'Technician' Sports Awards and Report Cards

Male Co-Athletes of the Year: Darrion Caldwell and Matt Hill

For the second year in a row, Darrion Caldwell is one of N.C. State's Male Athletes of the Year.  Caldwell was even more dominant this year than he was last year, going 38-1 en route to a national title, with his lone loss coming on a medical forfeit. 

Caldwell dominated the field at 149 pounds, recording three major decisions and a pin on his way to the nationally-televised championship showdown with heavy favorite and defending national champion Brent Metcalf of Iowa.  And despite pinning him in Metcalf's last loss prior to the 69-match win streak with which he entered the championship bout, many gave Caldwell no chance.  But Caldwell took control of the match immediately, recording a takedown just two seconds in and another one, this one on a headlock, to take a 4-2 lead going into the second period.  Caldwell continued to abuse the "heavy favorite" as he led 9-3 late in the third before holding on to win 11-6 after an inconsequential takedown and escape by Metcalf. 

Caldwell's beat-down of Metcalf on ESPN has Olympic coaches Zeke Jones and Bobby Douglas very interested. With this in mind, Caldwell will likely redshirt next season to wrestle internationally and prepare for the 2012 London Olympics.

Meanwhile, sophomore Matt Hill has had the single greatest season any N.C. State golfer has ever compiled. Hill has won five tournaments this year, including the ACC Tournament, in which he tied for first. With Hill winning the ACC tournament, he became only the sixth golfer in school history to win the tournament and the first since 1995. Hill has won four out of the last five tournaments he played in and has been the best player for the men's golf team the entire year. Hill has set N.C. State records for most tournaments won in a career with six, and also most tournaments won in a single season with five. Four of those came in the spring season.

Hill was named ACC Golfer of the month and Southern Golf Association's National Amateur of the Month, both for March. Including Hill's five wins this season, he has finished in the top-15 in all nine tournaments that he has played in. Hill is one of the top golfers in the nation and is in contention for the Ben Hogan award, which is awarded to the best golfer of the year. Many of his teammates believe that, even at Hill's age, he is good enough to turn pro.

"The level he is at right now is good enough, in my opinion to play on tour," sophomore teammate Brandon Detweiler said. "He has to be in contention for the Ben Hogan award and he deserves it. He is the best."

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Female Athlete of the Year: Kristen Davies

In the final meet of her career, senior Kristen Davies won the NCAA national championship in the platform dive. Davies became the first diver to win a national championship at N.C. State and the first woman to win a national title in swimming or diving at State.

Davies posted a career best 339.65 to win the national title on the platform. The national title win capped a storybook ending starting with Davies being named to the All ACC team for the second straight year. After that, she went on to take a second place finish in the ACC Championships, then went to the NCAA Diving zones where she took first place and finished at the NCAA championships at College Station, Texas. At first the chances of Davies winning the NCAA title looked dim, as she was the last diver to make it into the finals. But with a clean slate in the finals, she managed to nail all five of her dives to near perfection and cement her name into N.C. State record books.

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Coach of the Year: Tom O'Brien

Looking at the statistics, coach Tom O'Brien's tenure as the football team's head coach has been mediocre. An 11-14 overall record and one trip to a bowl game in two years doesn't scream excellence. In fact, at no point since O'Brien has taken over as head coach has the Wolfpack carried a winning record.

But beyond the records and results, there is something else brewing. Wolfpack nation is experiencing a level of optimism that has been missing since the days of Philip Rivers after finishing the 2008 regular season with four consecutive wins and the team's first bowl birth since 2005. The driving force behind this movement has been O'Brien, who is a living, breathing archetype of the old school coach—always understated, focusing on disciplined, tough football.

Following a 27-24 loss to Maryland Oct. 25, the Wolfpack found itself at 2-6 overall and in last place in the Atlantic Division. Rather than making excuses of the team's injury woes or letting frustration set in after another close loss, O'Brien's response was measured and forward looking.

O'Brien and his staff found a spark in the form of quarterback Russell Wilson and linebacker Nate Irving, who led State to a 4-1 record to end the season.

Keeping the team together and believing after beginning the season 2-6 was an extraordinary coaching job that opened eyes around the nation.

Sports Illustrated called O'Brien the ACC's third best coach. In the article posted March 24, Tom Dienhart writes, "there are few better coaches in the nation than the perpetually underrated O'Brien, who thrives on running a smart, disciplined program."

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Game of the Year: Wolfpack dominates UNC in Chapel Hill

The sports year as a whole may not have been filled with many momentous victories for N.C. State, but the Wolfpack's victory over ACC rival North Carolina Nov. 22 proved just how well the football team could play and served as the culminating moment for the entire season. N.C. State came into its much awaited game against UNC-Chapel Hill at 4-6 overall and 2-4 in the ACC but playing well. The favored Tar Heels entered the game ranked 25th in the country and in position to compete for the Coastal Division title.