Senior wrestler Darrion Caldwell has won a National Championship, an ACC Championship and now he has become, statistically, the second-best wrestler in N.C. State history.
A native of Rahway, NJ, Caldwell became just the second wrestler in history to win 100 matches for the Pack. He now trails only Sylvester Terkay, who wrestled during 1990-93, for the all-time lead in wins for the Wolfpack.
Since the beginning of the season, Caldwell, who wrestles at the 149 weight class, has gone 6-0 after returning from shoulder surgery. This past weekend in the Wolfpack Duals, he swept every match, going 4-0.
In fact, the last time he lost was by injury default 29 matches ago, and the last time that he lost by being outscored on the mat was 45 matches ago. This is a streak that Caldwell plans to keep up, as he tries to finish the season undefeated.
“I feel like the more goals I set for myself, the more I want to get better and achieve more,” Caldwell said. “I think that gives me an advantage over some guys who just want to be .500 or better wrestlers. I want to have the most wins at N.C. State, which means finishing this season undefeated.”
Caldwell has already had one undefeated season, which actually led to his first NCAA National Championship, when he finished the 2008-09 season 38-0. But shortly afterward, he sustained a shoulder injury that would require not only surgery, but also required that he sit out the entire 2009-10 season.
“I definitely feel like the injury has given me some limitations,” Caldwell said. “But there are also a lot of positions in wrestling, and there are a lot of ways I can open a guy up and impose my will. I feel like I have a wide variety of moves and pinning combinations that I can use even with my injury.”
As a freshman, Caldwell showed his dominance over the ACC by becoming the ACC champion and winning wrestler of the year in the conference. Though he was a premiere wrestler before he came to State, Head Coach Carter Jordan believes he has matured into much more than just a better wrestler during his time here.
“He’s a man now,” Jordan said. “We know that he’s going to graduate now, which I’m not sure any of us knew was a sure thing when he started out here. I promised his father and I promised him that in his time here he would graduate and he would be in a spot to win a national title. He has done one, now I don’t think there is any doubt he will do the other.”
Caldwell won the National Championship in 2009, but he does not plan on stopping at one. Jordan said that being the best wrestler in a specific weight class is difficult, but winning two National Championships is a feat that has never been done at State.
“He can go from being great to a legend at N.C. State,” Jordan said. “There are a couple hundred overall winners of a National Championship, but there are between about 40 or 50 who have won the title multiple times. That would be something very special.”
Even with all the success Caldwell has had with the Pack, he said that he still wants to achieve something more after he finishes his collegiate wrestling career–and that something would have him wearing the stars and stripes of the U.S.
The projected event dates for the Wrestling Olympic Trials are April 19-21, 2012, and Caldwell said he plans to attend in hopes of making the cut.
While Caldwell is still trying to achieve more at the collegiate level, he has also earned the respect of his teammates through his personality on the mat.
“He has been a huge motivation to me mainly because of the intensity that he brings every time he hits the mat,” redshirt junior Darrius Little said. “He has been like a brother to me since I got here. Every time we need a win, like when someone else gets pinned, we know we can count on him to get a big win and some crucial points for us.”
