North Carolina State University Athletics
Wrestling's Gang of Four Ready for NCAA Championships
3/18/2009 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
The 2008-09 college wrestling season is down to its final weekend, and four NC State wrestlers will be vying for honors at the NCAA Championships, which begin Thursday at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.
Junior 149-pounder Darrion Caldwell, senior 141-pounder Joe Caramanica, senior 157-pounder Kody Hamrah and sophomore 133-pounder Darrius Little will represent the Wolfpack in this year’s NCAA match.
First round action begins at 11 a.m. Thursday. The second Thursday session will kick off at 6:30 p.m. Friday’s first session will start at 10 a.m., with the evening session due to begin at 6 p.m. Saturday’s first bouts will get underway at 9:30 a.m., with the evening session, capped off by the finals, due to start at 6 p.m.
Caldwell, a 2008 All-American, takes a 33-1 record and no. 3 seed into the event for NC State. Caldwell’s only loss was an injury default to Oklahoma’s Kyle Terry. Caldwell will open the tournament against Penn’s Cesar Grajales (25-8). Caldwell defeated Grajales in the second round of last year’s tournament. Caldwell has the No. 1 ranking in the NCAA RPI raknings that came out at the end of the regular season, and he is the only wrestler the last two years to defeat top-seeded and defending champion Brent Metcalf (33-0) of Iowa. Caldwell pinned Metcalf in December 2007. They met a year later to the day in an exhibion match at the NWCA All-Star Classic, and Metcalf took his revenge with a 19-3 technical fall.
“Darrion is really focused and ready to go,” Wolfpack coach Carter Jordan said. “Right now, he looks like a world-beater. He’s had a great year and he’s poised to make a run deep into this tournament.”
Caldwell, who has an 89-12 career record with 49 pins, has 16 pins to his credit this season. He is 7-1 against ranked opponents.
Hamrah, who won his second Atlantic Coast Conference championship this season, had far and away the best season of his career in 2008-09, posting career highs for wins and pins with a 31-8 record and eight falls. He is 2-1 against ranked opponents, but was stuck with a difficult draw in the brackets, facing third-seeded Jordan Leen (23-2) of Cornell in the first round.
Caramanica, who had a great junior season cut short by a knee injury in the ACC Championships a year ago, brings an 11-8 record into the tournament, but has lost eight of his last nine matches after a 10-0 start. The knee has bothered him off and on this season, and he had to withdraw from the conference tournament because the knee was acting balky. Caramanica faces ninth-seeded Corey Jantzen (13-2) in the opening round. Like Caramanica, Jantzen has battled injury issues all season.
Little brings a 17-15 record into the NCAA meet, following a third-place finish at the conference tournament. Little has won seven of his last 10 bouts and has two pins, but is 0-6 vs. ranked opponents this season. He will open the NCAA Championships with Tristen DeShazer (21-10) of Northern Iowa.
NC State finished 25th in last year’s event, thanks largely to a fifth-place finish by Caldwell at 149. With Caldwell expected to repeat as All-American and Hamrah poised to make a deep run into the brackets, the Wolfpack could finish considerably higher. And if Caramanica can overcome his knee injury and make noise in St. Louis, the Pack could come away with a very impressive finish.
“We’ve built this team for tournaments, and this is the ultimate wrestling tournament,” Jordan said. “We’re really excited. The four guys we have who advanced this far all are very capable of scoring big points. The focus is on Darrion, as it should be. He’s proven himself at this level. But I woldn’t bet against Kody Hamrah after the year he’s had, and I have all the faith in the world in Joe and Darrius. I expect us to have a high finish.”
Junior 149-pounder Darrion Caldwell, senior 141-pounder Joe Caramanica, senior 157-pounder Kody Hamrah and sophomore 133-pounder Darrius Little will represent the Wolfpack in this year’s NCAA match.
First round action begins at 11 a.m. Thursday. The second Thursday session will kick off at 6:30 p.m. Friday’s first session will start at 10 a.m., with the evening session due to begin at 6 p.m. Saturday’s first bouts will get underway at 9:30 a.m., with the evening session, capped off by the finals, due to start at 6 p.m.
Caldwell, a 2008 All-American, takes a 33-1 record and no. 3 seed into the event for NC State. Caldwell’s only loss was an injury default to Oklahoma’s Kyle Terry. Caldwell will open the tournament against Penn’s Cesar Grajales (25-8). Caldwell defeated Grajales in the second round of last year’s tournament. Caldwell has the No. 1 ranking in the NCAA RPI raknings that came out at the end of the regular season, and he is the only wrestler the last two years to defeat top-seeded and defending champion Brent Metcalf (33-0) of Iowa. Caldwell pinned Metcalf in December 2007. They met a year later to the day in an exhibion match at the NWCA All-Star Classic, and Metcalf took his revenge with a 19-3 technical fall.
“Darrion is really focused and ready to go,” Wolfpack coach Carter Jordan said. “Right now, he looks like a world-beater. He’s had a great year and he’s poised to make a run deep into this tournament.”
Caldwell, who has an 89-12 career record with 49 pins, has 16 pins to his credit this season. He is 7-1 against ranked opponents.
Hamrah, who won his second Atlantic Coast Conference championship this season, had far and away the best season of his career in 2008-09, posting career highs for wins and pins with a 31-8 record and eight falls. He is 2-1 against ranked opponents, but was stuck with a difficult draw in the brackets, facing third-seeded Jordan Leen (23-2) of Cornell in the first round.
Caramanica, who had a great junior season cut short by a knee injury in the ACC Championships a year ago, brings an 11-8 record into the tournament, but has lost eight of his last nine matches after a 10-0 start. The knee has bothered him off and on this season, and he had to withdraw from the conference tournament because the knee was acting balky. Caramanica faces ninth-seeded Corey Jantzen (13-2) in the opening round. Like Caramanica, Jantzen has battled injury issues all season.
Little brings a 17-15 record into the NCAA meet, following a third-place finish at the conference tournament. Little has won seven of his last 10 bouts and has two pins, but is 0-6 vs. ranked opponents this season. He will open the NCAA Championships with Tristen DeShazer (21-10) of Northern Iowa.
NC State finished 25th in last year’s event, thanks largely to a fifth-place finish by Caldwell at 149. With Caldwell expected to repeat as All-American and Hamrah poised to make a deep run into the brackets, the Wolfpack could finish considerably higher. And if Caramanica can overcome his knee injury and make noise in St. Louis, the Pack could come away with a very impressive finish.
“We’ve built this team for tournaments, and this is the ultimate wrestling tournament,” Jordan said. “We’re really excited. The four guys we have who advanced this far all are very capable of scoring big points. The focus is on Darrion, as it should be. He’s proven himself at this level. But I woldn’t bet against Kody Hamrah after the year he’s had, and I have all the faith in the world in Joe and Darrius. I expect us to have a high finish.”
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