FOND DU LAC – Watching Donte Johnson on the wrestling mat, it’s nearly impossible to fathom the fact that only four years ago the sport wasn’t even a part of his life.
Johnson, in his senior season on the Fond du Lac wrestling team, has had a lightning-quick rise through the ranks since his grappling career began as a high school freshman.
He’s qualified for the past two WIAA Division 1 individual state wrestling meets as a heavyweight — finishing in fourth place last February as a junior — and compiled a combined 76-13 record along the way.
Not bad for a kid who joined wrestling as a way to become a better football player.
“I played basketball all throughout middle school and got to high school and my football coaches told me ‘You’re not playing basketball, you’re going out for wrestling. It will make you a better athlete,’” Johnson said. “So I took their advice and it was one of the best decisions I ever made.”
You can say that again.
Although it was a struggle to start, as Johnson finished with a sub-.500 record as a freshman and often considered quitting wrestling, he stuck it out and soon started to see the results of his hard work.
“I didn’t know anything about wrestling my freshman year. As a matter of fact, I didn’t like it my freshman year,” he said. “I don’t know how many times I quit, but I came running back because I knew the positives that came out of it. That just got me through it. I was a brand-new wrestler and I just worked hard every day and I started to see the results.” Fond du Lac wrestling coach Joe Rens knew immediately that Johnson had the potential to develop into a standout on the mat. Even though he didn’t have the necessary skills as freshman, Rens saw the brute strength and intensity Johnson possessed.
“He was raw (as a freshman),” Rens said. “I remember the second day (of practice), he broke a kid’s arm just because he was trying things so hard and everything is 100 percent with him. He’s a big, strong kid. But he broke the kid’s arm. We all said ‘He’s going to be a tough one to rein in.’ Little by little, we did that. He’s a very coachable kid, he listens to anybody. Because he’s so strong and with his work ethic, he’ll outwork anybody. He’ll wrestle a kid that could be better technique-wise, but because he’s so physical, kids can’t keep up with that.”
After the shaky start to his wrestling career, Johnson came into his own as a sophomore — qualifying for his first state meet and putting up a 40-8 record. He followed that up by taking fourth at state a year ago, losing by 3-0 decision to Wausau West’s Brady Lenz in the third-place match, and finished 36-5.
As a heavyweight, Johnson is able to wrestle at up to 285 pounds, but instead competes at about 255. Although that means he’s often at a weight disadvantage, it allows for his athleticism and quickness to shine.
“For me being a heavyweight, what accounts for my success is my athleticism,” he said. “The fact that I can move faster than others just because I’m lighter than most of the heavyweights I wrestle, and my aggressiveness and motor — that I keep going for the whole entire time I’m out on the mat.”
Rens agreed, while also pointing out a few other characteristics that make Johnson the wrestler he is.
“He’s aggressive as anybody I’ve ever seen and had in the room before,” Rens said. “He ranks up there in the top three of the hardest workers I’ve been around as a high school kid. The other difference that sets him apart is his mental thought process. Through the years I’ve been coaching, that is the most difficult thing for a high school kid to develop — to believe in what you can do and do it really aggressively. That’s what he does by far above anybody. I wish I had that as a high school competitor. You can’t necessarily teach that. You can help it along, but it’s something that you can’t teach. He’s tough as nails.”
This season, Johnson is out to a perfect 28-0 start and has his eyes set on a Division 1 heavyweight state title. Although he was proud of his podium finish at state last year, it only whetted his appetite for improvement this winter.
“My motto is if you’re not first, you’re last,” Johnson said. “Fourth (place) to some people is a huge achievement and it is to me, but first is always the goal — in anything you do. I look back at last year, knowing I can do better and that’s what motivates me for this year.”
It would also be a fairytale ending to Johnson’s wrestling career. As a tremendous defensive lineman on the football field for Fond du Lac, Johnson was named the Valley Football Association South Defensive Player of the Year this past fall and recently gave a verbal commitment to play the sport at the University of Minnesota Duluth, an NCAA Division II school, this upcoming season.
As Duluth doesn’t have wrestling as part of its athletic department, this season will likely be the last time Johnson competitively wrestles. That in mind, he knows much the sport meant in his growth as an athlete and football player.
“There were other schools that were interested in me for football and wrestling, but when I got to Duluth, I fell in love with the place,” he said. “I was willing to give up wrestling because I fell in love with the place. Football is my No. 1 sport and that kind of overrode wrestling. But that being said, I wouldn’t be where I’m at in football without wrestling, so I’m always going to have that sweet spot for wrestling in my heart.”
When Johnson does depart the Cardinals in about a month, Rens will be able to take a step back and look at how far he came as a wrestler in four short years and what that has meant for the program.
“You really can’t put it into words where he started as a freshman,” Rens said. “We’ve helped him along, but it’s really what he’s done just with his work ethic. He was the first guy after the football season in the room. Most guys were taking a couple days off. But he was in the room. He’s a one-of-a-kind kid. … Donte’s meant a ton to us. He’s been a great role model.”
Division 1 WI Individual Rank | Wisconsin’s #1 Wrestling Community