North Carolina State’s Darrion Caldwell has his injured left shoulder examined during his second-round match on Thursday night. Tony Rotundo photo.

PHILADELPHIA – The announcement came 45 minutes into the second session of the NCAA Wrestling Championships.

“Doctor to Mat 3,” announcer Sandy Stevens said. “Doctor to Mat 3.”

Top seed and past NCAA champion Darrion Caldwell of North Carolina State was down on the mat in pain, clutching his injured left shoulder during a second-round match with unseeded Eric Grajales of Michigan.

The explosive Caldwell’s highlight-reel college career, which included a stunning upset over Hodge Trophy winner Brent Metcalf of Iowa in the 2009 NCAA finals, came to a disappointing end with the injury. The Caldwell-Grajales match was stopped with 58 seconds left in the opening period at 149 pounds.

Caldwell’s injury overshadowed the rest of the wrestling on Session 2 of 6 on Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Center. Caldwell, a senior from Rahway, N.J., was given a standing ovation by many in the crowd of 17,289 fans when he was helped off the mat. He was trying to become N.C. State’s first two-time national champion.

“We got in a little scramble and my shoulder dislocated again,” Caldwell said. “Hopefully, we can have surgery or whatever the trainers and doctors tell me to do. It hurts to go out like this. It’s definitely not fun to end my college career like this and not finishing a match. I gave it everything I had. I’m satisfied with my career. Not the way it ended, but I’m satisfied with the overall career.”

Second-ranked Penn State maintained the lead in the team race. The Nittany Lions were a perfect 7-for-7 in the second round. Penn State has 30.5 points with seven wrestlers in the quarterfinals and another wrestler alive in the wrestlebacks.

Leading the way for the Nittany Lions is unbeaten freshman David Taylor at 157. Penn State was 15-1 on the day.

“Our guys just went out and went after it,” Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said. “They wrestled tough in some tough matches, and found a way to score points. I think they are motivated. They want to win as a team. They know it’s going to take every one of them and every point they can score.”

Top-ranked Cornell is second with 29 points and five in the quarters. Third-ranked Iowa and fourth-ranked Oklahoma State are tied for third with 25 points apiece. The Hawkeyes have five in the quarters and Oklahoma State has four. Ninth-ranked American is fifth with 23.5 points and three in the quarters.

The Hawkeyes have won this tournament the past three seasons. All nine Hawkeye qualifiers are still alive after the opening day. A key quarterfinal bout matches the third-seeded Taylor against No. 6 Derek St. John of Iowa. Taylor beat St. John 8-3 in the Big Ten finals. It was Taylor's closest match of the season.

“At this point, it’s really not about the team,” Iowa coach Tom Brands said. “It’s about nine guys coming together and doing things for the team. We have to get ready to go this next round.”

The quarterfinals are set for 10:30 a.m. Friday at the Wells Fargo Center.

Grajales and Caldwell were locked in a scoreless battle when the injury occurred.

“Caldwell was in on a shot and we were getting close to the edge of the mat,” said Grajales, a freshman and past Junior Nationals champion. “I turned pretty hard and kicked out. But in the process his shoulder extended and came out of place. You could visibly see it. It was dislocated. 

“He immediately stopped moving and I called for the trainer. You knew right away something was wrong. Nobody wants to win like that and see somebody get hurt like that. It’s unfortunate and it sucks, but you have to keep going on with the tournament.”

Caldwell won the 2009 NCAA title before finishing third in the U.S. World Team Trials in freestyle later that year. He then suffered a torn labrum to his left shoulder and underwent surgery. He did not compete during the 2009-10 college season.

Caldwell resumed training last spring, but has reinjured the shoulder numerous times since. He didn’t wrestle a full schedule this year as he tried to make it through his final college campaign with his injury.

“I kept coming back and trying to wrestle,” Caldwell said. “It was my senior season and I had nothing to lose. I wanted to win another NCAA title. I put myself into position to do that coming in here as the No. 1 seed, but my shoulder just didn’t hold up.”

“Darrion tore his labrum again last spring at the Olympic Training Center,” N.C. State coach Carter Jordan said. “He tried to battle through it, but it just wasn’t meant to be. He is going to finish his degree. I’m as proud of that as his national title. His shoulder kept popping out – 6, 7, maybe 10 times this season. I’m not sure the exact number because Darrion doesn’t tell us sometimes when it happens. He tried to fight through it. He’s been amazing. He’s done so much for our program. You hate to see it end like this.”

Past NCAA champions Matt McDonough of Iowa (125), Kyle Dake of Cornell (149), Jordan Burroughs of Nebraska (165) and Andrew Howe of Wisconsin (165) each earned spots in the quarterfinals.

McDonough, Dake and Howe won titles last year. Burroughs won the 2009 title at 157.

TOP 10 TEAMS
Penn State 30.5, Cornell 29, Iowa 25, Oklahoma State 25, American 23.5, Arizona State 21, Wisconsin 20, Boise State 19.5, Minnesota 19, Nebraska 18.5.

QUARTERFINAL MATCHUPS

125 POUNDS
No. 1 Anthony Robles (Arizona State) vs. No. 8 Jarrod Patterson (Oklahoma)
No. 5 Zach Sanders (Minnesota) vs. Ben Kjar (Utah Valley)
No. 3 Brandon Precin (Northwestern) vs. No. 6 Nic Bedeylon (Kent State)
No. 7 Ryan Mango (Stanford) vs. No. 2 Matt McDonough (Iowa)

133 POUNDS
No. 1 Jordan Oliver (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 8 Mike Grey (Cornell)
No. 5 Lou Ruggirello (Hofstra) vs. No. 4 Tyler Graff (Wisconsin)
No. 3 Andrew Long (Penn State) vs. No. 11 Scotti Sentes (Central Michigan)
No. 7 B.J. Futrell (Illinois) vs. No. 2 Andrew Hochstrasser (Boise State)

141 POUNDS
No. 1 Kellen Russell (Michigan) vs. No. 8 Zack Bailey (Oklahoma)
No. 5 Montell Marion (Iowa) vs. No. 4 Jimmy Kennedy (Illinois)
No. 3 Boris Novachkov (Cal Poly) vs. No. 6 Andrew Alton (Penn State)
No. 10 Todd Schavrien (Missouri) vs. No. 2 Mike Thorn (Minnesota)

149 POUNDS
Eric Grajales (Michigan) vs. No. 8 Ganbayar Sanjaa (American)
No. 5 Jamal Parks (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 4 Kyle Dake (Cornell)
No. 3 Kevin LeValley (Bucknell) vs. No. 6 Jason Chamberlain (Boise State)
No. 7 Mario Mason (Rutgers) vs. No. 2 Frank Molinaro (Penn State)

157 POUNDS
No. 1 Adam Hall (Boise State) vs. No. 8 Jason Welch (Northwestern)
No. 12 Paul Young (Indiana) vs. No. 4 Bubba Jenkins (Arizona State)
No. 3 David Taylor (Penn State) vs. No. 6 Derek St. John (Iowa)
No. 7 Bryce Saddoris (Navy) vs. No. 2 Steve Fittery (American)

165 POUNDS
No. 1 Jordan Burroughs (Nebraska) vs. No. 8 Scott Winston (Rutgers)
No. 5 Colt Sponseller (Ohio State) vs. No. 4 Josh Asper (Maryland)
No. 3 Tyler Caldwell (Oklahoma) vs. Paul Gillespie (Hofstra)
No. 7 Shane Onufer (Wyoming) vs. No. 2 Andrew Howe (Wisconsin)

174 POUNDS
No. 1 Jon Reader (Iowa State) vs. No. 8 Mike Letts (Maryland)
No. 5 Chris Henrich (Virginia) vs. No. 4 Colby Covington (Oregon State)
No. 3 Mack Lewnes (Cornell) vs. No. 6 Ben Bennett (Central Michigan)
No. 7 Nick Amuchastegui (Stanford) vs. No. 2 Ed Ruth (Penn State)

184 POUNDS
No. 1 Chris Honeycutt (Edinboro) vs. No. 9 Quentin Wright (Penn State)
No. 12 Grant Gambrall (Iowa) vs. No. 4 Travis Rutt (Wisconsin)
No. 3 Steve Bosak (Cornell) vs. Diego Bencomo (Duke)
No. 7 Chris Perry (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 2 Robert Hamlin (Lehigh)

197 POUNDS
No. 1 Cam Simaz (Cornell) vs. No. 8 Matt Powless (Indiana)
No. 5 Luke Lofthouse (Iowa) vs. No. 4 Dustin Kilgore (Kent State)
No. 3 Trevor Brandvold (Wisconsin) vs. No. 6 Micah Burak (Penn)
No. 7 Zac Thomusseit (Pittsburgh) vs. No. 2 Clayton Foster (Oklahoma State)

285 POUNDS
No. 1 Zach Rey (Lehigh) vs. No. 9 Cameron Wade (Penn State)
No. 5 Dom Bradley (Missouri) vs. Levi Cooper (Arizona State)
No. 3 Ryan Flores (American) vs. No. 11 Tucker Lane (Nebraska)
No. 10 Nathan Fernandez (Oklahoma) vs. No. 2 Jarod Trice (Central Michigan)