PEMBROKE — After a three-year hiatus from collegiate wrestling, Scotland High graduate Nick Kee is making the most of his final year of eligibility at UNC-Pembroke.
Kee, a three-time state champion at Scotland High, recently claimed the 197-pound weight class championship at the Mountain East Conference Championship. His efforts helped the Braves win the team conference title as well.
“It feels really good,” Kee said of those accomplishments. “I’m just glad to be back on the mat. It’s almost been three years since I’ve competed in wrestling. It feels awesome to win an individual championship, but it feels even better to win as a team.”
Kee spent most of his collegiate wrestling career at Appalachian State. He was a Mountaineer for four years before an injury pulled him away from the mat.
“My last year I blew my knee out and decided I needed to take some time off,” Kee said. “I moved back home (to Laurinburg) from Appalachian. I worked at Verizon for about three years.
“Then I got a call from (UNCP coach O.T. Johnson). He said he’d love to have me out here. He brought me on a visit, and I thought it’d be a good place for me to come back and finish my career out. I didn’t want to have any regrets seeing that I had one year of eligibility left to wrestle.”
He knew a return to wrestling wouldn’t be an easy task. Kee had worked out during his time off, but not nearly as much as a full-time wrestler would.
He also gained weight in that time. He competed in the 165 and 174-pound weight classes at Appalachian State; Kee now competes in the 197-pound class.
“I’ve gained a little weight, put on a little size. So that was an adjustment,” Kee said. “When you’re working at a desk you can put on some weight pretty fast.
“It was a little hard when I first got here, trying to get back in shape, get back in the motion of things,” he added. “A three-year layoff can be a setback, but I tried to persevere and get the ball rolling as fast as possible.”
Kee’s hard work paid off. He joined UNCP’s program at the semester break, and he has yet to lose a bout with the Braves. He improved his record to 10-0 with a major decision victory over Lander’s Darius Parker on Wednesday.
Kee is on a roll, but he’s not resting on his laurels.
“Right now I’m still trying to climb up and get in the best position possible to win a national title,” Kee said. “Even though we won conference and I’m undefeated, I’m still not complacent. I’m still trying to strive to be the best version of myself.
“I know I have to keep putting in work to be a national champion.”
As he continues to pursue a title, Kee also knows that he needs to be a leader for his teammates. He has more than enough experience to speak on, given all the things he has accomplished and all the adversity he’s faced — winning Southern Conference Freshmen of the Year honors at Appalachian State, taking home a conference title as a sophomore and fighting through an injury that kept him off the mat for a long time.
Kee said he encourages his teammates to focus on “consistency with their work ethic.”
“What you do when you practice is what you’re going to do when you compete,” Kee said. “The guys I work out with, I try to elevate them by keeping a fast pace, and just showing them that they can do more.”
