High school wrestling: Wadsworth's Jack Dinwiddie showing leadership on the mat

While methodically building his own résumé, Wadsworth wrestler Jack Dinwiddie got to learn from some of the best to pass through the Grizzlies' legendary wrestling room. Now a senior, Dinwiddie is taking what he's learned and passing it down to his younger teammates while stepping up as a leader this season. "I've always been the underclassman behind some great guys like Jaxon (Joy), Chris (Earnest) and all those guys," Dinwiddie said. "Now, I've kind of stepped up. I take it as a challenge every day to lift our team up to the level I know they can reach. "You've just got to keep raising their expectations in themselves and keep them confident." So far this season, Dinwiddie went undefeated at the Harrison Duals, helping lead the Grizzlies to the team title, and took third at the North Canton and second at the Brecksville holiday tournaments. The three-time state qualifier and two-time placer has become a seasoned voice of experience for a lineup that often features as many freshmen and sophomores as juniors and seniors. "He's very humble," coach Louden Gordon said. "I don't think he realizes how good of an athlete and wrestler he is. He does all the right things. We have a lot of people like that, but he's one of your ideal athletes. He's a great kid, a hard worker and he hasn't missed a day of doing that yet." Dinwiddie credits those that came before him for setting the example he is now trying to set for the Grizzlies. "They definitely prepared me by showing me what it takes to be that great," Dinwiddie said. "Obviously, Jaxon (Joy) is a three-time state champ and Chris (Earnest) is a state champ. Throughout the room they led by example, and you got to see what you had to do to be like them." Along with those examples has been the positive influence of Gordon, who has helped Dinwiddie improve his mentality. That has led to big wins, like defeating Cincinnati Anderson's Marshall Morency, the sixth-place finisher at 132 pounds in Division I last year. Morency is currently ranked seventh in D-I at 144 pounds, one spot behind Dinwiddie, according to Billy Schaefer. He followed that win at the Harrison Duals by beating Michigan state runner-up Tanner McDunnah in the quarterfinals and returning D-II state champion Aiden King of Columbus Bishop Hartley in the semifinals at Brecksville. Dinwiddie currently has 17 wins this season and 122 for his career. "It's definitely just the confidence in myself," he said. "I've always known I had the ability. It's just when I got out there (on the mat) it didn't happen for me. Louden's really helped me with thinking positively." That mentality has helped Dinwiddie stay in every match, like when he came back from a 9-4 deficit with 35 seconds left to defeat King and reach the final at Brecksville. "I think the biggest thing I've noticed is his poise in big matches," Gordon said. "He had a big win against the Cincinnati Anderson kid (Morency), a returning state placer. He had a comeback win, very composed, in the semifinals (at Brecksville) against a very tough competitor. His ability to stay calm in those tight, situations has been important." Adding to Dinwiddie's impressive start has been how quickly he acclimated himself back to wrestling after helping the Wadsworth football team reach the D-II regional semifinals. He finished his career as the Medina County record holder with 182 extra point kicks. "Coming off football, for anybody, you're not like the guys that are training 100% year round," Gordon said. "He did a really good job early on to get ready a little faster than most football players." Dinwiddie is confident he can return to the podium at the state tournament after coming up one win short last season. He finished seventh at 106 pounds as a freshman and eighth at 120 pounds as a sophomore. He admitted the jump from 120 to 144 as a junior was "a bit of a shock", but now he's bigger and stronger and more prepared for the weight class. "I would say I'm in a pretty good spot," Dinwiddie said. "I've taken some bumps along the road. Last week at North Canton didn't go my way, obviously. I'd rather take those losses early and keep building all the way to March." Building on the wisdom he gained throughout his high school career, Dinwiddie isn't ready to focus on the end goal of the state tournament just yet. "I just want to become better every day in practice," he said. "I don't try to look at the big picture, necessarily. I try to take it day by day. That's really helped me so far. Even in matches, I'm just trying to win each individual position instead of focusing on the outcome." Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com.