Hopewell Valley Central High sophomore Luke Caldwell considers wrestling the third favorite sport of the three in which he competes.
Thus, the fact he was the NJSIAA District 18 champion as a freshman last year says a little something about his athletic ability.
“He’s a great athlete and a great kid, and we love having Luke Caldwell on our team,” Bulldogs coach “Super” Mario Harpel said. “He’s a three-sport kid, kind of the old school world. He’s a tough kid, great worker, great for the team, just a solid young man.”
Caldwell’s favorite sport is lacrosse. As a freshman, he was second on the Bulldogs in goals (36) and third in assists (25) and points (61). He sees that as his future in college, and focuses most of his efforts on the sport during the year.
Yet he still finds time to excel in football and wrestling despite only concentrating on those sports during the season.
Last fall, as a 120-pound safety, Caldwell led the Bulldogs in tackles with 91 and solo tackles with 56. He made 16 in each of Hopewell’s final two playoff games against Burlington Township and Delsea.
And he didn’t get the starting berth because his dad is the coach.
“He’s the third son I’ve coached,” Dave Caldwell said. “I try to stay out of all the decision making with regards to my kids, their ability to play, what position they play. This year I stayed out of it again and he ended up starting in the third game.”
Luke brought a wealth of experience to the Bulldogs, having also played for his dad in Pop Warner.
“He’s been on the sidelines since he was three years old,” Dave said. “He knows the game. As a coach, I’m proud of him like I’m proud of all our defense because, they fly to the ball and pursue and care about each other. So he does what you want as a coach.
“But as a father I’m super proud, because he works hard in the classroom and really works hard in all three sports.”
Outside of a few summer open mat sessions, Caldwell’s only wrestling comes from late November to March, which doesn’t bother Harpel.
“I’m a big believer in doing other sports,” the Super one said. “They all help each other. You grow in different ways from each sport. He’s maturing a ton in the other sports, and he’s super good in those sports.”
Caldwell agrees that playing one sport can benefit another.
“A hundred percent,” he said. “Football helped me tremendously in wrestling — being neutral, being quick on your feet, your reflexes, stuff like that.”
His father added that “You see the football mentality on the wrestling mat and on the lacrosse team.”
Caldwell began wrestling in kindergarten, but stopped in fourth grade. He picked it back up at Timberlane Middle School, and has stuck with it since.
“I was OK,” he said. “It wasn’t until I came into the room last year in ninth grade. Then you had the intensity and I made a major step in technique. I definitely surprised myself last year. I was just hoping to go in there, make the varsity lineup, wrestle my best and do well for the team.”
Wrestling at 106, Caldwell went 21-11, finished second in the Mercer County Tournament and pinned Manalapan’s Advait Sefuri in the district final. He collected 14 pins, 10 in the first period, and eight in under a minute.
“He’s aggressive,” Harpel said. “He competes well in the moment. He’s a very good competitor.”
While sub-minute pins are nice, Caldwell trains to go the distance.
“It’s always good to go out there and get a quick one,” he said. “But you have to be able to go out there and wrestle for six minutes. That’s what we always talk about. That’s the goal.”
Another goal is to get back to regionals and have some success after losing two straight last season. The road will not be easy, however, as Caldwell has jumped two weights to 120 pounds.
“Going at 120 is a different weight than 106,” Harpel said. “You have to wrestle different, and you have to grow up in the sport a little bit. He’s handled it well. He’s figured out how to wrestle up in weight.”
At first glance Caldwell’s won-loss record seems so-so. He was 11-9 with seven pins through Jan. 17. But the Bulldogs’ schedule was loaded with strong teams and strong tournaments. Couple that with the jump in weight, and Luke is gaining toughness for the upcoming county and state meets.
“He’s wrestled some really tough kids,” Harpel said. “The whole team has. They keep their heads up, keep working at practice and use that as a positive.”
Caldwell has no problems at all with the challenging opponents or higher weight class.
“Our coach knows the tougher competition we wrestle at the beginning of the season helps us later on in the season,” he said. “Just by seeing different opponents and the tougher kids. Wrestling up definitely makes a little difference.”
Caldwell credits his workout partners for much of his progress. Last year it was Kyle Doherty. This season it’s long-time friend Dean Meissner along with Dylan Hersh.
“They help me tremendously,” he said. “They just push me in practice and we always go at each other. It’s always a good fight between us.”
When asked to describe his style, he didn’t get too technical.
“I just go out there and wrestle,” he said. “I like neutral, but I could also go top and bottom. I just go with the flow I guess.”
Kind of like he flows from one sport to the other and enjoys success in each one.
Hopewell Valley wrestler Luke Caldwell also plays football and lacrosse for the Bulldogs. (Photo by Rich Fisher.),
