DiDona joined the CMU wrestling team in 2005 as a 184-pounder. Former wrestler Alex Lammers won the Mid-American Conference championship at 184 that season. DiDona was a redshirted athlete largely confined to the practice room.

DiDona spent the next three years sitting behind Christian Sinnott, who earned two MAC Tournament championships and All-America Honors in 2008. DiDona was required to keep up the same practice regiment as the rest of the team, but was not able to prove himself on the mat.

"Sometimes you feel like you are just a body in the room, like just a workout partner," DiDona said. "You are not competing and not seeing the fruits of your labor. Competing is why you do this. You want to beat someone. You want to get a victory for your team, wearing your school colors."

Coach Tom Borrelli understands how hard it can be for athletes to be that patient and trust that they time would come eventually.

"There are so many kids that want to come in and be the star," Borrelli said. "I think it is more so in wrestling than in other team sports because you can't sub in and get a guy some playing time. When the match starts whoever is wrestling is wrestling."

Sometimes, DiDona would get the opportunity to step in for a wrestler if they were sick or hurt. However, by winning in those matches, DiDona proved to himself he possessed the skills to start at other schools. It was easy to think about transferring, he said.

"I knew that I could probably go someplace else and start," he said. "But I never wanted to. I wanted to stay here. I might have thought about transferring once or twice. But I always knew that if I was going to wrestle, I wanted to be good. And the only way I was going to do that is to stay here. There is no way I could see myself wrestling for anybody else besides for Coach Borrelli."

Borrelli said the drive DiDona has will make him successful long after he has left the wrestling program.

"Most wrestlers would have probably transferred or just decided they didn't want to wrestle anymore," Borrelli said. "It says a lot about Vince's character. He is going to be really successful in life if he takes that perseverance with him."

His time

In his fifth year with the program, DiDona has finally secured the starting position.

DiDona opened the season with a disappointing fifth place finish at the Brockport tournament. He had high expectations of himself in his final season, and it began to wear on him early.

"At the beginning of the year, I was putting a lot of pressure on myself to be in the Top 20," DiDona said. "My ultimate goal is to be an All-American, top three in the country at the end of the year."

The pressure would build as the season wore on and came to a breaking point on Jan. 3 against Michigan State. DiDona's quest for a Top-20 ranking hit a major obstacle when he lost to unranked Michigan State junior Nick Palmieri in an 8-6 decision.

"I went out there and I was too worried about losing," DiDona said. "I ended up losing to a kid I shouldn't have lost to. When I stopped thinking about winning and losing and just went out and wrestled was when I started having success on the mat."

DiDona's season improved after that match. He went on to wrestle and beat athletes ranked in the Top 20, including an 8-6 decision against No. 10 senior Vince Jones from Nebraska. The win saved the dual match for the Chippewas and tied the meet at 17.

DiDona completed the first of his goals on Feb. 3 when he made the Top 20 list for the first time in his career.

Still work to be done

DiDona said he did not let his Top 20 status slow down his drive for greater goals. He still strives for a MAC title and All-America status, he said.

He has put the worries of wins and losses behind him and now he can get back to what made him a successful wrestler.

"I tell myself that I have been doing this for a long time," he said. "I just need to let that work payoff and go out and wrestle. I have beaten a handful of ranked guys this year. There is no reason I can't go out there and be an All-American."

DiDona has never competed in the MAC tournament or the NCAA tournament.

But before he can make the NCAA Tournament, he must win the conference title. DiDona could end up facing Kent State freshman Dustin Kilgore, who defeated him twice this season on his way toward the conference championship.

But DiDona's worries about his opponents have been pushed to the back of his mind. He now wrestles with the same intensity no matter the match.

"I have worked so hard and so long to get to where I am," he said. "If I don't go out there and wrestle hard then it would all be worthless."

sports@cm-life.com

Out of the shadows: Senior 184-pound wrestler finally gets his chance after long wait

Related Stories

Share: