PEMBROKE — All-American Nick Daggett is entering his second season for The University of North Carolina at Pembroke wrestling team after placing eighth in nationals last year as a freshman. He and redshirt junior Tyler Makosy are the headliners on a loaded roster that is expected to contend for another Eastern College Athletic Conference title.
According to Daggett and Makosy, it’s the impassioned leadership of their coach Othello “O.T.” Johnson that is the source of most of their success the last two years.
“Coach Johnson brings a bunch of positive energy,” Daggett said. “He’s a big driving force for the energy we have out on the mat. He’s behind everything we do, our big motivator, and he’s everything for us, basically.”
“Coach OT is awesome. He brings so much knowledge into whatever we do,” Makosy said.
Johnson says coaching is a true passion and that he wakes up and asks himself a simple question every day, “Do I still love this?” For him, the answer is always a resounding yes, which creates for a nurturing environment within the program.
“I look at it from the standpoint that I get a chance to be a part of these guy’s journeys for four or five years and not many people get a chance to do that for a living. No matter what’s going on, I try to make sure that I’m constantly at high energy,” Johnson said.
It’s this mentality that can allow a Division II school to consistently accept the challenge of competing with top Division I programs and not get discouraged if they don’t win. According to Johnson, the group got their “butts handed to them” in the Hokie Open at Virginia Tech on Nov. 4, and was honest to them about the experience that he says will help them grow throughout the season.
They won’t have time to lick any lingering wounds, however, as a meeting with Division I powerhouse No. 8-ranked North Carolina State awaits on Saturday. The guys are in good spirits ahead of the Wolfpack Open (where they’ll also have to compete against Davidson) and expect to do more than just show up.
“The tournament coming up is going to be pretty tough,” Daggett said about the trip to Raleigh. “But, there’s no reason we can’t hang with everybody else. We train just as hard, if not harder. We got some of the best in DII here.”
Johnson says these type of opponents give his unit a chance to grow incrementally, and that is more important than wins and losses in the early part of the season. He makes each wrestler meet with him and the coaching staff each week to discuss their list of five things they liked, and didn’t like from the previous week. This allows for realistic goal-setting and for both sides to work together in making the necessary adjustments.
“There’s not a guy on the team he overlooks or underlooks, so he’s definitely keeping us all under his wing, trying to make us all the best we can be by March,” Makosy said.
Much like college basketball, March separates the contenders from the pretenders and is when the NCAA wrestling National Championships are held. Johnson has amassed quite the list of accolades in his seven years at the helm with three national champions and last year when he helped guide the school’s first conference championship team in 34 years.
This year, Johnson says he’s just as, if not more, excited to watch the talented group who he believes can win their region, then compete for a national title.
“They can accomplish something that probably hasn’t been accomplished in over 30 years at the university and we’re super-excited to be a part of that,” Johnson said.
Freshman Ronnie Pietro wrestles at the 133-pound class and figures to be a key component to the title efforts. Daggett says he and Pietro push each other in sparring sessions, while Johnson says he feels “really good” about the freshman who’s already notched a fifth-place finish in last week’s Pembroke Classic.
Graduate transfer Kaleb Warner is expected to be a valued contributor at the 149-pound class and trains with Makosy. Warner transferred from Central Missouri where he beat the returning national champion, but couldn’t compete in the NCAA championships after sustaining an injury late in the season.
The 141-pound class currently has the most competition as Johnson says there are three guys vying for the starting spot. Johnathan Miller figures to be leading the battle at the moment, going undefeated at the Pembroke Classic, including a 15-9 win in the championship bout.
Including Saturday’s trip to Raleigh, UNCP will be on the road for the next three competitions before hosting Belmont Abbey for the home opener on Dec. 19.
