North Carolina State University Athletics
Wrestling Readies For Big Weekend At Home
11/19/2009 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
RALEIGH, N.C. — NC State will kick off the opening of its home wrestling season with a bang this weekend. The Wolfpack, 1-0 after a dual-match victory a week ago at The Citadel, will host Utah Valley in the season’s first home dual meet, Friday at 7 p.m. in the Dail Center.
On Saturday, the Pack will have almost its entire roster participating in the second annual NC State Open, which will run from 10 a.m. until approximately 9 p.m. at Reynolds Coliseum.
Utah Valley comes to Raleigh to conclude a busy long weekend in North Carolina. The Wolverines are 2-0 after defeating Gardner-Webb and UNC Greensboro at UNCG on Thursday. UVU previously saw action this season in the Northwest Open in Powell, Wyoning, and the Cowboy Open in Laramie, Wyoming.
This is the first season at the Division I classification for Utah Valley, but the Wolverines, 11-3 a year ago, do feature on highly regarded wrestler in No. 11 125-pounder Ben Kjar, a junior from Centerville, Utah. Kjar finished the 2008-09 season with a 28-9 overall record that included a 13-1 mark in duals and a perfect 5-0 record in conference action.
“Utah Valley should be a competitive test for us,” Wolfpack head coach Carter Jordan said. “They’re had recent success and have been preparing for the jump to Division I, so they’ve brought in some talent. Ben Kjar is really good.”
NC State will feature the same lineup it used at The Citadel a week ago, with one change. Freshman Andrew Tumlin, a high school national champion in 2009, will make his college debut at 197, replacing fellow freshman Christian McClean.
NC State has just one senior and four juniors on the roster this season. The senior and three of the juniors will start, along with two sophomores and four freshmen. Many coaches would be hesitant to start that many freshmen, but Jordan’s first-year wrestlers are part of a nationally acclaimed recruiting class that includes three high school national champions from 2009 — Tumlin, 141-pounder Dale Shull and heavyweight Eloheim Palma. Further, junior 157-pounder Bobby Ward was national juco runnerup at Nassau (N.Y.) Community College last spring.
“We do lack some experience with this bunch, but they’re very talented and they’ve been tremendous to work with,” Jordan said. “They’re all very serious about wrestling. With guys like [senior 125-pounder] Taylor Cummings and [junior 133-pounder] Darrius Little in the lineup, we have leadership on this team, and the young guys have responded to their leadership.”
Early registration for the NC State Open included wrestlers from No. 19 Virginia, No. 21 Old Dominion and No. 23 Virginia Tech, along with wrestlers from UT Chattanooga, Hofstra, North Carolina, Newberry, Gardner-Webb, Auburn, Utah Valley and several unattached wrestlers.
Jordan plans to have almost his entire roster entered into the tournament, including the 10 starters from Friday night’s bout vs. Utah Valley.
“We did this last year and got great response from everyone who was here,” Jordan said. “We expect a full day of outstanding wrestling.”
Probable Starters
NC State vs. Utah Valley
125: Taylor Cummings (1-0) vs. No. 11 Ben Kjar (2-1)
133: Darrius Little (1-0) vs. Jeff Newby (3-1) or Flint Ray (4-1)
141: Dale Shull (1-0) vs. Marty Carlson (12-2)
149: Colton Palmer (1-0) vs. Justin Morrill (1-2)
157: Bobby Ward (1-0) vs. Richard Winger (7-3)
165: Kasey Young (0-1) vs. Monte Schmalhaus (6-1)
174: Quinton Godley (0-1) vs. Brad Darrington (3-1)
184: Jonathan Becker (0-1) vs. Casen Eldredge (5-1)
197: Andrew Tumlin (0-0) vs. Josh Wood (6-3)
Hwt: Bobby Isola (1-0) vs. Dylan Stadel (3-3)
