Destin McCauley celebrates after winning a national title (Photo/Corbey R. Dorsey, UNK Athletics)Last season Destin McCauley of Nebraska-Kearney won a national title at the NCAA Division II level. It was his second consecutive All-American honor at 149 pounds after finishing third at the NCAAs the previous season. He begins his senior season ranked No. 1 at 157 pounds in Division II.
McCauley competed for Apple Valley (Minn.) High School, winning five state championships and earning six state medals. He won 286 matches, which set a state record. McCauley was once the nation's No. 1 wrestling recruit in the Class of 2011.
InterMat recently caught up with McCauley.
Last season you won a Division II national championship in dramatic fashion, coming from behind in the final 10 seconds, scoring a takedown off a throw from double overs. You showed a lot of emotion after the victory. How much did that national championship mean to you?
McCauley: It really meant a lot to me kind of because of where I used to be in my wrestling career. The previous two years I really took a couple steps back. It showed me that I still have it and still have that fire inside me to be the best.
Your wrestling journey has kind of taken you all over. You spent time at the Olympic Training Center after high school, and then attended Nebraska briefly before transferring to Nebraska-Kearney for the second semester of the 2013-14 season. Why has Nebraska-Kearney been a good fit for you?
McCauley: It's really the coaches here. They really understood where I was coming from. They understood my background. They really take time with me. They want to meet with me a couple times a week just to talk and hang out. They connect with you on a personal level. I feel like I haven't had that connection so far. I feel like some coaches use their wrestlers just to make their team great. Here at Kearney they really want what's best for the student-athlete.
You're moving up a weight class this season from 149 pounds to 157 pounds. What went into the decision to move up a weight class?
McCauley: I lose a lot of muscle when I get down to 149 pounds. I don't really have much body fat on me to begin with. Getting down there I felt like I just kept losing muscle, and that's not really how I like to do things. This summer I really spent a lot of time in the weight room.
Marc Bauer resigned as Nebraska Kearney's head wrestling coach in August. Were you surprised when you received that news?
McCauley: I really wasn't surprised. Just the way things had been going, it kind of seemed like a domino effect. Dalton Jensen had been named a co-head coach the year before, so I kind of had a feeling something was going to happen. Coach Bauer is still in there with us quite a bit. We all understand that he has obligations to school now, which we're all OK with. It really wasn't a shock. Dalton is an awesome coach, and he's just going to pick up where Coach Bauer left off.
Nebraska-Kearney begins the season ranked No. 6 after finishing third at the NCAAs last season. You lose a couple multiple-time national champions in Daniel DeShazer and Romero Cotton, but have four All-Americans returning. What are your expectations for the program this season?
McCauley: We're really going to miss Daniel and Romero because those guys were always bringing the hammer down. We're kind of a young team, but we have a lot of good guys who are willing to step up. I'm excited to see what these guys can bring to the table this year. Of course, I think we have a shot at winning a national title by the end of the year when everything comes around and our lineup is ready.
Nebraska-Kearney wrestles a tough schedule that includes events like the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational where you'll see Division I competition. Does it excite you being able to compete against the top Division I wrestlers while still wrestling for Nebraska-Kearney?
McCauley: Oh yeah. That was another thing that drew me to Kearney. I knew that they had tournaments like this. They used to go to the Midlands Championships, but they backed out of that and we go out to Vegas. I love to still be able to compete with the Division I guys, see where I'm at, get my hands on them and show them that Division II is not much of a step down from Division I. A lot of wrestlers in Division II have tons of talent.
Are there any particular opponents you're looking forward to facing this season?
McCauley: I'm excited to get my hands on any top-ranked guys. Any top 10 guys in Division I would be great. I don't really know who is at 157 pounds in Division II, but whoever is trying to take down, I'm ready.
Tervel Dlagnev came from Nebraska-Kearney and became a two-time Olympian and two-time world medalist. What has his post-collegiate success in freestyle done for the Nebraska-Kearney program?
McCauley: Tervel is an awesome guy. He's always trying to come back when he can. When we have camps in the summer he'll come in and run a session for us. It increases the number of kids who will come out just because they're excited to see a world medalist or Olympic athlete. It really brings more numbers to the camps. So we all appreciate that.
Mark Hall recently finished his career at Apple Valley. He was a six-time state champion, and won Cadet and Junior World titles and the nation's No. 1 wrestling recruit. You were teammates with Mark when he was a seventh-grader and you were a senior. What do you remember about Mark during that year?
McCauley: I just knew instantly that kid was going to be something special. I was the top recruit in the country my senior year, and that kid was almost taking me down as a seventh-grader. That just kind of blew my mind. I was always that kid who was trying to beat up all the older guys. He was doing better than I ever did at that age. He just has the right mindset. He just kept with it. I'm so proud of him. I know he's going to do awesome at Penn State.
You were very successful in freestyle wrestling, winning multiple Fargo titles and making the Junior World team. Is freestyle wrestling in your future after you finish your college wrestling career?
McCauley: I definitely want to wrestle some freestyle. That has always been my favorite style. I just have to try to find a place to train after this season, whether it's staying here at Kearney or training somewhere else. I have my options open. I want to find a nice regional training center and keep competing in freestyle.
What weight class do you plan to compete in for freestyle?
McCauley: I'm still kind of trying to figure that out myself. I'm not really sure about going down to 143 pounds just because I don't really like to cut the weight, but sometimes you have to do that with the Olympic weight classes. So I might try to get bigger and take a gander at the bigger weight class, 163 pounds. I'm going to keep trying to lift, get big and keep my body healthy and see how that will go for a little bit. If things aren't working out, then I might have to cut down. Right now I'm shooting for the bigger weight class. When I get small I'm more prone to injuries, and I have some bad shoulders, so I like getting big, keeping my body strong.
Destin McCauely battles Isaac Dulgarian of Notre Dame in the NCAA finals (Photo/Corbey R. Dorsey, UNK Athletics)Do you feel pretty healthy right now?
McCauley: Yeah. This is probably the healthiest I've felt in a couple years. I went from getting shoulder surgery to getting ankle surgery … I have two screws in my ankles. It has been kind of a long recovery process for me the last few years. I'm finally starting to feel like I'm back to where I used to be.
Are you having fun and enjoying the sport as much as you ever have?
McCauley: Oh yeah. There was a time when I was kind of done with the sport. I thought it was about time I hung up my shoes. It took me hitting rock bottom to find out I love this sport, and I feel like this sport loves me. It gives me tons of opportunities in life, and I love that about the sport so I'm going to keep riding this train as long as I can.
What needs to happen this season for it to be considered a successful season?
McCauley: For me personally, it's winning another national title. Along with that, making sure academically I'm keeping up with my grades. I'm almost done with school, so I need to make sure that's a priority. Also making sure my team is on the same path as me, making sure their mindset is to get better and push everyone. I want a team national title too. I would like to go out with that. I know we have the kids to do it.
This story also appears in the Nov. 11 issue of The Guillotine. The Guillotine has been covering wrestling in Minnesota since 1971. Its mission is to report and promote wrestling at all levels -- from youth and high school wrestling to college and international level wrestling. Subscribe to The Guillotine.
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