DURHAM, N.C. Duke built an early 10-6
lead, but NC State
won the last seven matches to hand the Blue Devils a 27-10 loss in the ACC
dual-match opener for both teams. NC
State evened its dual-match record at 5-5, while
Duke fell to 4-5.
Darrion Caldwell, ranked No. 9 nationally
at 149 pounds, got the Wolfpack off to a fast start, literally, pinning Duke’s
Mike Bell in 58 seconds. The pin was Caldwell’s 12th of
the season and the 22nd of his career, tying him with Mike Lombardo
(1985-88) for seventh place in NC State history for career pins. Caldwell
improved to 20-3 on the season, matching his season total for victories from a
year ago.
Duke took the next three
matches. Voris Tejada earned a 6-0 decision at 157 pounds against Ray Ward.
Tejada improved to 23-9 overall in 2007-08. At 165 pounds, Addison Nuding had a
big second period and won a 10-0 major decision over Jalil Dozier. Nuding, 20-6
on the year, gave the Blue Devils a 7-6 lead in team points. Aaron Glover used
a takedown with 11 seconds left in the match at 174 pounds to win a tense 6-5
decision over Randy Goodman and give Duke a 10-6 lead in the team scoring.
And that was the last victory of the evening for Duke. Ryan Goodman, a two-time
ACC champion, defeated the Blue Devils’s winningest wrestler, John Barone,
by a 9-5 decision. Goodman rallied late to win the bout, which was tied 5-5
after two periods. Goodman, who missed all of November while playing football,
improved to 11-4. Barone is now 24-4.
Junior Mark Jahad won a 13-2
major decision over Duke’s Robert Holbrook at 197, giving the team lead back to
the Wolfpack at 13-10. Another close match pitted Duke’s redshirt sophomore
Mike Tunick and the Wolfpack’s Bobby Isola at heavyweight. The first period was
scoreless, but Isola wound up with a 10-4 decision to put the Wolfpack up
16-10.
At 125
pounds, NC State’s Taylor
Cummings overcame a late lead by Duke’s Kellon McKeon and took a 4-2 decision.
Cummings, the defending conference champion, lifted his season mark to 15-8
with the win. At 133, freshman Darius Little took an 11-6 decision over Bryan Gibson with a strong
final period. And eighth-ranked Joe Caramanica won the 141-pound bout by
technical fall over A.J. Guardado. Caramanica wrapped up the tech fall by a
17-1 score with 41 seconds left in the bout.
NC State returns to action on
Saturday, January 12, at Liberty
for a 7 p.m. match.
NC
State 27, Duke 10
149
Darrion Caldwell (NCS) pinned Mike Bell, at 0:58
157
Voris Tejada (Duke) dec. Ray Ward, 6-0
165
Addison Nuding (Duke) maj. dec. Jalil Dozier, 10-0
174
Aaron Glover (Duke) dec. Randy Goodman, 6-5
184
Ryan Goodman (NCS) dec. John Barone, 9-5
197
Mark Jahad (NCS) maj. dec. Robert Holbrook, 13-2
Hwt
Bobby Isola (NCS) dec. Mike Tunick, 10-4
125
Taylor Cummings (NCS) dec. Kellan McKeon, 4-2
133
Darius Little (NCS) dec. Bryan Gibson 11-6
141
Joe Caramanica (NCS) tech. fall A.J. Guardado, 17-1, at 6:19
