Darrion Caldwell won the 2009 NCAA title at 149 pounds. Larry Slater photo

NC State Wrestling Rallies Late But Falls 28-18 at Bloomsburg; NC State’s Darrion Caldwell makes season debut with a pin

Bloomsburg’s Frank Hickman won a major decision over Colton Palmer in the final match Tuesday to stave off an NC State rally and preserve a 28-18 victory for the Huskies at Nelson Field House.

The Huskies (9-2) jumped to an 18-0 lead after four matches thanks in large measure to pins by Nathan Graham at 184 pounds and Jacob Dabashinsky at 197. The Pack (1-2) then won four out of the next five bouts to pull within striking distance heading into the final bout, but Hickman got off to a quick start in his bout with Palmer and went on to win by a 13-5 major decision.

After Bloomsburg jumped to the 18-0 lead, sophomore Eloheim Palma (5-2) got NC State on the scoreboard with a 3-1 decision over Zach Walsh. Redshirt-sophomore Pedram Rahmatabadi (7-5) cut the lead to 18-9 by pinning Sean Boylan in 43 seconds in the match at 125 pounds. Nick Wilcox stopped the Wolfpack’s momentum with a pin of freshman Conor Hovis at 133 pounds, forcing NC State to record pins in two of the final three matches just to force a tie.

Junior 141-pounder Darrius Little (16-6) got three points back with a 6-1 decision over Derek Shingara. The decision also avenged a 4-1 loss that Little suffered at the hands of Shingara last week at the Southern Scuffle.

Darrion Caldwell, the 2009 national champion at 149 pounds, was up next. Caldwell was making his season debut for the Pack after missing 16 months due to shoulder surgery. He looked to be in midseason form, rolling up a 12-0 lead on Josh Roosa before pinning him at the 4:54 mark.

The pin was 51st in Caldwell’s career. He now needs four more to pass Tab Thacker (1981-84) for second place in school history in career falls. The victory was the 95th for Caldwell, which places him one shy of tying Mike Lombardo (1985-88) for second place in school history. Sylvester Terkay (1990-93) holds the school record for career pins (64) and career victories (122). At 95-12, Caldwell’s career winning percentage now stands at .888, placing him in third place in the Wolfpack record book, just .001 behind Thacker (92-11-1) and .009 behind Terkay (122-14).

NC State returns to the mat Wednesday with a 4 p.m. match at Rider.

Bloomsburg 28, NC State 18
Jan. 4, 2011 at Bloomsburg, Pa.
165 - Josh Veltre (BU) dec. Colin Genthert, 8-3
174 - Mike Dessino (BU) dec. Quinton Godley, 7-2
184 - Nathan Graham (BU) pinned Nijel Jones at 1:22
197 - Jacob Dabashinsky (BU) pinned KaRonne Jones at 6:56
Hwt - Eloheim Palma (NCS) dec. Zach Walsh, 3-1
125 - Pedram Rahmatabadi (NCS) pinned Sean Boylan at 0:43 
133 - Nick Wilcox (BU) pinned Conor Hovis at 4:49
141 - Darrius Little (NCS) dec. Derek Shingara, 6-1
149 - Darrion Caldwell (NCS) pinned Josh Roosa at 4:54
157 - Frank Hickman (BU) major dec. Colton Palmer, 13-5