During his redshirt year at University of Indianapolis, Dawson Combest wanted to work hard to give his teammates the best possible chance at success.
Now that he is competing for the Greyhounds this season, Combest is one of those wrestlers enjoying that success. The former Columbus East standout will compete in the NCAA Division II Championships this weekend in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
“I think I matured a lot during the redshirt year mentally and physically,” Combest said. “Ultimately, in the back of my head last year, I wanted to be an All-American, and to make myself the best wrestler I could be, I had to make them the best wrestlers they could be. Now, this year, there are some others that are helping me become the best wrestler I can be.”
Combest is 23-6 and ranked No. 9 in the nation in Division II at 157 pounds. He is tied for second in all of Division II with seven technical falls, which occur when a wrestler accumulates a 15-point lead on his opponent.
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“He last year said, ‘I really struggle for the top positions. I couldn’t get any turns,’” UIndy coach Jason Warthan said. “He didn’t have any trouble staying on top. He’s tech-falled a couple of pretty good kids. It’s been a testament to his hard work that he’s tied for second in tech-falls against Division II kids. He just continues to evolve his wrestling.”
Warthan thinks that evolving came through Combest’s redshirt year last year. Wrestlers who are redshirting are allowed to compete in certain regular-season meets, but cannot have a coach in their corner when they are competing.
“It’s hard to make adjustments in a match,” Warthan said. “He did well without a coach in his corner because of his savviness that doesn’t come natural to a lot of our wrestlers. There’s not this pressure where, ‘If I do well at this tournament, it’s going to set me up to be ranked or to qualify for another tournament.’
But Combest did perform well last year, going 12-6 at 149 and 157, with a runner-up finish in UIndy’s Greyhound Open.
“It was OK,” Combest said. “It was a good learning experience. Once I got to college, I was quickly reminded and humbled how tough this sport is. It’s a completely different game in high school.”
Combest had a stellar high school career at East, where he went 162-22. He was a three-time Hoosier Hills Conference, sectional and regional champion and a three-time state medalist.
Three of Combest’s teammates at East now are wrestling at Indiana University. One of them, redshirt freshman Graham Rooks, has qualified for next weekend’s NCAA Division I Championships.
“We can’t make it to each other’s meets very often, but his parents go to my meets, and my family goes to their meets,” Combest said. “It’s a lifelong brotherhood that we’ve developed. I think Columbus produced some really good wrestlers in the last couple of years.”
After wrestling at 138 his senior year in high school, Combest beefed up to compete at 157.
“We lift pretty hard here in the offeseason,” Combest said. “I was able to put on the weight and move up pretty easily. I hope to make 157 my career weight. I feel pretty good here and feel like I am helping the team.”
Combest will be one of five UIndy wrestlers competing this weekend in Sioux Falls.
“I think the season is a reflection on all the work we’ve put in as a team — getting up early in the morning, pushing sleds, lifting weights,” Combest said. “It’s a collective success here. We have five guys at nationals that are going to make some noise.”
Combest, a history education major, credits his development to weekly film sessions with Warthan and morning practices with graduate assistants Sheldon Struble and George Lopez.
“He’s easy to coach,” Warthan said. “He always understands the score and situations and what needs to happen. His wrestling IQ coming in was really good. He’s one of our better match managers as far as knowing the score and where he is in the match. He was very well coached in his time up to UIndy. He is definitely a student of the game. When he steps on the mat, he’s done his homework. He’s watched film on his opponents.”
To qualify for the NCAA meet, Combest had to finish in the top three in the regional on Feb. 29. He opened with a 10-2 major decision over Blake Miller of West Liberty, then won a 4-0 decision over Cam Jenkins from Ashland in the quarterfinals.
After a semifinal loss, Combest bounced back with a 15-0 tech fall of Miller in 4 minutes, 53 seconds. Combest then earned a 5-2 decision against Cole Houser of Urbana in the third-place match.
“I just took at as any other match,” Combest said. “I had a heartbreaker in the semis, and I had to come back and win a match for third. My coaches pulled me aside and said, ‘We’re not done yet.’ I knew I could come back and get third if I wrestled to the best of my abilities, and that’s what happened.”
Combest has earned a No. 7 seed for the NCAA meet, which begins Friday in Sioux Falls.
“He’s had one of the best freshman years of anyone that I’ve coached, and I’ve had freshman All-Americans before,” Warthan said. “But those have been at the lower weights for us. To be a freshman at 157 and be ranked in the polls and go into the tournament as a No. 7 seed, that’s remarkable.”
In the first round, Combest will face Nebraska-Kearney’s Jacob Wasser (15-6). A win would put him up against Davis & Elkins’ Clifton Ruggerio (16-4), with the winner likely facing No. 2-seed Jake Barzowski (18-2) of St. Cloud State in the quarterfinals.
“I just take every meet one match at a time,” Combest said. “I just want to wrestle my best and score the most points that I can score for myself and the team. At UIndy, we’re a team-first school. I would like to win a team trophy.”
