Mooresville senior sees resilience and dedication pay off

Winning 100 matches never crossed Dontrez Patterson’s mind.

And with a 5-6 record after his sophomore year, not many others expected the Mooresville wrestler to reach that milestone either.

“I thought there was no way in God’s name I was going to get to 100 wins,” said Patterson. “I didn’t think I could win that much in two seasons.”

But dedicating himself to the sport allowed the senior to hit triple digits wins against Hough last week.

“What’s even more impressive than the 100th win was all the support – all the people who were there to see Dontrez,” said Mooresville wrestling coach Ben Watson. “They were there to see Dontrez, in my opinion, not because he’s a good wrestler, but because he’s a good kid.”

Patterson began wrestling in eighth-grade when he moved to Mooresville Middle from Statesville.

He questioned whether he wanted to stay in the sport when he arrived in high school, not knowing whether he could be competitive at that level.

Instead of getting discouraged by not seeing any varsity mat time that season and realizing that he was not up to par to the experienced wrestlers, he said he used that as motivation for the following season.

Despite weighing about 175 pounds, Patterson would wrestle at 215 to try to score points for his Blue Devils his sophomore season.

“He worked in there and really didn’t mature until January that year,” Watson said. “I put him in the conference tournament and he beat the No. 1 seed ... and he ended up losing in the finals.”

Being the I-Meck runner-up showed Patterson that he had potential.

“I think that really turned on the light of what he could do,” said Watson. “I don’t think he realized until then how tough and talented he was. It was an eye-opener.”

He did not have enough wins to qualify for regionals, but Patterson began to take the sport more seriously as he wrapped up that season.

As a junior, Patterson said he was not being overpowered by his opponents wrestling at a more natural weight-class – 170 pound.

He added that his previous experience in the Blue Devil wrestling room largely contributed to a breakout 54-12 season that culminated in an I-Meck 170-pound title and a third-place finish at his first 4A state tournament.

With his great-grandmother, Clara Faulkner, passing away from breast cancer in the first day of the state tournament, he admits that his accomplishment was bittersweet.

He now wears pink shoelaces and socks at every match.

“I’m doing this for my grandmother and my family,” Patterson said.

Patterson, who starts this season 41-8, said he’s found more of his style this year. He said he’s mostly a defensive wrestler, although he’s worked on his takedowns to score more points.

The seventh-ranked 182-pounder in 4A according to retrorankings.com, Patterson is looking to improve his tilts and double-leg takedowns in order to reach his goal of winning another I-Meck title and competing for regional and state titles.

“I have to keep my head focused,” he said. “I have a few things to work on. If I sharpen those up, I think I’ll be good.”

Patterson credits his former and current Blue Devils teammates for where he is today, and he tries to pay back for their help by mentoring the younger wrestlers.

“The freshmen and sophomores look up to me, I see that,” said Patterson. “I want to help them. If they need help, I’m right there.”

Patterson said that fellow senior Sam Crisp, who he’s wrestled with since middle school, mentors the lower weights.

Watson, who won his 300th match last month, said that although Patterson doesn’t have to say much to lead Mooresville.

“When he has words to say, they’re words of wisdom,” said Watson. “And everybody listens.”