Boys Wrestling Best of 910Preps 2025-26

Seventeen minutes separate Cape Fear wrestlers Tye and Mac Johnson at birth. And on the wrestling mat, the only thing that splits the two is their respective weight classes.

The state champion twins spent the 2025-26 season overwhelming their opponents and chasing perfection, and it was all done by pushing each other toward history. By the end of the winter, both of the Johnsons stood atop the podium as NCHSAA champions with undefeated seasons, and more than enough to earn the 910Preps Boys' Co-Wrestlers of the Year.

For Tye, the accomplishment cemented a legacy already growing across the state's wrestling community. Weighing in at 138 pounds, Tye went 35-0 and captured his third consecutive state championship, becoming one of the rare wrestlers to win in every high school season.

But even after another flawless season, he admitted the journey never felt like he was alone, especially when his brother accepted defeat last season.

"Even though what happened last year, like me winning and Mac losing, it felt like I still lost at the same time," Tye said. "Just knowing we could both do it together, that's what drove us."

And this year, they were both driven to the top.

Mac dominated the 132-pound division with a perfect 34-0 record, erasing last year's sting with a complete bounce-back performance. And that disappointment helped him learn a lesson that never left him during the offseason.

"I learned to wrestle every position, and don't be nervous," Mac said. "Just wrestle."

Cape Fear head coach Heath Wilson quickly interrupted with the bigger change in mindset that Mac had throughout the offseason.

"You forgot something," he told Mac. "We changed it to working for a national title, not a state title."

And that mentality transformed Mac's approach.

The twins became nearly untouchable this season, and Wilson never doubled either wrestler would reach the title this season.

"I do plenty of analysis across the state," Wilson said. "And there was nobody, in my opinion, if they wrestled as they should wrestle, that could stay on the mat with either one of them."

The Johnson brothers kept each other's skills sharp daily.

Before matches, they check in on one another, offering encouragement and reminders to stay focused, and their bond becomes their foundation for dominance.

Wilson pointed to the discipline that separates them from most wrestlers at their age.

They put the sacrifice in," he said. "You got guys wanting to wrestle part-time, chase girls, or play games. They don't do that. They show up and work hard."

The twins' obsession with the sport began during the COVID-19 shutdown when they were in sixth grade. And when the economy began to open up, they and Wilson began to travel the East Coast in search of tough competition.

"We were driving to South Carolina, Pennsylvania, where they would actually let people wrestle without masks," Wilson said. "You can't compare Pennsylvania wrestling to North Carolina wrestling. We threw them in deep water."

Now, shortly after announcing their college commitments at the end of their junior year, the twins are preparing to wrestle at Appalachian State University, after falling in love with the program's atmosphere and its commitment to in-state wrestlers on the team.

And while their high school story isn't finished, Tye is chasing a historic fourth state title next season, and Mac wants to claim a second state title — both making the claim that individually, they're better than the other.

(Fayetteville Observer)

First team

Second team