Iowa State’s Johnson is very confident, with good reason

AMES — Iowa State freshman wrestler Paniro Johnson boasts two top-six wins this season and hasn’t lost a collegiate match. That’s a heady start to the supremely confident 149-pounder’s career, but if you ask him, he’s simply meeting expectations ... and the best is yet to come.

“I thought I was the best a year ago, I thought I was the best a month ago and I still think I’m the best,” said Johnson, one of No. 6 ISU’s headliners in the Collegiate Duals, which take place Monday and Tuesday in New Orleans. “I’m performing a lot better, (but) even any time I ever lost in my career, I stepped off the mat and was like, ‘I can beat that guy next time.’”

Johnson went 19-6 while gray-shirting last season and competing for the Cyclone Regional Training Center. He beat three previous NCAA qualifiers in that span and was a four-time Pennsylvania state medalist. In short, his confidence is earned — and his repertoire is wide-ranging because he’s very much a student of the sport.

“The beauty of Paniro is he thinks he can do just about anything,” said Cyclone head coach Kevin Dresser, whose team (5-1) faces Oregon State to start the Collegiate Duals Monday. “He (thinks) he has a lot more bag of tricks than I think he has bag of tricks and that’s the most important thing. As long as he thinks he has a big bag of tricks, then what I think doesn’t matter.”

Johnson (5-0) has already beaten former Cyclone Austin Gomez of Wisconsin, who is ranked second at 149 by Intermat, and Iowa’s Max Murin, who is ranked sixth, this season. He could face No. 1 and three-time NCAA champ Yianni Diakomihalis of Cornell in Monday’s second dual.

“Everybody at the weight just is so different,” Johnson said of the nation’s 149-pound weight class in general. “So many different styles, so many different matchups. I feel like this is one of the most dynamic and toughest weight classes, and I would feel like I was the best at any weight class, but I feel like I’m trying to prove that to everybody.”

So far, so good.

Dresser said his team is fairly healthy, but there may be some mixing and matching in the lineup, which isn’t unusual during such events.

“It’s going to be pretty much our normal lineup,” Dresser said. “We’ve just got to hold in there for two on Monday and one on Tuesday.”

Johnson won’t be holding anything back in any of his matches, but he will have carefully studied the styles and tendencies of each wrestler he could face. Preparation is one area he identified for improvement, and perfecting that is required if he wants to back up his “I’m the best” mantra.

“I feel like, mentally, I prepare,” said Johnson, who is ranked fifth in his weight class. “I watch film and break it down. I watch it with (Dresser), too, but I feel like I watch it differently. … There’s little things like that, so guys can’t get to me.”

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