Greenwood wrestler Jeremy Johnson seeks better results in his senior year

Greenwood wrestler Jeremy Johnson took fourth in his weight class at the state tournament last season. Ordinarily, that would be considered a respectable accomplishment. For Johnson, though, it was something that motivated him during the offseason entering his senior year.

“Going into this season, our main focus was getting my cardio to a better place than last year,” Johnson said. “At the state tournament, I was upset by someone who outworked me. It was a big focus to make sure I was in as good a shape as possible. It was a lot of early morning cardio and extra work after practices, but I feel like I’m in a great place right now as far as cardio goes, and I’m in the best shape of my life.”

Those results have shown so far. Wrestling in the 165-pound class, of his first 50 individual matches, Johnson won 39.

“I feel like it’s been a great year so far; I had a couple of setbacks dealing with injuries from last year, but I’m proud of how I’ve wrestled overall this year,” he said. “Our coach (John Kincade) takes us out of state a lot to wrestle against better competition and it’s a great way to improve.”

Already this season, Johnson has faced wrestlers from Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri and even a wrestler from Florida, a regional champion named Malachi Lewis, whom Johnson was able to pin in 3:22.

“I feel like my best matches have been against a regional champion from Florida (Malachai Lewis) and Bryan Ramos from Van Buren (whom Johnson has beaten twice),” Johnson said.

He’s also made a progression in weight since getting into wrestling during his freshman year. Then, Johnson was wrestling in the 126 class before moving up to 132 his sophomore year. As a junior, Johnson wrestled in the 157 class, and placed second at regionals before his fourth-place showing at state.

If there’s something that Johnson really enjoys about wrestling, for the most part, it’s going one-on-one against an opponent and not a team, though teams do wrestle in dual events.

“I really like that I don’t have any other factors contributing to my matches other than who is better between me and my opponent,” he said. “Nothing like worrying about how the rest of my team is doing on the field or what his team is doing, just me and him. Duals are a little bit different; every match counts towards our team winning or the opponent. But at the end of the day, it’s still depending on each person’s individual performance in their matches.”

Another thing that has helped benefit Johnson in his quick acclimation into wrestling has been the tutelage of Kincade, a longtime coach not only in Greenwood but also in Oklahoma, a noted hotbed of the sport.

“Coach K really is the best,” Johnson said. “He’s been instrumental in helping me catch up by providing his experience and knowledge. If you go to any big tournament, everyone’s going to know who Coach K is. I would be a completely different person without his help and this sport.”

Johnson is just as dedicated in the classroom, compiling a 4.13 grade-point average while currently taking four advanced placement classes. He has already been accepted to Amherst College in Massachusetts, one of the country’s top liberal arts schools. However, Johnson won’t be wrestling there.

“I was accepted under their Early Decision option; unfortunately, my plans to wrestle there fell through after a policy change,” he said. “I had planned to attend Amherst College while wrestling for UMass Amherst; however, the policy change meant I would not be able to compete under their name.”

Instead of wrestling, Johnson plans to compete in jiu-jitsu upon arriving at Amherst. With that in mind, Johnson knows he’s in the final weeks of his wrestling career, hoping that his extensive training habits over the offseason will pay off with a better showing at the upcoming 5A state tournament.

“My eyes are definitely on winning; I think the key to winning will be to not slow down from where I am,” Johnson said. “I’ve done the work these past three years. I’ve experienced what it’s like to lose on that stage.”