Wrestling Hosts Wyoming, Liberty on Saturday

RALEIGH, N.C. Looking to rebound from a disappointing loss to Duke on Wednesday, the NC State wrestling team will take to the mat Saturday for a pair of dual matches. The Wolfpack will face Wyoming at 2:30 p.m. followed by Liberty at 4:30. Match times for both are approximate. Liberty and Wyoming will face one another in the afternoon’s first match, which will start at 1 o’clock.

In the Atlantic Coast Confernece opener for both teams on Wednesday, NC State jumped to a 22-6 lead over Duke, but lost the last five bouts, one by forfeit and two by major decision, and fell to the Blue Devils 26-22. The Wolfpack got pins from Mike Moreno at 125 pounds, Joe Caramanica at 141 and Darrion Caldwell at 149, and got a major decision from Kody Hamrah at 157. It was not enough.

“Overall, I thought the effort against Duke was outstanding,” head coach Carter Jordan said. “We’d been tentative in some of our previous bouts, but our guys really got after it against Duke. I thought we took the fight to them for the most part, but with Ryan Goodman still out because of football, we had to forfeit at 197 pounds. That’s a tough hole to dig out of, but then we had a guy not make weight, which is just inexcusable. That resulted in at least a nine-point swing in the team score on top of the forfeit. Those things are difficult to overcome.”

Positives from the Wolfpack came from its middle of the lineup Caramanica, Caldwell and Hamrah who improved to a combined 52-6 with their wins against the Blue Devils. Caramanica, ranked No. 11 in the latest NWCA poll, improved to 9-0 by pinning Spencer Jasper at 4:57. The pin was the third of the season for Caramanica, a senior from Nazareth, Pa., and the 12th of his career. He is 82-25 for his career, and now is tied for 10th in school history for career victories.

Caldwell, a junior from Rahway, N.J., is right behind Caramanica in career wins with 80, thanks to a first-period pin of Duke’s Dan Adamo. Caldwell, ranked third in the latest national poll, improved to 24-0 with the pin and ran his winning streak to 25 matches dating back to last season. Caldwell has 11 pins this season, tied for ninth in a single season in school history, and 44 pins for his career, which ranks third in school history. Of Caldwell’s 44 career pins, 38 were first-period falls. Cadlwell’s career record now stands at 80-11. He is the 12th wrestler in NC State history to win at least 80 matches in a career. His winning percentage of .879 is tied for third in school history.

With 12 dual matches plus the ACC Championships onMarch 7, Caldwell has a chance to challenge the school record for consecutive victories, which is 41 set in 1993 by heavyweight Sylvester Terkay. Terkay went 41-0 that season and won the national championship.

Hamrah, a redshirt-senior from Middlesex, N.J., now needs one victory to match his career high of 20 wins, set two years ago when he went 20-7 as a junior. Hamrah is 67-27 for his career.

“Those three guys in the middle of our lineup have been there for us all season,” Jordan says. “I don’t know what else you can say about them. They’ve been fantastic for us and have given us great leadership. But several other guys in our lineup have wrestled well lately. Mike Moreno (125) got a huge pin for us against Duke. Jake Burge (174), a true freshman, is starting to turn the corner for us. And although Bobby Isola has had some health problems, he really wrestled well against Duke and took the No. 5-ranked heavyweight in the country right to the wire.”

Wyoming comes east with a 4-2 record in dual matches. The Cowboys wrestled in numerous tournaments in November and December. Redshirt-freshman 184-pounder Joe LeBlanc comes into the weekend ranked No. 9 in the latest polls with a 27-5 record. Another redshirt-freshman, 174-pounder Shane Onufer, is 29-7 and ranked No. 17. Alex Rieder, a junior at 165, is 20-12 overall, but only 2-3 at 165.

Liberty brings a 5-5 record in dual matches into Saturday. The Flames are paced by senior 141-pounder Tim Harner, who is 13-7. Senior 184-pounder Chris Daggett is 13-11, and redshirt-senior 133-pounder Christian Smith is 14-12.

Following are the probable starters for Wyoming, Liberty and NC State for this weekend’s dual matches:

Wyoming (4-2)
125 - Michael Martinez (24-7), R-Fr., Pagosa Springs, Colo.
133 - Cory VomBaur (11-9, 15-11 overall), Jr., Vancouver, Wash.
141 - Cole Dallaserra (14-8), So., Butte, Mont.
149 - Chase Smith (18-14), R-Fr., Enumclaw, Wash.
157 - Eric Coxbill (1-1, 14-9 overall), Sr., Wright, Wyo.
165 - Alex Rieder (2-3, 20-12 overall), Jr., Paonia, Colo.
174 - #17 Shane Onufer (29-7), R-Fr., Auburn, Wash.
184 - #9 Joe LeBlanc (27-5), R-Fr., Meeker, Colo.
197 - Alfonso Hernandez (15-13), Fr., Blackfoot, Idaho
Hwt - Jacob Scharbrough (17-12), Fr., Weiser, Idaho

Liberty (5-5)
125 - Joe Pantaleo (11-7), Fr., Stafford, Va.
133 - Christian Smith (14-12), R-Sr., Suffulk, Va.
141 - Tim Harner (13-7), Sr., Norristown, Pa.
149 - Frankie Gayeski (6-14), R-Jr., Malaga, N.J.
157 - Shaun Smith (3-9), Jr., Washington, W.Va.
165 - Brad Clark (10-10), R-Fr., Audubon, Pa.
174 - Aaron Kelley (10-11), Jr., Mineral Wells, W.Va.
184 - Chris Daggett (13-11), Sr., Parkersburg, W.Va.
197 - Brandon Johnson (4-12), So., Goldsboro, N.C.
Hwt - Patrick Walker (7-4), Jr., Newark, Del.

NC State (3-6)
125 - Mike Moreno (6-6), R-Fr., Tucson, Ariz.
133 - Darrius Little (10-9), So., Thomasville, N.C.
141 - #11 Joe Caramanica (9-0), Sr., Bethlehem, Pa.
149 - #3 Darrion Caldwell (24-0), Jr., Rahway, N.J.
157 - Kody Hamrah (19-6), R-Sr., Middlesex, N.J.
165 - Ray Ward (2-4), R-So., Nazareth, Pa., or Quinton Godley (9-14), Fr., Greenville, N.C.
174 - Jake Burge (10-7), Fr., Mason, Mich.
184 - Mark Jahad (1-5), Sr., Apex, N.C.
197 - vacant
Hwt - Bobby Isola (2-9), So., Orlando, Fla.

North Carolina State University Athletics

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