Junior 149 pounder Darrion Caldwell finished a record setting junior campaign with a stunning 11-6 upset in the championship bout with Iowa’s Brent Metcalf , who entered the match having won 69 consecutive matches since his last collegiate loss over a year ago.  That loss, the only of his career prior to Saturday, came at the hands of none other than Caldwell himself back in November of 2007. 

Caldwell said it was difficult to describe what went through his mind during his first few moments as national champion.

“[It was] the greatest feeling in the world, you put all your chips in one thing and when you finally accomplish the goal that you set out to get, it’s like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow,” Caldwell said. “I’m just blessed to be able to accomplish this, words can’t even describe it.”

Coach Carter Jordan described the monumental impact Caldwell’s title will have on the wrestling program.

“It changes the whole landscape of our program,” Jordan said. “It puts us on a very different level, for recruiting and perception, and I am so grateful to all the support staff, from the janitors to the equipment managers to our administration all the way up to chancellor Oblinger.”

Despite entering the championship match with the defending national champion as the prohibitive underdog, Caldwell and his teammates expected victory and he proved them right just seconds into the match.  Coach Jordan said the outcome confirmed his expectations.

“We were supremely confident Saturday morning and all day long before we went into that match Saturday night,” Jordan said. “I say this with all the humility in my heart, we fully expected him to win that match exactly the way he did.” 

Caldwell went right at Metcalf at the match’s outset and recorded a takedown for a 2-0 lead just two seconds in.  Though Metcalf was able to escape for one point, Caldwell took him down once again later in the period to take a 4-2 lead into the second period. Caldwell continued to ignore his status as ‘the underdog’ in the second, escaping after starting in the down position before his third takedown of the match gave him a commanding 7-2 lead.  The third period proved to be little more than a delay of the inevitable, as Caldwell recorded his fourth and final takedown of the match before Metcalf scored on an inconsequential escape and takedown in the closing seconds.

Caldwell said that he knew going into the third period the match was his to lose.

“Once the second period was over, I was like, this is a comfortable enough lead,” Caldwell said. “There is no way I am going to let this man come score four plus takedowns on me to win the match, it was all about me just having to man up towards the end of the match.”

Though the outcome surprised many, senior Joe Caramanica said the way Caldwell dominated Metcalf was not the least bit surprising.

“He went in there thinking he was the best wrestler because he was the best wrestler, and we knew that he was going to beat him up,” Caramanica said. “We just didn’t know if it was going to go all seven minutes.”

His championship romp over Metcalf was a fitting conclusion to Caldwell’s dominance over the 149 pound weight class throughout the weekend.  His match with Metcalf was essentially decided midway through the second period, and it the closest of his five wins, as his other victories consisted of three major decisions and a pin.  Caldwell was not taken down once over the entire course of the tournament, and the 12 points he allowed in his five matches all came on escapes. For his effort, Caldwell’s national championship trophy will sit next to the trophy he received for being named the tournament’s Most Outstanding wrestler.

When asked about the key to Caldwell’s success this season and at Nationals, coach Jordan quickly attributed the success to Caldwell’s work ethic.

“It was work, it was hard work, he got embarrassed in that all star meet, and that was a motivating factor,” Jordan said. “At this level, talent is not close to being enough, you have to work extremely hard and when you put those things together, in Darrion Caldwell you’ve got an unbelievable talent.”

After taking this year’s national championship, Caldwell will enter next season with a chance to be the only two-time national champion and greatest wrestler in school history.