Corey Johnson has left his mark on the Oklahoma City University wrestling program over the last four years.
Johnson, a senior from Oologah, Okla., wrapped up his OCU career this past weekend with a seventh-place finish at 285 pounds in the NAIA Championships inside Abe Lemons Arena. Johnson became just the fifth wrestler in school history to become a two-time all-American. He is this week’s Super Star of the Week for his all-American performance.
“To come through all four years and become a two-time all-American is great,” Johnson said. “I have to admit, it wasn’t what I was shooting for. I was really shooting for that national championship, but it still feels awesome and it’s something that I am going to take with me for the rest of my life.”
In the last match of his career, Johnson pinned Bacone’s Jeremy Colbert in 4:15 to finish seventh in the heavyweight division. Johnson finished his career with a 93-74 record and a school-record 33 career falls.
Teammate and fellow all-American Nik Turner said of Johnson, “I was glad to see Corey go out like he did. He kept us positive and upbeat. We’re going to miss him.”
Johnson became coach Archie Randall’s first recruit in 2006 when the wrestling program was restarted. Johnson recalls the recruiting experience and says he knew OCU was the right place for him.
“It was kind of amazing how it all worked out when I was first recruited,” he said. “I wasn’t sure where I was going to go to college, and Coach Randall called me and told me to come down for a campus visit. I knew Coach Randall was going to be successful. He proved that over his El Reno High School career. After getting on campus and meeting some of the advisors I really just fell in love with the campus. I knew this is where I wanted to be.”
Johnson has been successful on the mat by wearing down his opponents.
“My strategy on the mat is to break somebody,” he said. “Not necessarily break a bone or injure them, but to just grind on them and mentally wear them out. A lot of wrestlers are very slick, they have excellent technique and they are real quick. I’m not that athletic, but I know if I continually wear on my opponent and never stop attacking I can wrestle for seven minutes or longer and most wrestlers can’t.”
A new responsibility for Johnson is being a husband after recently getting married. Johnson’s wife, Emma, is a member of the women’s wrestling team at OCU, and he said it is nice having a wife who understands what it is like to be a wrestler.
“It’s been wonderful being married 9½ months now,” Johnson said. “She is a wrestler herself so that helps out a lot with understanding what it is like to have to go through the hard practices. I understand with her having to cut weight and trying to make the weight class. Also dealing with the coaches and the pressure, we can relate with each other.”
To see this week's OCU Athletics Update featuring Johnson, click here.
More on Corey:
Nickname: C.J.
Dream car: Ford Cobra
Person I would trade places with: No one, I love being me
Twitter is: A waste of time
What I put on my hamburger: The basics cheese, lettuce, ketchup and tomato
