Lakeland’s wrestling team has been busy this summer, but the Cavaliers have also found time to make new friends.

On Saturday, Aug. 7, Lakeland’s hosting a wrestling clinic with the help of those friends.

North Carolina State head coach Carter Jordan, Jordan’s coaching staff and the Wolfpack’s 2009 NCAA National Champion Darrion Caldwell will run the clinic.

“In college wrestling, there are only 10 weight classes, so to actually have a national champion come to our facility, it’s certainly a rarity. In high school, every state has champions, but at the college level, this is truly one of 10,” said Lakeland head coach John Bostwick.

Caldwell won the 149-pound national championship in 2009. He went 38-1 that season to become NCSU’s fifth individual national champion.

Caldwell’s a two-time All-American, a three-time ACC champion with a 28-0 career record against ACC opponents and has a three-year record for the Wolfpack of 94-12 with 50 pins. He redshirted in the 2009-10 season, so he’s a rising senior at N.C. State this coming year.

“This is a great opportunity to have someone so elite come, teach a clinic and motivate the kids by telling them what it takes to be successful beyond the high school level,” Bostwick said.

The clinic is set for 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. and is open to all ages. The registration fee is $50. Lunch will be provided at Lakeland and there is a limit of 50 kids.

“We set a limit so that all of the kids there will be able to interact a lot with the coaches and Caldwell,” Bostwick said.

The day before the clinic, the N.C. State coaches and champion will work with the Cavalier wrestlers. Bostwick and Jordan are also looking to organize some Saturday clinics during the fall at Lakeland. Jordan is a Virginia Beach native and is in his seventh year coaching at NCSU.

“We just sort of struck up a good relationship with Carter Jordan during the camp we went to (at N.C. State) this summer,” Bostwick said.

Jordan and the Wolfpack seek to gain from starting camps such as these in the Southeastern Virginia region, a region rich in high school wrestling talent.

“He wants to utilize this area as a pipeline,” Bostwick said. “So he’s helping us and in turn, hopefully we’re helping him. Hopefully this will generate more interest around here in N.C. State and he’s finding more good student-athletes to come to N.C. State.”

During Jordan’s tenure at N.C. State, he’s coached 12 individual ACC champions and the Wolfpack’s finished the last two seasons ranked in the top 25 nationally.

Having these dates circled on the calendar has been outstanding motivation.

“It’s been a good way to get kids in the weight room and the wrestling room,” Bostwick said.

A usual week for the Cavs during the offseason has been Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in the weight room and Tuesday and Thursday evenings on the mats.

“We’ve tried to open (Tuesdays and Thursdays) up to all of Suffolk. Nansemond River’s and King’s Fork’s wrestlers are welcome,” Bostwick said.

A rising tide lifting all three Suffolk wrestling teams is what Bostwick wants, which is why he wants wrestlers other than his Cavaliers, at least for the most part, to take advantage of the guests from Raleigh.

To register or for more information, call Bostwick at 685-6973 or e-mail him at lakelandwrstling@yahoo.com (there is no “e” in “wrestling, or else the message will go to another Lakeland High School).