No sooner had wrestler Darrion Caldwell started his first collegiate match he scored a takedown, threw his opponent in a cradle, placed him on his back and got the pin — it took all of 13 seconds to complete.

Even if Caldwell, a true freshman, had experienced any pre-match jitters, his match didn’t last long enough for the butterflies in his stomach to hatch from their cocoons. Instead, the wrestler, who lost just four times in four years, took it as just another match that he would soon conquer.

“I’ve been wrestling for a long time, so I really don’t get nervous,” Caldwell said. “I just tried to wrestle the way I wrestled in high school.”

In Caldwell’s second match later that same night, he scored yet another pin. In all, Caldwell (7-3) had four pins in his first 10 matches in a sport where 20 career pins makes for a great career.

Caldwell could have wrestled more than just 10 times this year, but a pinched nerve in his neck — suffered while sparring with fellow freshman Will Gilleland — set him back.

“I was bringing him down to the mat, and my neck bent the wrong way on his back. It was a shock when it happened. I didn’t expect it to hurt that much,” Caldwell said. “I’ve recovered pretty well. I have full rotation in my neck now.”

Coach Carter Jordan said the move to keep Caldwell out for an extended period of time was more of a precautionary measure than it was a serious injury.

In his absence, the team has gone 0-5 at 141, lacking the athleticism and arsenal of moves that Caldwell brings.

“He’s not the ordinary wrestler. He does stuff that not a lot of people do — and it works. He’s freakishly good at what he does,” Gilleland said. “As a freshman, his technique is way beyond what a normal freshman would be. And his quickness, that’s up there too.”

This weekend’s bouts versus rival North Carolina and nationally-ranked Navy will also mark the return of Caldwell to his spot as the Wolfpack’s wrestler at 141 class.

“I’m really excited,” Caldwell said. “All my anxiousness is building up.”

It will be two familiar foes to face for Caldwell, who has already wrestled both schools’ wrestlers at 141 in separate bouts during the Southern Scuffle tournament. There, he pinned the Tar Heels’ Vincent Ramirez, who was ranked No. 13 at the time, and was pinned by Navy’s Brad Canterbury.

“I was beating him 6-2 and then he pinned me,” Caldwell said of his match versus Canterbury. “I didn’t cut my weight properly. I tried to lose a lot of weight at one time which wasn’t healthy, I should have gradually did it.”

Earlier in the year, Caldwell suffered his first loss to No. 1 Ryan Lang of Northwestern. Lang is still ranked at the top of their weight division, but only defeated Caldwell by close decision, 7-3.

“He did surprisingly well,” Jordan said. “That was maybe his fourth match in his career, but that showed us where he was. That even as a freshman, he can compete for a national title.”

The effort against Lang proved to the coaching staff that there’s no ceiling to what Caldwell can accomplish at N.C. State, even in his first year.

“If he does all the things that we tell him to do and works the way we need him to work, there’s no question he can put himself in position to win a national title,” Jordan said.

“It’s very difficult for a true freshman to get seeded really high at the national tournament, so that will play a part in what his draw is. But he showed he could wrestle, if he wrestled the No. 1 kid to a 7-3 match, he can wrestle with anybody.”

The transition to college has been nearly seamless for Caldwell, except that he and Jordan both agree the most important adjustment will be the amount of work needed to stay in shape and on top of his game.

Away from the mat, the transition to college must also be made. In December, Caldwell was held out against what would have been the No. 9 wrestler in his weight division because he had missed class.

“He did well academically and had a good semester. But we had to nip that in the bud, he’s got to make sure he gets to class,” Jordan said.

State forfeited that spot, and it’s something Caldwell has taken in stride as part of the learning process of being a collegiate wrestler.

“I learned there’s no shortcuts. When you have to go to class, got to go to class. When you have to eat, you got to eat. When it’s time to practice, you have to go to practice,” Caldwell said. “Basically, do what’s expected of you.”

Jordan said he wasn’t surprised at what Caldwell has been able to accomplish in his short time at State. And for this weekend, the Pack will need Caldwell to continue doing what has been expected of him since he arrived on campus.

“He’s a special talent,” Jordan said. “He’s got to learn the process of working at this level and he’s on his way there now.”