St. Mike’s wrestler Dominic Smith focused on the state title
St. Mike’s wrestler Dominic Smith focused on finishing the season on top
In the wintertime, Santa Fe may not exactly be known for its temperate climate.
But for the Smith family, it feels downright balmy.
St. Michael’s High School senior wrestler Dominic Smith and his family moved to Santa Fe before his junior season from Maple Grove, Minn., a northern suburb of Minneapolis.
“Sometimes it gets a little cold here (in Santa Fe), but it’s nothing compared to Minnesota,” Smith said with a chuckle. “Sometimes it would get to 30 or 40 below. It would be just horrible.”
Smith is turning up the heat on the wrestling mat, though, cranking through a strong season as he looks to improve upon the Class 4A bronze medal he won at 138 pounds at the state meet a year ago.
It was his first appearance in a state meet after being unable to qualify in Minnesota, so the experience was an unusual one.
“Honestly, going to state was a strange experience to me,” Smith said. “I spent all these years going to state tournaments and watching. It was so different to be out on the floor instead of watching. I felt more nervous watching.”
He did his best to make the most of the experience.
“I knew I couldn’t let the nerves of being in the state tournament get to me, and I think that’s why I was able to do as well as did,” Smith said. But now he wants more. “Getting to the state semis last year helped me set my goals,” Smith said. “I lost to a three-time state champ. I lost in the semis, so I never got to wrestle the guy that took second. Going into this season, I want to win the state title.”
And with the gold and silver wrestlers from the weight class moving to higher weights, that goal is well within reach.
Since Smith is a Minnesotan, one would have thought that his sport would have been hockey, but he said he’s never even ice skated.
Besides, he added, wrestling has been a family heritage for some time.
But it wasn’t the only sport in which he participates.
Smith also is a crosscountry runner and dove into sports shortly after arriving in Santa Fe.
“Within a day of when I got here, I already had practice for cross-country,” he said. “Because of the altitude differences, it was pretty tough.”
He persevered, however, as a junior helping the Horsemen finish fourth as a team and then, as a senior, to finish fifth.
“I’ve been into crosscountry, but it’s more of an extra thing I have,” Smith said. “It’s a nice little change of pace. I always believed that you need to try some other things. I know more kids specialize in one sport, but I knew I at least would have better odds of making it. But wrestling is my main sport.”
It’s something he hopes to continue to do in college, although he hasn’t pursued that avenue yet as he concentrates on his final high school season.
“I’ve just been focusing on finishing the season,” he said. “I can’t underestimate any of my opponents. Especially when you get to the higher level of state, everyone is pretty tough. I can’t look past them. I can’t look past the district and state tournament to college. When I get to that point, I’ll deal with it.”