North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack Takes On UNC, UVa This Weekend
2/7/2008 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
RALEIGH, N.C. For years, NC State and North Carolina were the only two programs in the Atlantic Coast Conference who wrestled one another twice in a season. No more. The Wolfpack (8-7-1 overall, 1-1 in the ACC) and Tar Heels (7-5, 2-2) hit the mat for their lone dual match of 2007-08 on Friday at Reynolds Coliseum. The match is set to start at 7:30 p.m.
The Wolfpack will return to the mat two days later for another home ACC match, against Virginia (16-4, 1-1), although this one will take place at Durham’s Riverside High School due to a scheduling conflict at Reynolds Coliseum.
Directions to Riverside High School From I-85 North
Take the Cole Mill Road Exit.
Turn left onto Cole Mill Road, go 1.2 miles.
Turn right onto Rose of Sharon Road, go 1.8 miles.
Turn left into Riverside High School.
Directions to Riverside High School From I-85 South
Take the Guess Road Exit.
Turn right onto Guess Road, go 2.6 miles.
Turn Left onto Rose of Sharon Road, go 0.7 miles.
Turn right into Riverside High School.
North Carolina comes to Raleigh off a split in Philadelphia last Saturday. The Tar Heels defeated Drexel 26-12, moments after the Wolfpack had taken a 22-15 decision over the Dragons. UNC then took a 24-14 loss to 25th-ranked Pennsylvania. Keegan Mueller, ranked No. 13 at 165 pounds leads North Carolina with a 22-3 record. Heavyweight Justin Dobies is 22-6 and ranked No. 19. The most attractive matchup of the evening would appear to be at 141 pounds. NC State’s Joe Caramanica is 25-4 and ranked No. 6 nationally. North Carolina’s Nick Stabile is 18-4.
Virginia comes to Durham having won two matches in a row and six of its last seven. The Cavaliers have three wrestlers in the upper weight classes ranked, led by 13th-ranked Rocco Caponi, who is 32-2 and should be matched up with the Wolfpack’s Ryan Goodman, 14-5 and ranked No. 18. At 174, UVa’s Chris Henrich is 20-6 and ranked No. 19, and 197-pounder Brent Jones is 28-9 and ranked No. 20.
In addition to Caramanica, NC State is led by sophomore Darrion Caldwell at 149 pounds. Ranked No. 9 nationally, Caldwell is 25-3 with 15 pins. He has won a career-high nine matches in a row and 12 of his last 13. Caramanica leads the team with a season-high 11-match winning streak, and has won 15 of his last 16 matches. Redshirt-sophomore 125-pounder Taylor Cummings is 19-10, while Ryan Goodman is 14-5.
NC State Wrestling Notebook
Caldwell On A Roll: As his sophomore season comes down the home stretch, 149-pounder Darrion Caldwell is now making a full-scale assault on the NC State record books. With 25 victories so far this season, Caldwell is on a pace that will put him within reach of the school record of 32 victories in a season by a sophomore, held by Sylvester Terkay. Caldwell has four dual matches, plus the Atlantic Coast Conference and NCAA championships, still to go this season.
Given his record, Caldwell would have to be seen as having a better-than-even chance at winning 30 matches this season. Only nine wrestlers in the program’s history have won 30 or more matches, the last being Sylvester Terkay in 1993, when he went 41-0 and won the national championship.
Taking The Fall: With 25 pins to his credit in his one-plus seasons at NC State, Caldwell stands all alone in fifth place in school history for career pins. While Caldwell has a ways to go to break the school record of 64 by Terkay, he easily could finish the current season as high as third place in school history. The late Tab Thacker (1981-84) ranks second in career pins with 54, but Dan Madsen, third with 29, is well within Caldwell’s reach this season, given his current pace. Next up on the list for Caldwell is Lynn Morris (1975-78), who had 28 pins in his career.
Caldwell has 15 pins thus far in 2007-08, which is tied for fourth in Wolfpack history for most falls in a single season. Terkay has the top two single-season figures in school history 27 in 1991-92 and 25 in 1992-93. Mike Lombardo’s 16 pins in 1987-88 rank third, followed by Caldwell and a pair of 15-pin seasons by Thacker in 1981-82 and 1983-84.
NC State’s All-Time Single-Season Pins Leaders
1. Sylvester Terkay (1991-92), 27
2. Sylvester Terkay (1992-93), 25
3. Mike Lombardo (1987-88), 16
4. Tab Thacker (1983-84), 15
Tab Thacker (1981-82), 15
Darrion Caldwell (2007-08), 15
7. Tab Thacker (1982-83), 12
Dan Madson (1995-96), 12
9. Jim Best (1985-86), 11
10. Darrion Caldwell (2006-07), 10
NC State’s All-Time Career Pins Leaders
1. Sylvester Terkay (1990-93), 64
2. Tab Thacker (1981-84), 54
3. Dan Madson (1992-94, 1996), 29
4. Lynn Morris (1975-78), 28
5. Darrion Caldwell (2007- ), 25
6. Pierre Pryor (1998-2002), 24
7. Jim Best (1985-86, 1988-89), 23
8. Mike Lombardo (1985-88), 22
9. Greg Fatool (1982-85), 18
Jerry Rodriguez (1981-82), 18
Winning Percentage: Caldwell has just 54 bouts to his credit so far in his career, but his .833 career won-lost percentage (45-9) would be fourth in school history. Because won-lost percentage is subject to fluctuation, NC State’s career leaders only include wrestlers who have wrestled 50 or more bouts and have exhausted their eligibility. Terkay is the career leader at .897 (122-14).
Approaching A Milestone: Heading into action Saturday at Drexel, junior 141-pounder Joe Caramanica has a 68-23 career record. Caramanica is tied for 24th in school history for career wins, and needs two more to become the 21st Wolfpack wrestler to win 70 or more matches in a career.
Caramanica is 25-4 on the season, and like Caldwell he has four dual matches plus the postseason remaining this season. Should Caldwell and Caramanica both win 30 matches this season, it would mark only the second time in program history that a pair of NC State teammates won 30 or more matches apiece in the same season. Brian Jackson (38) and Michael Stokes (34) both won more than 30 matches in 1989.
Goodman’s Career Numbers: Junior 184-pounder Ryan Goodman has a 58-15 record following his split vs. Maryland and Navy this past weekend. Goodman still has a ways to go to crack the top 20 for career wins, but his career winning percentage of .795 would be tied for 11th in school annals.
Fast Worker: Returning to Darrion Caldwell, he has been working hard to become a seven-minute wrestler and overcome the reputation that he either pins his opponents early or struggles to finish. Looking at his match-by-match results, it’s easy to see where that reputation comes from. Of Caldwell’s 25 career pins, 22 of them came in the first period, 10 in the first minute, and six in the first 30 seconds of the bout. His pin of Liberty’s Scottie Clymer on January 12 was the first in Caldwell’s career that came after the second period of a match.
Prior to this year’s Las Vegas Invitational, Caldwell had gone the distance in back-to-back matches just four times, and never in more than two matches in a row. Caldwell went a full seven minutes in his last four matches at Las Vegas, including a 12-3 major decision over No. 2 Josh Cherulla and an 8-6 decision over No. 3 J.P. O’Connor. He went 10 matches after that without a match going the distance, but then wrestled Maryland’s Eric Medina and Navy’s Bryce Saddoris to seven-minute decisions on January 26, winning both matches. For his career, only 20 of Caldwell’s 54 matches have gone the full seven minutes.
Caldwell won his first three college matches with pins at 0:13, 1:35, and 2:20, meaning he was 3-0 before he had logged five minutes of mat time. He has four first-period pins against ranked wrestlers, including three that were in the top 10 at the time. Six of his 14 pins this season occurred in the first 30 seconds of the bout.
Add in technical falls and defaults, and 27 of Caldwell’s 45 career victories came well shy of the seven-minute mark. All but two of his nine career losses were by pin or technical fall.
Freshman Heavyweights: NC State has had great success with heavyweights over the years, including a pair of national champions and eight All-America awards. Current heavyweight, freshman Bobby Isola, is off to a nice start to his career. At 13-11, Isola is tied with Billy Blunt (13-14 in 1996-97) for the third-winningest freshman heavyweight in program history.
Tab Thacker went 19-3-1 as a freshman in 1980-81 and set the standard for a rookie heavyweight. Sylvester Terkay went 14-9 as a freshman in 1989-90. Thacker (1984) and Terkay (1993) went on to go undefeated and win national championships as seniors.
Miscellaneous notes: NC State wrestlers are 11-22 against ranked opponents this season, including four wins against ranked opponents by Joe Caramanica and five by Darrion Caldwell ... NC State won 17 matches against ranked opponents a year ago, and 17 total the four previous seasons combined ... With Taylor Cummings (19-10) and Ryan Goodman (14-5) within reach of 20 wins this season, the Wolfpack has a shot at having four wrestlers win at least 20 matches in a season for the third year in a row ... NC State wrestlers are 32-20 against wrestlers from the Atlantic Coast Conference ... Darrion Caldwell has 25 career pins; the rest of the team combined has 37.
The Wolfpack will return to the mat two days later for another home ACC match, against Virginia (16-4, 1-1), although this one will take place at Durham’s Riverside High School due to a scheduling conflict at Reynolds Coliseum.
Directions to Riverside High School From I-85 North
Take the Cole Mill Road Exit.
Turn left onto Cole Mill Road, go 1.2 miles.
Turn right onto Rose of Sharon Road, go 1.8 miles.
Turn left into Riverside High School.
Directions to Riverside High School From I-85 South
Take the Guess Road Exit.
Turn right onto Guess Road, go 2.6 miles.
Turn Left onto Rose of Sharon Road, go 0.7 miles.
Turn right into Riverside High School.
North Carolina comes to Raleigh off a split in Philadelphia last Saturday. The Tar Heels defeated Drexel 26-12, moments after the Wolfpack had taken a 22-15 decision over the Dragons. UNC then took a 24-14 loss to 25th-ranked Pennsylvania. Keegan Mueller, ranked No. 13 at 165 pounds leads North Carolina with a 22-3 record. Heavyweight Justin Dobies is 22-6 and ranked No. 19. The most attractive matchup of the evening would appear to be at 141 pounds. NC State’s Joe Caramanica is 25-4 and ranked No. 6 nationally. North Carolina’s Nick Stabile is 18-4.
Virginia comes to Durham having won two matches in a row and six of its last seven. The Cavaliers have three wrestlers in the upper weight classes ranked, led by 13th-ranked Rocco Caponi, who is 32-2 and should be matched up with the Wolfpack’s Ryan Goodman, 14-5 and ranked No. 18. At 174, UVa’s Chris Henrich is 20-6 and ranked No. 19, and 197-pounder Brent Jones is 28-9 and ranked No. 20.
In addition to Caramanica, NC State is led by sophomore Darrion Caldwell at 149 pounds. Ranked No. 9 nationally, Caldwell is 25-3 with 15 pins. He has won a career-high nine matches in a row and 12 of his last 13. Caramanica leads the team with a season-high 11-match winning streak, and has won 15 of his last 16 matches. Redshirt-sophomore 125-pounder Taylor Cummings is 19-10, while Ryan Goodman is 14-5.
NC State Wrestling Notebook
Caldwell On A Roll: As his sophomore season comes down the home stretch, 149-pounder Darrion Caldwell is now making a full-scale assault on the NC State record books. With 25 victories so far this season, Caldwell is on a pace that will put him within reach of the school record of 32 victories in a season by a sophomore, held by Sylvester Terkay. Caldwell has four dual matches, plus the Atlantic Coast Conference and NCAA championships, still to go this season.
Given his record, Caldwell would have to be seen as having a better-than-even chance at winning 30 matches this season. Only nine wrestlers in the program’s history have won 30 or more matches, the last being Sylvester Terkay in 1993, when he went 41-0 and won the national championship.
Taking The Fall: With 25 pins to his credit in his one-plus seasons at NC State, Caldwell stands all alone in fifth place in school history for career pins. While Caldwell has a ways to go to break the school record of 64 by Terkay, he easily could finish the current season as high as third place in school history. The late Tab Thacker (1981-84) ranks second in career pins with 54, but Dan Madsen, third with 29, is well within Caldwell’s reach this season, given his current pace. Next up on the list for Caldwell is Lynn Morris (1975-78), who had 28 pins in his career.
Caldwell has 15 pins thus far in 2007-08, which is tied for fourth in Wolfpack history for most falls in a single season. Terkay has the top two single-season figures in school history 27 in 1991-92 and 25 in 1992-93. Mike Lombardo’s 16 pins in 1987-88 rank third, followed by Caldwell and a pair of 15-pin seasons by Thacker in 1981-82 and 1983-84.
NC State’s All-Time Single-Season Pins Leaders
1. Sylvester Terkay (1991-92), 27
2. Sylvester Terkay (1992-93), 25
3. Mike Lombardo (1987-88), 16
4. Tab Thacker (1983-84), 15
Tab Thacker (1981-82), 15
Darrion Caldwell (2007-08), 15
7. Tab Thacker (1982-83), 12
Dan Madson (1995-96), 12
9. Jim Best (1985-86), 11
10. Darrion Caldwell (2006-07), 10
NC State’s All-Time Career Pins Leaders
1. Sylvester Terkay (1990-93), 64
2. Tab Thacker (1981-84), 54
3. Dan Madson (1992-94, 1996), 29
4. Lynn Morris (1975-78), 28
5. Darrion Caldwell (2007- ), 25
6. Pierre Pryor (1998-2002), 24
7. Jim Best (1985-86, 1988-89), 23
8. Mike Lombardo (1985-88), 22
9. Greg Fatool (1982-85), 18
Jerry Rodriguez (1981-82), 18
Winning Percentage: Caldwell has just 54 bouts to his credit so far in his career, but his .833 career won-lost percentage (45-9) would be fourth in school history. Because won-lost percentage is subject to fluctuation, NC State’s career leaders only include wrestlers who have wrestled 50 or more bouts and have exhausted their eligibility. Terkay is the career leader at .897 (122-14).
Approaching A Milestone: Heading into action Saturday at Drexel, junior 141-pounder Joe Caramanica has a 68-23 career record. Caramanica is tied for 24th in school history for career wins, and needs two more to become the 21st Wolfpack wrestler to win 70 or more matches in a career.
Caramanica is 25-4 on the season, and like Caldwell he has four dual matches plus the postseason remaining this season. Should Caldwell and Caramanica both win 30 matches this season, it would mark only the second time in program history that a pair of NC State teammates won 30 or more matches apiece in the same season. Brian Jackson (38) and Michael Stokes (34) both won more than 30 matches in 1989.
Goodman’s Career Numbers: Junior 184-pounder Ryan Goodman has a 58-15 record following his split vs. Maryland and Navy this past weekend. Goodman still has a ways to go to crack the top 20 for career wins, but his career winning percentage of .795 would be tied for 11th in school annals.
Fast Worker: Returning to Darrion Caldwell, he has been working hard to become a seven-minute wrestler and overcome the reputation that he either pins his opponents early or struggles to finish. Looking at his match-by-match results, it’s easy to see where that reputation comes from. Of Caldwell’s 25 career pins, 22 of them came in the first period, 10 in the first minute, and six in the first 30 seconds of the bout. His pin of Liberty’s Scottie Clymer on January 12 was the first in Caldwell’s career that came after the second period of a match.
Prior to this year’s Las Vegas Invitational, Caldwell had gone the distance in back-to-back matches just four times, and never in more than two matches in a row. Caldwell went a full seven minutes in his last four matches at Las Vegas, including a 12-3 major decision over No. 2 Josh Cherulla and an 8-6 decision over No. 3 J.P. O’Connor. He went 10 matches after that without a match going the distance, but then wrestled Maryland’s Eric Medina and Navy’s Bryce Saddoris to seven-minute decisions on January 26, winning both matches. For his career, only 20 of Caldwell’s 54 matches have gone the full seven minutes.
Caldwell won his first three college matches with pins at 0:13, 1:35, and 2:20, meaning he was 3-0 before he had logged five minutes of mat time. He has four first-period pins against ranked wrestlers, including three that were in the top 10 at the time. Six of his 14 pins this season occurred in the first 30 seconds of the bout.
Add in technical falls and defaults, and 27 of Caldwell’s 45 career victories came well shy of the seven-minute mark. All but two of his nine career losses were by pin or technical fall.
Freshman Heavyweights: NC State has had great success with heavyweights over the years, including a pair of national champions and eight All-America awards. Current heavyweight, freshman Bobby Isola, is off to a nice start to his career. At 13-11, Isola is tied with Billy Blunt (13-14 in 1996-97) for the third-winningest freshman heavyweight in program history.
Tab Thacker went 19-3-1 as a freshman in 1980-81 and set the standard for a rookie heavyweight. Sylvester Terkay went 14-9 as a freshman in 1989-90. Thacker (1984) and Terkay (1993) went on to go undefeated and win national championships as seniors.
Miscellaneous notes: NC State wrestlers are 11-22 against ranked opponents this season, including four wins against ranked opponents by Joe Caramanica and five by Darrion Caldwell ... NC State won 17 matches against ranked opponents a year ago, and 17 total the four previous seasons combined ... With Taylor Cummings (19-10) and Ryan Goodman (14-5) within reach of 20 wins this season, the Wolfpack has a shot at having four wrestlers win at least 20 matches in a season for the third year in a row ... NC State wrestlers are 32-20 against wrestlers from the Atlantic Coast Conference ... Darrion Caldwell has 25 career pins; the rest of the team combined has 37.
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