University of North Carolina Athletics
Catching Up With Justin Dobies
January 11, 2008 | Wrestling
Jan. 11, 2008
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - TarHeelBlue.com recently met with Justin Dobies, the Tar Heels' heavyweight to talk about his great start to the 2007-08 season. Dobies, a junior Garfield Heights, Ohio, native, is now ranked No. 18 nationally in the heavyweight division on the strength of a 16-5 record on the season.
THB.com: How has the transition from being a 184-pound wrestler to a heavyweight been going for you?
Justin Dobies: I came to UNC at 215 pounds, so I was cutting my weight. It was difficult, but once I got to 184 I managed it pretty well. So, I remained a 184-pound wrestler all freshman and sophomore season. But honestly, I feel better as a heavyweight. I'm definitely not the biggest heavyweight out there - probably one of the smaller ones, but once I got the word that I was moving up I started hitting the weights and eating more. I feel more comfortable; I'm enjoying it.
THB.com: How do you think the season is going thus far - individually and as a team?
Dobies: Individually, I feel like I'm doing pretty well this year. I'm happy with the way things are going. I've dropped a few matches and nobody likes to lose, but it's going to happen to everybody. I think losing helps you. Losing lets you know what you're doing wrong and it allows you improve your game. I think I have improved with each loss that I have had. With the coaches' help, I'm more aware of the things I need to do to get better. In my last win over the kid from Oklahoma (then ranked No. 18), I went in after practicing hard based on what the coaches told me to do. It was a really tough match, but I won and it felt great.
As a team, I think we're on track for where we need to be both practice and match wise. I know we had a hard loss against Oklahoma. We had a few new guys step in the lineup with Nick Tenpenny and Kyle Kiss, but they wrestled really tough - I think everyone did. If you read the score it doesn't really give you a good indication of how the match really went. If you were there you would have seen that our guys wrestled hard, leaving everything on the mat. Overall, as a team and individually, I am pretty pleased with how things have progressed this year. I'm happy with the direction we're going.
THB.com: You mentioned that you're more than likely one of the smaller heavyweights in the college circuit. To what do you attribute your success this season as a "non-typical" heavyweight?
Dobies: I think it is the quickness aspect. I definitely feel quicker than almost everybody that I have wrestled so far this season. Also, I think I have a good balance. I kept my quickness and speed from when I wrestled 184 pounds, which I think is helping me a lot, but I have also kept the mindset of a 184 pound wrestler. This mindset helps me in that I want to move quickly and that I'm not afraid to take a shot and get underneath those guys, which I think is the problem with most big guys. It's all a mentality issue, guys are worried that their opponent is going to get on top of them and they're not going to be able to move anymore. I don't think about that. I want to attack.
THB.com: You've already pinned three opponents and won via major decision four times, and you're only halfway through the season. This has matched your success of previous seasons. How are you feeling at the midway point of the season?
Dobies: This season is going better than any previous season I've had. I'm in a different weight class but I feel a lot better. You can ask Coach Mock or Coach Grant, as a heavyweight I move more and I am more on the offensive than I ever was at 184 pounds. I feel if I don't surpass previous years of what I have accomplished or haven't accomplished then I didn't do what I needed to do or what I wanted to do. I'm looking to surpass all I've done in the past this year. So far, I am feeling great.
THB.com: Wednesday, it was announced that you've joined the national rankings as a heavyweight. At No. 18, how do you feel about being ranked?
Dobies: It's a great accomplishment to be ranked. But on the other hand you can't let it get to your head. Rankings, as great as they are, are easy to go to your head. However, it feels good to know that someone realizes you have talent and are doing the right things. It is tough, as well, because it is easy to think that now that I'm No.18 I can't lose to someone that's below me. You have to take your ranking as people realizing you're good but also that your opponents will feel that they have something to prove when they wrestle you.
By being ranked, I think I found where I need to be and I believe I see where I need to go with it as well. But honestly, whether I'm ranked or not, I'm going to wrestler my hardest.
THB.com: This season's unofficial goal is trying to reclaim the ACC crown, but it is a young team. How is the team stacking up compared to previous ACC champion teams?
Dobies: I think that this team this year is closer and has a tighter bond than even the two ACC championship teams I've been apart of. We all get along great. We all hang out. There are no cliques or groups within our team. When we all hang out, we all are together. I think this is by far the most cohesive bunch we've had here in my career. In terms of wrestling, I think we are all wrestling hard. I think we're getting to where we need to be to get back to winning the ACCs.
THB.com: Has there been one moment that has served as a motivation for you individually leading to your already successful season?
Dobies: Last year's ACCs definitely served as a drive for me and for the team this season. I wasn't wrestling because it was my redshirt year, but it still affected me. The third-place finish last year showed us that we had a lot to work on. It was a good motivation for the team and it set the tone for the off-season to transfer into the New Year. The coaches have been getting us to do things to be successful. As for myself, it was tough losing the first match of the season, but I came back and started winning big. Since then, I've been doing what I need to do and the team has been doing what is needed to be done as well.
Justin Dobies and the rest of the Tar Heels will begin their ACC slate Sunday as they face the No. 21 ranked Maryland Terrapins at 1 p.m. and then non-conference opponent Belmont Abbey at 3 p.m. at Carmichael Auditorium. The Tar Heels are 3-2 on the season.
