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Landin headed to Heels
April 10, 1999 One of Dennis Landin's most rewarding moments in wrestling came less than two weeks after one of his most disappointing. On Wednesday, the Cary High School senior signed a national letter-of-intent to accept a wrestling scholarship to North Carolina. At the end of March, Landin - a two-time North Carolina 4-A state champion - had to miss out on the national high school tournament in Pittsburgh, PA., because of an injury. But this week, he was feeling very different emotions. "I'm really, really excited about it," Landin said of his plans to join the Tar Heels. Over the past few months, Landin - who turned in a 146-8 record in three years starting for Cary - had been recruited by quite a few other schools, including N.C. State, Duke, Lehigh and Virginia Tech. But when he took an official visit to North Carolina last weekend, his decision came quickly. The situation was perfect for him, he felt. "I just thought. 'This place is awesome,"' he said. "I love it there. The kids on the wrestling team seemed like good kids and I liked them a lot. It's a great school. They had the right people for me to work out with - they just had everything I needed." "My parents were happy that I won't be too far away," he added. NC Mat named Landin "North Carolina Wrestler of the Year" for the 1998-99 season in a statewide vote of coaches and media members that encompassed all weight classes and years in school, and high school divisions. He completed his senior season 49-0, wrestling in the 145-pound division. He was ranked No. 1 in North Carolina all year and is currently ranked at No. 5 in the nation at 135-pound by Wrestling USA magazine. Last year, Landin went 51-0 and won the state tittle at 135, and he completed his high school career under Cary coach Jerry Winterton having won 100 straight matches. That streak was the third longest in North Carolina prep wrestling history, trailing All-Americans and four-time state champs John Mark Bentley - now a Tar Heel wrestler - and Mike Kendall. Kendall coaches Landin's freestyle club, the Cardiac Kids. One of his other club teammates, Chapel Hill High standout and two-time state champion Jake Reynolds, also has signed with the Tar Heels. Coach Bill Lam's North Carolina team has won the ACC wrestling title seven of the past eight years. The chance to work-out with people like Bentley and learn from coaches including head-assistant coach T.J. Jaworsky, a three-time NCAA champion, is a big reason Landin was interested in the Heels. He also was impressed by the weight training facilities, and the strength and conditioning program. "Even before I had moved down here from (Howell) New Jersey, I thought about wrestling at Carolina," Landin said. "I don't know why." Landin hasn't wrestled for three weeks or so, since suffering a torn intercostal muscle (between the ribs) during practice for the National High School Coaches Association national tournament in Pittsburgh. The injury kept him out of that tournament, which included more than 700 high school seniors from across the nation who had been state champions or runner-ups. It kept him away from his longtime goal of earning All-America honors there by finishing in the top eight. "I was real disappointed," Landin said. "Nationals was something that I had been working for since my freshman year. Last year when I won the state semifinals, I thought 'I want to go to nationals and show what I can do."' Now, though, Landin is turning his attention to the freestyle wrestling season and a shot at earning All-American honors at the national tournament in Fargo, N.D. He also hopes to compete in the Junior World Team Trials for a spot on a national team that will take on wrestlers from other countries. He isn't sure what he'll major in at North Carolina. "I might want to be a coach," he said.
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