March 16, 2006

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - The first session of the NCAA tournament was not kind to NC State. The Wolfpack lost three of the four bouts it competed in during the morning session. Ryan Goodman was the lone bright spot, picking up a 5-1 decision over Chris Pogue of Navy at 197 pounds. All four NC State competitors remain in the tournament and will resume action again at 6 p.m., when the second session of the tournament begins.

Goodman advanced to the second round of the championship bracket with the victory over Pogue. Goodman took a first period lead by finishing a single leg takedown on the edge of the mat. He then rode Pogue for the rest of first period. In the second period Goodman escaped from the bottom to take a 3-0 lead, then was awarded a stalling point late in the period to go ahead 4-0. Goodman rode Pogue for much of the third period to earn a riding-time point, before giving up an escape. Pogue made several late attempts to get back into the match, but Goodman fought them all off and won the bout 5-1.

Goodman's second-round opponent is the No. 6 seed, Phil Davis from Penn State. Davis defeated Jon Oplinger of Drexel 11-0 in his first-round bout.

Freshman 149-pounder Joe Caramanica suffered a rude welcoming to the NCAA tournament at the hands of Philip Simpson of Army. Caramanica stayed on the mat only 19 seconds against Simpson. Simpson blocked Caramanica's first shot and threw him to his back with a cement job for the fall.

Caramanica will face Aaron Martin of UT Chattanooga in his first match of the evening session. In the first round, Martin dropped a 10-5 decision to No. 5 seed Mark DiSalvo of Central Michigan.

Kody Hamrah, the Wolfpack's entry at 157 pounds, was defeated by No. 8 seed Craig Henning of Wisconsin by a 12-4 major decision. The lopsided score does not do justice to the type of match Hamrah wrestled. Hamrah got in deep on a low single early in the first, but after a flurry Henning turned Hamrah's shot into a touchdown of his own. To close out the first period Hamrah and Henning traded reversals.

Hamrah trailed 4-2 after the first period, and Henning had banked a minute and five seconds of riding time. Six seconds into the second period Hamrah escaped to make the score 4-3. Despite two flurries, no more points were scored in the period. Hamrah entered the third period down by a point, with Henning possessing 1:11 of riding time. Henning reversed Hamrah at the start of the third period, and Hamrah immediately escaped to make the score 6-4. Following the escape, Henning took Hamrah straight to his back on a takedown and opened up an 11-4 lead. Henning rode Hamrah for the rest of the period for a 12-4 win.

Hamrah's opponent in the first consolation round this evening is Kurt Gross from Kent State. Hamrah lost to Gross 13-5 in December at the Southern Scuffle. Gross lost 9-6 in his first bout to the No. 9 seed, Joe Johnston of Iowa.

Jeremy Colbert was pinned in the first period by No. 2 seed Roger Kish of Minnesota. Colbert gave up a takedown to Kish 20 seconds into the bout, but later escaped. Kish followed his second takedown by turning Colbert to his back for the fall at 2:00 of the first period.

Colbert faces Justin Dyer of Oklahoma in the first round of consolations this evening. Dyer lost to Cal Poly's Ryan Halsey in the first round.

Following are NC State's first-round results from the 2006 NCAA Wrestling Championships:

149- Joe Caramanica (0-1, 25-8)
Pigtail- Philip Simpson (Army) won by fall over Joe Caramanica Fall :19

157- Kody Hamrah (0-1, 11-3)
First round- No. 8 Craig Henning (Wisconsin) major decision over Kody Hamrah 12-4

184- Jeremy Colbert (0-1, 20-11)
First round- No.2 Roger Kish (Minnesota) won by fall over Jeremy Colbert Fall 2:00

197- Ryan Goodman (1-0, 22-4)
First round- No.11 Ryan Goodman decision over Chris Pogue (Navy) 5-1