PHILADELPHIA -- Injuries have denied a 2009 NCAA champ and a 2010 runner-up their title quests at the first day of the 2011 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at Wells Fargo Arena in Philadelphia.
Darrion Caldwell lost by injury default in the second round (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)The top-seeded Caldwell reportedly reinjured his shoulder during his match with Eric Grajales of Michigan in the second session. The two wrestlers had been in a scramble at the edge of the mat in the first period; then, after Grajales got up, the NC State wrestler remained on his back. At 2:02 of the match, Caldwell walked off the mat, forfeiting the match to the Wolverine.
Caldwell had injured his shoulder in a rollerblading accident in August 2009. After surgery in that fall, the Rahway, N.J. native missed the entire 2009-2010 season, unable to defend his title at the 2010 NCAAs. (Brent Metcalf won his second national title by defeating Ohio State's Lance Palmer in the 149-pound title bout at the 2010 NCAAs, and has since graduated.)
The injury precludes the possibility of a much-anticipated match between Caldwell and 2010 NCAA 141-pound champ Kyle Dake of Cornell University, who moved up to 149 and is the fourth seed.
Among the bigger upsets in Session II:
Earlier in the day in Session I, more than a dozen seeded wrestlers lost to unseeded opponents. Among the highest seeds to be sent to the consolation bracket in the opening round: No. 6 seed Dallas Bailey of Oklahoma State at 165 pounds, and, at heavyweight, DJ Russo of Rutgers (No. 4 seed) and Ryan Tomei of Pitt (No. 6 seed).
The 165-pound weight class took the biggest hit, with four of the 12 seeded wrestlers losing their first matches.
Darrion Caldwell was the only top-seeded wrestler who did not advance to the quarterfinals round. Of the 80 wrestlers still in the championship bracket, only four are unseeded. (By contrast, at this stage of the 2010 NCAAs, 13 unseeded wrestlers were in title contention.)
As for the team title race, Penn State is in first place at the end of the first day of competition, with 30.5 points ... and seven wrestlers still in the championship bracket. Right behind the Nittany Lions is Cornell, with 29 points, and four Big Red still in the title hunt. Defending team title winners Iowa are in third place, with 25 points; five Hawkeyes can still win a national title.
Day 1 Standings:
1. Penn State, 30.5 points
2. Cornell, 29
3. Iowa, 25
4. Oklahoma State, 24
5. Boise State, 21.5
6. American, 21
6. Arizona State, 21
8. Wisconsin, 20
9. Minnesota, 19
10. Nebraska, 18.5
The quarterfinals begin at 10:30 a.m. Eastern on Friday.
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