NC State’s NCAA Champ Darrion Caldwell Ready for Mat Action, Talks to TDR TV

Posted on | October 6, 2010 | No Comments

BY BRUCE WINKWORTH

RALEIGH, N.C. —

The exact date of the telephone call slips Carter Jordan’s memory. But everything else about the conversation is burned into the Wolfpack head wrestling coach’s memory.
“I remember it was Labor Day Weekend,” Jordan says. “I remember that much. I can tell you what time of day it was. I can tell you where I was, where I was standing, what the temperature was that day, the color shorts I had on.”

The date wasn’t important, of course. What mattered was “The Call,” the one bearing the news that Darrion Caldwell — Jordan’s team captain, three-time ACC champion, two-time All-American and defending national champion at 149 pounds — had badly injured his shoulder in a rollerblading accident that would need surgery to repair a torn labrum. Months of exhaustive physical rehabilitation would keep Caldwell out of action for the entire 2009-10 season.

Coaches tend to remember things like that, in this case for very good reason. Caldwell, the Wolfpack’s first national champion in 16 years, was coming off one of the greatest seasons in the program’s history, a 38-1 campaign in which he pinned 17 opponents, went 10-1 against ranked opponents, 7-0 against opponents ranked in the national top 10, and won 29 matches in a row at one point. His only loss the entire year was an injury default, the result of back spasms. After winning his national quarterfinal, semifinal and championship matches by nine, 11 and five points, respectively, all against opponents ranked in the top 10, he was named Most Outstanding Wrestler at the NCAA Championships.

Following the season, Caldwell earned a spot on the U.S. World National team with a third-place finish in the 66 kg/145.5 pound weight class at the U.S. World Team Trials, wrestling almost entirely against opponents much older and more seasoned. He later competed with the U.S. World Team at the World Championships in Herning, Denmark.

At that point, the sky was the limit for Darrion Caldwell. The good news for Jordan and the Wolfpack is that there is no reason to believe the sky is any lower for Caldwell now than it was last September. NC State’s sports medicine staff expects Caldwell to be cleared medically to resume wrestling workouts soon in preparation for the 2010-11 season.

“The worst part is over with,” Caldwell says. “It put a damper on my year last year, but I’m just ready now to come back and get the team stronger and get the team to where we need to be. I wasn’t satisfied with the way things went [with the team] last season. It’s going to be a completely different season this year.”

What happened with the Wolfpack after Caldwell’s injury was not fun for anyone involved, espcially Caldwell. The team captain, he had invested blood, sweat and tears into the 2009-10 team, organizing offseason runs and workouts. Every bit as much a teammate as he is a champion, Caldwell’s aspirations for 2009-10 were as much about the team as they were about himself and repeating as All-American and national champion.

Instead, the Wolfpack fielded a young and inexperienced lineup, without its national champion belwether, then went through a rash of growing pains and injuries. The team finished 8-12 in dual matches. Just one NC State wrestler, sophomore 149-pounder Bobby Ward, qualified for the NCAA Championships, and that was as an at-large entrant.

“The way we trained last season, it was great, but the intensity level needs to go up,” Caldwell says. “Wins and losses say a lot. Working hard in the room gets you so far, but there comes a time when you need to step up and win. We didn’t have that last year. It was frustrating.”

The most frustrating part for Caldwell was knowing there was virtually nothing he could do about it. Once his season derailed, his ability to make a positive impact was derailed with it.

“We tried to involve him as a coach, but it was hard for him,” Jordan says. “Anyone who’s ever gone through an injury, I don’t care what your standing on the team is, even if you’re the returning national champion and the team captain, it’s just very difficult because you feel so helpless. He did a terrific job of trying to energize the team, especially through such a difficult season. We had one injury after another. I had to lean on him sometimes. It was good to feel his energy, and we can’t wait to have him back in the lineup.”

Jordan knows exactly what he’s getting when Caldwell returns to the lineup. With a full season remaining in his career, Caldwell ranks third school history in career victories with a 94-12 record, third in winning percentage at .887, and third in career pins with 50. He is 29 wins and 15 pins shy of setting new school records in those categories, numbers easily within his reach since he’s averaged 33 wins and 20 pins in his last two seasons of competition.

Not only does Caldwell win, he beats the best. He has a career record of 20-7 against ranked opponents, including an 18-5 mark with against top-10 opponents. He also scores extra points for his team. Of his 94 career victories, 70 have been by fall, technical fall or major decision. That means he has scored an average of 4.88 team points for every bout he has won, compared to three points to a regular victory by decision.

“In dual meets, he’s almost always worth extra points,” Jordan says. “If we need a pin, he can get us a pin. So in dual meets, he makes you incredibly competitive. In tournaments, depending on the size of the tournament, he’s going to pile up points as he advances. In the national tournament, he’s going to get you in the top 25 just by getting to the semifinals with the extra bonus points that he scores.”

Off the mat, Caldwell has, over the course of his career at NC State, evolved into a strong team leader. He brings a presence to the practice room and has the utmost respect of his teammates. He’s not afraid to call out a teammate when the situation calls for it, but his preferred style of leadership is by example. And he sets a strong example. When younger wrestlers see how hard Caldwell works and how thoroughly he prepares, they can’t help but follow his lead.

“When you have guys willing to push each other, it makes everyone better,” Caldwell says. “We really didn’t have those kinds of leaders in the room last year. We had verbal leaders, but we didn’t have guys who led by example. You need guys to give that extra effort, to come to practice early and stay late. I feel that by being back in the room this year, I’ll do the extra things that rub off on the next guy.”

Another positive impact Caldwell has on his teammates comes about by beating them up. That’s right. Caldwell has to wrestle someone in practice every day, so middleweights from Darrius Little at 133 to Quinton Godley at 174 and everyone in between has the unenviable task of taking on The Champ in practice. Real matches have to be easy after that.

“Darrion’s gotten to the point now that he can work out with just about anybody in the room,” Jordan says. “When you take that talent and the work ethic he has to go along with it, you can’t say enough about what it’s like to watch him compete up close, the effect it has on the entire team.”

The upcoming season will be Caldwell’s final college season, and while he has a very bright future in international amateur wrestling, including possible Olympic appearances, in his future, his final legacy at NC State is yet to written.

Caldwell is not that far away from being the greatest wrestler ever in a program with a rich and storied history. NC State has had three wrestlers who were three-time All-Americans — Tab Thacker (1982-83-84), Sylvester Terkay (1991-92-93), and Chris Kwortnik (1991-92-93). Caldwell could become the fourth.

NC State has had just three wrestlers win four individual Atlantic Coast Conference championships — Joe Lidowski, Terkay and Thacker. Again, Caldwell could become the fourth.

Only one NC State wrestler — Terkay — ever won 100 matches in a career. Caldwell needs just six more to reach 100, and 28 more to catch Terkay’s 122.

NC State has had just five national champions — Matt Reiss (1980), Thacker (1984), Scott Turner (1988), Terkay (1993), and Caldwell. None repeated. It’s asking a lot, but Caldwell could become the first.

So even if Caldwell’s NC State career ended today, he’d go down as one of the four or five greatest wrestlers in school history. But his career isn’t over, and he intends to go out on top. His goals for the upcoming season are high, both for himself and for his team.

“I’m looking for a perfect season,” Caldwell says. “When I say perfect, I mean no injuries, being ready for every match. Every dual meet I go into, if I take care of things individually, I believe that things will fall into place for the team.

“That’s what the sport of wrestling is. It’s about not giving up that extra point in your match for the team. If you’re winning and have a chance for a major decision, do what you have to do to get those extra points. If you’re going to lose, lose a decision and not a major. I came in here my freshman year and we got an ACC title. I really think this team here is special and we can do it this year, and I can go out with a bang my senior season.”