Pan Am Gold propels Diduch to nationals
Freeport’s Cadence Diduch can now mark off international dominance from her wrestling checklist.
And it’s given her even more confidence as she gets set to wrestle for another national crown.
The senior-to-be powered her way to the U17 Pan Am Championships gold medal at 61 kilograms (134 pounds) to win her weight class at her first international wrestling tourney.
She did so in dominant fashion. The women’s tourney was held on June 25 in Mexico City, Mexico, and Diduch
qualified to be a part of the USA Team for those Pan Am games when she took second at the World Team Trials back in April.
“This was a really cool feeling to get to wrestle for my country — really cool,” said Diduch, who has won back-to-back IHSA girls state titles headed into her senior season, among her more local accolades. “That’s just a different kind of feeling. And it really shows you that in wrestling, if you put the work in, it can reward you in a lot of ways. This was such a neat trip.”
And not long after returning from her trip to Mexico, she’s already getting set to leave for Fargo, North Dakota, for this year’s USA Wrestling Junior and 16U
National Championships from July 1422. There is competition in men’s freestyle and Greco-Roman and women’s freestyle, and it all kicks off with Diduch and the ladies, who wrestle this Saturday and Sunday.
“At Fargo I’m going for my third title in a row, so this is big,” Diduch said. “I’m still getting better and better, but I feel like I’m wrestling really good right now, and I’ve got a ton of confidence. Winning gold at my first international tournament sure helps.”
Diduch took first at the Fargo nationals at 127 pounds at the Cadet level and at 122 pounds at the Junior level last
summer. She placed first in her first go-around at the Cadet level back in 2012.
This summer she took her skills to the international stage, where she went 4-0 in the recent Pan Am games. She started it all off with a tech fall, followed by a pin, then an 8-2 win led to the finals. In the finale, she again steamrolled her foe, earning a tech fall to close it all out.
“I’m just wrestling a lot smarter these days,” Diduch said. “It’s helping a lot.
“Now I just want to keep it rolling.” Jay Taft is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at jtaft@rrstar.com and follow him on Twitter at @JayTaft. Sign up for the Rockford High School newsletter at rrstar.com. Jay has covered a wide variety of sports, from the Chicago Bears to youth sports, since the turn of the century at the Register Star, and for over 30 years all together.