Deion Johnson feels underappreciated and under-recruited going into this senior year at Homewood-Flossmoor. The 113-pounder has now made his presence known on the national wrestling scene.
The Vikings senior-to-be finished second at 113 pounds on July 19 in the US Marine Corps Junior National Championships in Fargo, North Dakota. The annual event is among the most prestigious youth wrestling tournaments in the country.
“It let me know that I can compete on a big stage,” Johnson said. “I can run it back next year just like this and hopefully get first.”
Johnson lost the championship match 9-2 to Hunter Taylor from Missouri. Taylor was the 2021 Junior Nationals champion, won a Missouri state title and was named to the Junior National Duals all-tournament team.
Johnson didn’t know any of that before the match, though. His only knowledge of his opponent came from watching a few matches that week.
“I really had no idea who he was. I didn’t want to hear anything about who he was. I was just going into that match like it was a regular match,” Johnson said. “It was like that the entire tournament. People were like ‘Who do you have next?’ I didn’t really know. I was just trying to take it one match at a time. I wasn’t thinking about names.”
Taylor was the aggressor. He said in post-match interviews that his plan was to make Johnson think about his offense.
“He was a good wrestler. That was pretty much it. I couldn’t really get anything off,” Johnson said. “He was stopping all of my stuff and really getting to his shots more.”
The successful week is a redemption for Johnson.
He wrestled in the 2021 tournament with an ankle injury. He had a friend, instead of a trainer, wrap it before the first match and he lost on criteria. After he was properly prepared by a professional, he rattled off six straight wins before falling a round short of a chance to wrestle for All-American status.
The top eight wrestlers in each class are All Americans.
The Fargo result is just the latest addition to a pretty solid wrestling resume for Johnson.
He was third in May at the Northern Plains Junior Regionals in Wisconsin. He was also third in the Class 3A state championships at 106 pounds over the winter. He finished the high school season with a 35-8 record. That was a follow up to a 32-8 freshman season when he was a state qualifier at 106 pounds.
Johnson said he’s improved since the high school season – mostly with his stamina – and it showed in North Dakota.
The results drew attention, too. Since he took the silver, Johnson heard from college coaches from Michigan, West Virginia and Illinois, among others.
“Some were calling before Fargo, but there’s plenty more after,” he said.