UNC community mourns loss of strength coach who died in car crash :: WRAL.com

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill community is
mourning the loss of Domminick “Nick” Vetell, the school’s previous assistant
strength and conditioning coach for Olympic sports.

Vetell
died early Friday morning in a car crash, according to an obituary posted on the Boles Funeral Home
website. He was 32.

“Nick touched countless lives with his strength, kindness and
unwavering spirit,” an Instagram post from Tar Heel Strength. “His
legacy will live on in the hearts of all who knew him.”

Vetell
leaves behind his wife and a 2-year-old daughter. Friends have set up a GoFundMe on behalf of Vetell.

North Carolina wrestling associate head coach Tony Ramos told WRAL News that Vetell’s presence will be missed, but that his legacy will live on.

“He’s left a legacy and a foundation, and one we hope to
build off of and honor in his name and in his memory,” Ramos said.

Vetell joined the UNC Olympic Strength and Conditioning staff in
January 2019. He was responsible for wrestling, men’s and women’s swimming, and
men’s tennis.

Earlier this year, Vetell took a job at Fort Bragg, but he previously spent
eight years at UNC.

“He never left. He was always here. Even though he tried to leave,
he couldn’t keep himself away, whether he was coming back for senior night to make sure he saw
through his guys that he trained or that he helped build up, [or] whether it
was at the ACC championships and coming to honor the guys and watch them finish
their season out, cheering from the stands,” Ramos said.

He
said he and Vetell were “very close,” and he often leaned on him to support the
athletes.

“Nick was always willing to do whatever we needed whether it was
waking up early in the mornings, come and run [for] conditioning,” Ramos said. “Our
athletes loved him, cherished him, especially the ones that were injured and
needed extra help.”

WRAL
News asked Ramos his memories of Vetell.

“My favorite memories of Nick were probably every time he
traveled with us, and just being on the bench,” Ramos said. “[He had]
tons of energy, tons of excitement, [he] was always there, getting the guys
amped up, getting him excited and was the biggest cheerleader on the
sidelines.”

In
2016, Vetell earned his master’s degree in exercise science from Appalachian
State University. He also earned a bachelor’s degree in health from the
university in 2014. He competed as a wrestler for Appalachian State from
2010-2015.

The other driver in Friday’s crash faces two charges, including misdemeanor death by vehicle.