North Carolina State University Athletics
Banged-Up Wrestling Travels to No. 12 Oklahoma Friday
1/29/2009 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
RALEIGH, N.C. No time is a good time for injuries, but right before a trip to No. 12 Oklahoma certainly qualifies as an inopportune time for the NC State wrestling team to lose two starters.
The Wolfpack, 4-8-1 and dealing with a vacancy at 197 pounds, lost 125-pounder Mike Moreno and 165-pounder Ray Ward to injuries earlier this week. As for the timing, the Sooners come into the match ranked 12th in the latest NCWA poll and smarting following their first dual-match loss of the season, a 23-15 loss last Saturday at No. 3 Iowa State. Oklahoma features seven wrestlers ranked in this week’s NCWA national rankings, led by seventh-ranked Jeff James (20-1) at 174, ninth-ranked Joey Fiore (14-3) at 125, and 13th-ranked Kyle Terry (20-1) at 149.
“Oklahoma presents a terrific challenge for anyone,” Wolfpack head coach Carter Jordan said. “We try to wrestle a difficult schedule every year in order to get our kids ready for March, and Oklahoma is probably as good as anyone on our schedule. They’d be a handful if we were at full strength. Unfortunately, we’re not at full strength.”
Moreno (7-9), a redshirt-freshman, is the second starter NC State has lost at 125 this season. Redshirt-junior Taylor Cummings (9-5), a former conference champion, was lost for the season with a wrist injury earlier this month. Ward (3-7), a redshirt-sophomore at 165, was not with the team to start the season, but quickly earned the starting spot when he rejoined the squad following the Christmas break.
Moreno and Ward both are out with knee injuries, but neither is serious and both are day-to-day.
True freshman Quinton Godley (9-14) began the year as the starter at 165, and saw considerable action in November and December. He will move back into the lineup at 165. Redshirt-freshman Greyson Mills (0-2) will start at 125.
“We’ve dealt with adversity all year long, so it’s nothing new for us,” Jordan said. “All we ask is that the kids in the lineup give us everything they have when they go out on the mat, and if they do that, then we’ll let the chips fall where they may. All we can do is turn the page and try to control the things we can control. The effort is something we can control. So far, I’ve been very pleased with the effort this season. The results haven’t always been there, but the effort has. Not having a 197-pounder has probably cost us four, maybe five matches.”
While NC State may not be at full strength, the Wolfpack will field a lineup with three legitimate All-America candidates in 149-pound junior Darrion Caldwell, senior 141-pounder Joe Caramanica and senior 157-pounder Kody Hamrah.
Caldwell, an All-America as a sophomore a year ago, enters Friday’s showdown with Oklahoma undefeated at 28-0. He has a 29-match winning streak dating back to last season. He will square off with Terry in what should be the feature bout of the evening. Terry has won 19 straight and will be Caldwell’s seventh ranked opponent this season. Caldwell is 6-0 vs. ranked opponents this season and 17-6 vs. ranked opponents for his career. Caldwell has a career mark of 12-4 vs. opponents ranked in the top 10.
The second main attraction of the evening should immediately follow Caldwell vs. Terry when Hamrah (24-6) faces 16th-ranked Shane Vernon. Hamrah is 1-1 vs. ranked opponents this season and has won five matches in a row.
Caramanica won’t face a ranked opponent, but Shane Vernon is 12-6 and has a 26-17 record for his career. Caramanica began the year on the sidelines with a knee injury, but won his first 10 bouts and is 11-2 heading into the match vs. the Sooners.
Following are the probable starters for Friday’s bout, with NC State’s starters listed first:
125 Greyson Mills (0-2) vs. #9 Joey Fio (14-3)
133 Darrius Little (11-12) vs. Brian Shelton (11-3)
141 Joe Caramancia (11-2) vs. Seth Vernon (12-6)
149 #3 Darrion Caldwell (28-0) vs. #13 Kyle Terry (20-1)
157 Kody Hamrah (24-6) vs. #16 Shane Vernon (11-6)
165 Quinton Godley (9-14) vs. Ryan Smith (15-6)
174 Jake Burge (14-7) vs. #7 Jeff James (20-1)
184 Mark Jahad (2-8) vs. #20 Pat Flynn (20-3)
197 Vacant vs. #11 Eric Lapotsky (20-3)
Hwt Bobby Isola (2-13) vs. #19 Nathan Fernandez (18-5)
Notes: Oklahoma holds a 7-0 lead in the series with the Wolfpack. The two teams last met in the season-opener a year ago with the Sooners winning 30-9.
Junior 149-pounder Darrion Caldwell needs three more victories to extend his current winning streak to 32, which would be the second-longest winning streak in school history. The two longest winning streaks in NC State wrestling history belong to a pair of heavyweight national champions. Sylvester Terkay went 41-0 in 1992-93, and Tab Thacker went 31-0 in 1983-84. Terkay also had a 30-match winning streak in 1991-92, a streak that was snapped in the national finals. Terkay won 71 of his final 72 matches at NC State.
Caldwell enters action at Oklahoma with an 84-11 career record. His .884 winning percentage is third in school history, behind Terkay (.897) and Thacker (.889). Caldwell is tied with teammate Joe Caramanica for 10th place in Wolfpack history in career victories. Terkay leads that list with a staggering 122 career wins from 1990-93. Mike Lombardo is second with 96 from 1985-88.
Caldwell now has won his last five matches by fall, and seven of his last nine. He has 15 pins on the season and 48 for his career. Terkay had 27 pins in 1992 and 25 in 1993, which stand as the two greatest single-season marks for pins in school history. Caldwell’s 23 pins a year ago ranks third. On the NC State career pins list, only Terkay (64) and Thacker (54) rank ahead of Caldwell, who still has seven duals remaining this season, plus the postseason. Caldwell holds the school records for pins by a freshman (10) and by a sophomore (23). Terkay’s 27 is the record for a junior.
Caldwell is not the only Wolfpack wrestler making news. Senior 157-pounder Kody Hamrah has set career highs for wins and falls in a season, posting a 24-6 record with six pins. Caldwell is 72-27 with 15 pins for his career. He currently is tied for 21st in school history for career victories. With his next win, Hamrah will join Caldwell and Caramanica in the NC State top 20 for career victories. Hamrah has won five matches in a row, eight of his last nine, and 10 of his last 12.
Senior 141-pounder Joe Caramanica’s 8-0 major decision over Navy’s John Majka snapped a two-match losing streak, his first losing streak of any length since March 15, 2007, during the 2007 NCAA Championships. Caramanica has lost two or more matches in a row only five times in his four-year career at NC State, and his longest losing streak was a three-match streak in 2007. Caramanica’s shutout of Majka was his fourth shutout this season, his 12th during the last two seasons, and the 18th of his career.
Freshman 174-pounder Jake Burge has won his last four bouts, the longest winning streak of his brief college career. He has won seven of his last nine bouts. At 14-7, he is NC State’s winningest freshman since Caldwell won 20 matches two years ago. Caramanica holds the school record for victories by a freshman with 25 in 2005.
The Wolfpack, 4-8-1 and dealing with a vacancy at 197 pounds, lost 125-pounder Mike Moreno and 165-pounder Ray Ward to injuries earlier this week. As for the timing, the Sooners come into the match ranked 12th in the latest NCWA poll and smarting following their first dual-match loss of the season, a 23-15 loss last Saturday at No. 3 Iowa State. Oklahoma features seven wrestlers ranked in this week’s NCWA national rankings, led by seventh-ranked Jeff James (20-1) at 174, ninth-ranked Joey Fiore (14-3) at 125, and 13th-ranked Kyle Terry (20-1) at 149.
“Oklahoma presents a terrific challenge for anyone,” Wolfpack head coach Carter Jordan said. “We try to wrestle a difficult schedule every year in order to get our kids ready for March, and Oklahoma is probably as good as anyone on our schedule. They’d be a handful if we were at full strength. Unfortunately, we’re not at full strength.”
Moreno (7-9), a redshirt-freshman, is the second starter NC State has lost at 125 this season. Redshirt-junior Taylor Cummings (9-5), a former conference champion, was lost for the season with a wrist injury earlier this month. Ward (3-7), a redshirt-sophomore at 165, was not with the team to start the season, but quickly earned the starting spot when he rejoined the squad following the Christmas break.
Moreno and Ward both are out with knee injuries, but neither is serious and both are day-to-day.
True freshman Quinton Godley (9-14) began the year as the starter at 165, and saw considerable action in November and December. He will move back into the lineup at 165. Redshirt-freshman Greyson Mills (0-2) will start at 125.
“We’ve dealt with adversity all year long, so it’s nothing new for us,” Jordan said. “All we ask is that the kids in the lineup give us everything they have when they go out on the mat, and if they do that, then we’ll let the chips fall where they may. All we can do is turn the page and try to control the things we can control. The effort is something we can control. So far, I’ve been very pleased with the effort this season. The results haven’t always been there, but the effort has. Not having a 197-pounder has probably cost us four, maybe five matches.”
While NC State may not be at full strength, the Wolfpack will field a lineup with three legitimate All-America candidates in 149-pound junior Darrion Caldwell, senior 141-pounder Joe Caramanica and senior 157-pounder Kody Hamrah.
Caldwell, an All-America as a sophomore a year ago, enters Friday’s showdown with Oklahoma undefeated at 28-0. He has a 29-match winning streak dating back to last season. He will square off with Terry in what should be the feature bout of the evening. Terry has won 19 straight and will be Caldwell’s seventh ranked opponent this season. Caldwell is 6-0 vs. ranked opponents this season and 17-6 vs. ranked opponents for his career. Caldwell has a career mark of 12-4 vs. opponents ranked in the top 10.
The second main attraction of the evening should immediately follow Caldwell vs. Terry when Hamrah (24-6) faces 16th-ranked Shane Vernon. Hamrah is 1-1 vs. ranked opponents this season and has won five matches in a row.
Caramanica won’t face a ranked opponent, but Shane Vernon is 12-6 and has a 26-17 record for his career. Caramanica began the year on the sidelines with a knee injury, but won his first 10 bouts and is 11-2 heading into the match vs. the Sooners.
Following are the probable starters for Friday’s bout, with NC State’s starters listed first:
125 Greyson Mills (0-2) vs. #9 Joey Fio (14-3)
133 Darrius Little (11-12) vs. Brian Shelton (11-3)
141 Joe Caramancia (11-2) vs. Seth Vernon (12-6)
149 #3 Darrion Caldwell (28-0) vs. #13 Kyle Terry (20-1)
157 Kody Hamrah (24-6) vs. #16 Shane Vernon (11-6)
165 Quinton Godley (9-14) vs. Ryan Smith (15-6)
174 Jake Burge (14-7) vs. #7 Jeff James (20-1)
184 Mark Jahad (2-8) vs. #20 Pat Flynn (20-3)
197 Vacant vs. #11 Eric Lapotsky (20-3)
Hwt Bobby Isola (2-13) vs. #19 Nathan Fernandez (18-5)
Notes: Oklahoma holds a 7-0 lead in the series with the Wolfpack. The two teams last met in the season-opener a year ago with the Sooners winning 30-9.
Junior 149-pounder Darrion Caldwell needs three more victories to extend his current winning streak to 32, which would be the second-longest winning streak in school history. The two longest winning streaks in NC State wrestling history belong to a pair of heavyweight national champions. Sylvester Terkay went 41-0 in 1992-93, and Tab Thacker went 31-0 in 1983-84. Terkay also had a 30-match winning streak in 1991-92, a streak that was snapped in the national finals. Terkay won 71 of his final 72 matches at NC State.
Caldwell enters action at Oklahoma with an 84-11 career record. His .884 winning percentage is third in school history, behind Terkay (.897) and Thacker (.889). Caldwell is tied with teammate Joe Caramanica for 10th place in Wolfpack history in career victories. Terkay leads that list with a staggering 122 career wins from 1990-93. Mike Lombardo is second with 96 from 1985-88.
Caldwell now has won his last five matches by fall, and seven of his last nine. He has 15 pins on the season and 48 for his career. Terkay had 27 pins in 1992 and 25 in 1993, which stand as the two greatest single-season marks for pins in school history. Caldwell’s 23 pins a year ago ranks third. On the NC State career pins list, only Terkay (64) and Thacker (54) rank ahead of Caldwell, who still has seven duals remaining this season, plus the postseason. Caldwell holds the school records for pins by a freshman (10) and by a sophomore (23). Terkay’s 27 is the record for a junior.
Caldwell is not the only Wolfpack wrestler making news. Senior 157-pounder Kody Hamrah has set career highs for wins and falls in a season, posting a 24-6 record with six pins. Caldwell is 72-27 with 15 pins for his career. He currently is tied for 21st in school history for career victories. With his next win, Hamrah will join Caldwell and Caramanica in the NC State top 20 for career victories. Hamrah has won five matches in a row, eight of his last nine, and 10 of his last 12.
Senior 141-pounder Joe Caramanica’s 8-0 major decision over Navy’s John Majka snapped a two-match losing streak, his first losing streak of any length since March 15, 2007, during the 2007 NCAA Championships. Caramanica has lost two or more matches in a row only five times in his four-year career at NC State, and his longest losing streak was a three-match streak in 2007. Caramanica’s shutout of Majka was his fourth shutout this season, his 12th during the last two seasons, and the 18th of his career.
Freshman 174-pounder Jake Burge has won his last four bouts, the longest winning streak of his brief college career. He has won seven of his last nine bouts. At 14-7, he is NC State’s winningest freshman since Caldwell won 20 matches two years ago. Caramanica holds the school record for victories by a freshman with 25 in 2005.
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