With an NCAA national win in the 149 weight class under his belt, Pack wrestler Darrion Caldwell has now set his sights on winning at the national level. The State standout, who is taking a year off college wrestling in hopes of competing in the 2012 London Olympics, came within one win of taking his weight class at the World Trials in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
“This let me know that there’s a future outside of college wrestling for me,” Caldwell said. “I want to hone my skills in the area of freestyle wrestling and be the best wrestler I can be.”
Caldwell went to the trials for the World Team, where he lost what Jordan called a “very close match” in the tournament finals. His opponent was Jared Frayer, an experienced two-time All-American who is almost a decade Caldwell’s senior.
“I’ve seen this happening. I’m not really satisfied, but I’m not upset,” Caldwell said of his performance at the World Trials. “I get the experience at a young age. I wanted to win the trials and go to Denmark and compete in the World Championships. Being the best is all I strive for.”
However, Caldwell’s showing at the tournament was not without fanfare. He defeated former Olympian Doug Schwab in the first round and qualified to become one of three members of the U.S. National team.
“As big as the NCAA’s were, this is Worlds. And again, he was the talk of the tournament,” Jordan said. “It was almost overwhelming for both of us, and he really didn’t even have any trouble with the former Olympian and he was under the weather – he had a fever that morning.”
Caldwell’s Olympic coaches will now decide if he will compete in an upcoming event in Azerbaijan, a country in the Middle East.
“We have camp from the 14-28, then I’ll do an international tournament or two – it’s just a matter of which one,” Caldwell said.
For now, Caldwell said he is enjoying his time at the Olympic Training Center in “beautiful” Colorado Springs.
“He’s been at the training center for the past month, working with one of the resident coaches there,” Jordan said. “He’s coming home for a bit then he will be flying back out there June 12 to train for a trip they are taking in July with all the other team members. Then coaches will decide where he will go to wrestle.”
Jordan said the exposure Caldwell continues to bring to the program is invaluable. According to the coach, 28 million people scooped up the Sports Illustrated magazine that featured an article of Caldwell.
“Now he’s one of the guys that has been identified for the Olympic team,” Jordan said. “We’ve never had a U.S. National team member while they were in school, and we certainly have never had an Olympian. It puts N.C. State in the forefront because his name is directly associated with our university.”