Courtesy: NC State Darrion Caldwell notched his 16th pin of the season, but NC State fell to North Carolina, 24-18.
RALEIGH, N.C.
North Carolina won the first six bouts, including a pin and three major
decisions, and coasted from there to a 24-18 victory over NC State in
an Atlantic Coast Conference wrestling match at Reynolds Coliseum.
The
Tar Heels thoroughly dominated through the first six bouts, leading
24-0 and recording 22 takedowns to NC State’s one. The Wolfpack won the
last four bouts, but the UNC lead was much too big to overcome.
Thomas
Scotton, North Carolina’s 157-pounder, controlled the opening match
from the outset, defeating Colton Palmer 8-2 with a third-period flurry
that included two takedowns and a point for riding time.
Thirteenth-ranked Keegan Mueller gave the Tar Heels a 9-0 lead when he
pinned Jalil Dozier at 165 pounds. With both wrestlers on the mat with
neither in control, Mueller caught Dozier leaning towards his back,
took him by the shoulder to get on top and pinned him.
At 174,
North Carolina’s Kyle Kiss took Ray Ward down in the opening seconds,
then got a pair of three-point near falls before the end of the first
period. Kiss rode that early 8-0 lead to an easy 16-3 major decision.
The 184-pound bout was no better for the home team. Nick Tenpenney got
eight takedowns against Dane Coffee, who was wrestling for the injured
Ryan Goodman. Tenpenney rolled to a 19-5 major decision to up the team
lead to 17-0 for UNC.
The Tar Heels continued to plow through
the Wolfpack on through the heavyweight bout. Dennis Drury handed Mark
Jahad an 8-0 major decision at 197 pounds, and 19th-ranked heavyweight
Justin Dobies defeated Bobby Isola 9-4. That gave North Carolina a 24-0
lead with four bouts remaining, meaning the Wolfpack needed pins or
forfeits in each of the final three bouts to tie the match.
Taylor
Cummings stopped the bleeding for the Wolfpack, winning by forfeit at
125 to make it 24-6, and Darius Little overcame a 5-2 deficit to Danny
Lopes with a takedown and three-point near fall in the final 20 seconds
to take a thrilling 8-5 decision at 133. The decision by Little,
however, locked up the team victory for the Tar Heels, who led at that
point 24-9 with two matches remaining.
Joe Caramanica, ranked
No. 6 at 141, took a 6-2 decision over Nick Stabile to cut the lead to
24-12, and Darrion Caldwell pinned Vincent Ramirez at 2:09 in the 149
match for the Wolfpack’s final points.
Caramanica moved into a
tie for 21st all-time in career victories at NC State, improving to
69-23 for his career. Caldwell’s pin was the 16th pin of the season and
the 26th of his career. Caldwell is now tied for the third most pins in
a single season by an NC State wrestler, and is fifth in career pins.
North Carolina improved to 8-5 overall and 3-2 in the ACC. NC State fell to 8-8-1 and 1-2.
North Carolina 24, NC State 18 157 Thomas Scotton (UNC) dec. Colton Palmer, 8-2 165 Keegan Mueller (UNC) pinned Jalil Dozier, at 4:13 174 Kyle Kiss (UNC) major dec. Ray Ward, 16-3 184 Nick Tenpenney (UNC) major dec. Dane Coffee, 19-5 197 Dennis Drury (UNC) major dec. Mark Jahad, 8-0 Hwt Justin Dobies (UNC) dec. Bobby Isola, 10-4 125 Tyler Cummings (NCS) won by forfeit 133 Darius Little (NCS) dec Danny Lopes, 8-5 141 Joe Caramanica (NCS) dec. Nick Stabile, 6-2 149 Darrion Caldwell (NCS) pinned Vincent Ramirez, at 2:09
Courtesy: NC State
