 8-0 with three pins, one technical fall and three victories over ranked opponents in 2008-09
Has a career record of 64-11 with 36 pins
Has recorded 33 first-period pins in his career, with nine in the first minute of the bout
Ranks third in school history in career pins and third in career winning percentage (.853)
Has a career record of 14-6 vs. all ranked opponents
Has a career record of 8-4 vs. opponents ranked in the national top 10, including three first-period pins and two first-minute pins
Went 36-5 with 23 pins as a sophomore in 2007-08, setting a school record for victories by a sophomore while recording the third-most pins in a season, regardless of academic class
Also holds the school record for pins by a freshman with 10 in 2006-07
Did not lose consecutive matches as a sophomore until the medal round of the NCAA Championships
Had a career-best 19-match winning streak from January 5 of last season through March 21, and record 14 of the 19 victories by fall, 12 of them by first-period fall
Won seven straight matches by pin, from February 1, 2008, through March 8, 2008
Won the 2007 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational
Was the Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year and Wrestler of the Year in 2006, the only wrestler ever to win both in the same season
Recorded a pin in 13 seconds in his first-ever collegiate match, believed to be the fastest pin in school history
