A familiar pose by Campbell’s Caleb Hopkins of Palmer. Photo by Bennett Scarborough
If it seems like Caleb Hopkins has been around forever, it’s because he has. This is his sixth season at Campbell University in a career extended by a redshirt season and COVID.
Longevity doesn’t guarantee success, but he has found both in Buies Creek, North Carolina.
The 184-pounder from Palmer ranks 16th nationally and last weekend moved his career record to 83-47 after picking up a pair of wins over Appalachian State and Gardner-Webb.
With 83 wins, Hopkins moved into fifth all-time among Alaskans at the NCAA Division I level, pulling even with Wasilla’s Jesse Brock, who went 83-32 at Boise State from 2000-04.
With Campbell having five regular season dual meets remaining plus the Southern Conference Championships, Hopkins has a chance to reach 90 wins before the NCAA Championships.
Four Alaskans have posted 90 or more wins, and only two have reached the century mark – All-Americans Cayle Byers of Chugiak and Scott Norton of Kodiak.
ALASKA’S MARVELOUS MAT MEN
| WINS | WRESTLER | CAREER% |
| 112 | Cayle Byers, Oklahoma St & George Mason 2009-12 | .836 |
| 111 | Scott Norton, Oregon 1994-97 | .799 |
| 92 | Gabe McMahan, Iowa 1998-01 | .724 |
| 91 | Scott Jorgensen, Boise State 2003-06 | .705 |
| 83 | Jesse Brock, Boise State 2000-04 | .722 |
| 83 | Caleb Hopkins, Campbell 2019-24 | .638 |
Hopkins, of Colony High fame, is a three-time NCAA qualifier who has won 11 of 18 matches this season after winning a career-high 19 matches a year ago.
He is coming off a wonderful weekend in which he pinned Appalachian State’s Tomas Booker in 54 seconds and held off Gardner-Webb’s 27th-ranked Jha’Quan Anderson 1-0.
“He did Caleb Hopkins things. I would never want to wrestle him,” Campbell assistant coach Chris Kober said in a press release. “Stylistically, he somehow always finds a way to put you on your back. Once he gets you on your back, there’s no getting off it.”
In the dual against Appalachian State, the Camels rallied for a 22-16 win after winning the
final four matches, including Hopkins at 184 and his brother Levi at 197.
Levi Hopkins defeated Carson Floyd 7-3 to give Campbell a 17-16 edge.
Oh my Levi Hopkins!! 😱#NCAAWrestling x 🎥 @UFCFightPass / @GoCamelsWrestle pic.twitter.com/Qvug96za0j
— NCAA Wrestling (@NCAAWrestling) February 3, 2024
Two days later, the Camels crushed Gardner-Webb 43-4 with Levi winning by a technical fall over Josh McCutchen.
The Alaskan improved to 19-6 on the season and moved to 58-26 for his career.
Campbell will be back on the mat Friday against The Citadel and before traveling to Louisville to take on Bellarmine in a dual that will be shown on ESPN+.
Other Notable Winners From Alaska
73 – Alan Bartelli, Boise State 2007-11
58 – Levi Hopkins, Campbell, 2020-24
53 – Jason Cooley, Oregon State, 1999-01
51 – Evan Bockman, Utah Valley/CBU, 2019-24
41 – Caden Gerlach, Cal Baptist 2019-2023
34 – Joshua Roetman, Navy, 2017-19