Contact: Sam Fretto, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, sjfretto@noctrl.edu
Jan. 27, 2025 - North Central College men’s wrestling senior Joshua Dorr is months away from walking across the stage and graduating as a Cardinal. However, that wasn’t the plan for Dorr four years ago when he was deciding where to attend college. That was before he was persuaded by the Cardinals’ assistant wrestling coach/strength program coordinator, Michael Bikulcius.
“Coming out of high school, I didn’t want to wrestle. I wanted to move far away from Illinois and start my own life somewhere else in a different state,” said Dorr.
Dorr met with Bikulcius and was convinced to meet the North Central team before giving up wrestling entirely. It worked out as Dorr made the decision to stay thanks to the team welcoming him with open arms.
“He [Bikulcius] approached me and said, ‘I know you want to give up wrestling, but meet the team first and hang out with the guys for a day.’ I took a tour, and Joe Norton (the head men’s wrestling coach at the time) showed me around, and I met some of the guys, and there was a spark.” Dorr said, “There was that team camaraderie that I felt right away, and I knew I needed to be there for that.”
Outside of wrestling, Dorr felt a connection to North Central for academic reasons too. He always preferred the smaller campus scene.
“I like the smaller classroom environment. I like to have that one-on-one connection with professors that I don't think you get at a bigger university. It made learning more impactful for me and personal.”
When Dorr got to North Central, he made the decision to major in nutrition. He decided to pursue that major because it has always been a part of his life due to wrestling.
“With needing to cut weight for wrestling and having coaches tell you what to put in your body to do so, it sparked interest for me.” Dorr continued, “It led me down the rabbit hole, and now it’s something that I can see myself doing for the rest of my life.”
Dorr hopes to use his degree to work clinically or become a sports nutritionist, but before then he has to go to graduate school to get credentials to become a registered dietitian.
Dorr is more than just a student-athlete, though; he has had a unique college experience thanks to joining the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps in his freshman year. Joining the ROTC has given him academic opportunities with scholarships but also discipline.
“Three days a week I go over to Wheaton College for physical training before school starts. Every Thursday, we have two hours, and we’ll go to Blackwell Forest Preserve and do infantry platoon tactics.” Dorr goes on, “Then we’ll have a class where it’s teaching us how to be army officers, what leadership means, what types of leaders we want to be, and learning how the army works.”
The decision to join ROTC was inspired by Dorr’s brother, David, who joined the army out of high school. Dorr says he and his friend’s older brother, who is called Coach Dom, are two of his biggest influences in life.
“A lot of the things I’ve done were intentionally or unintentionally because he did it. He did wrestling, so I thought I’d give that a shot. He joined the army out of high school, and that was a big reason why I joined ROTC.” Dorr continued, “My friend's older brother, Dominick, is the second most influential person. He joined the army as an officer, but he’s just always been around as a person to look up to. We call him Coach Dom; he’s like a life coach.”
With wrestling, ROTC, and academics all on Dorr’s plate, he manages to have time to hang out with friends and do things he enjoys. He frequently hikes around forest preserves and goes on many adventures with his best friend and girlfriend.
Dorr credits his girlfriend for being able to be there for him emotionally and keep him on track. “I can get tunnel vision, and she’ll tell me I need to relax and that I’ll get through things and I’ll be ok.” Dorr said, “I’ve honestly been so lucky to have the best friends ever.”
At the end of the day, Dorr is proud of everything he has achieved at North Central and knows it wouldn’t have been possible without the help he’s had along the way.
“Academically, I was able to grow as a student and as an individual. I’ve had some professors who have helped me along the way, like Dr. Kim Milano and Dr. John Zenchak from the nutrition department.” Dorr continues, “With wrestling, it was being able to help out the freshmen, being positive, and having an uplifting attitude.”
Dorr expresses gratitude to everybody who helped him even if they know it or not. “I just want to say thank you to everybody for believing in me. My friends, my teammates, my professors—they have all helped me grow as a person.”
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Credits:
Steve Woltmann