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Hello, my name is Dominic Porter. I started wrestling in my freshman year of High school, and since then, I’ve improved and accomplished many goals of mine. Now this fall, I will be wrestling in Erie, PA, at Mercyhurst University while also majoring in Geology for a Bachelor of Science. |
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My high school wrestling career was a very colorful one. My freshman year wasn’t very notable; I won very few matches and was in and out due to COVID. Starting wrestling for the first time at the varsity level was a difficult start, but I believe a very beneficial one. |
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| My sophomore year is where I felt the hard work I was putting in started reflecting in my matches. That season, I won many more matches, made it farther in tournaments, and even qualified for state. It was also the year I started exploring other styles of wrestling. I had my first beach wrestling tournament in South Lake Tahoe and my first freestyle and Greco-Roman matches in Sacramento. I started training off-season with Coach Ryan Wallace and the South Lake Tahoe High School. |
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| Junior year was where the results spoke for themselves. In the folkstyle season, I was 8-1 in regional duals, won tournaments which I hadn’t even placed in previous years, won 3rd at Sierra Nevada classics, and competed at state. |
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The off-season between my Junior and Senior year was very important, as it was when I started competing nationally and internationally, giving me priceless experience. The first notable achievement was winning 1st at Beach Wrestling Nationals, qualifying me for the World team at U20. Another achievement was competing in and winning at the Nevada Freestyle and Greco-Roman State Championships. My biggest achievement from this off-season was competing at the U20 Beach Wrestling World Championships, which I ended up getting 4th place at. I was also allowed to compete at the Senior World Stop at the event, where I went 1-2. |
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| My senior season was one I couldn’t have been more proud of. In the folk style season, I again went 8-1 in duals; furthermore, I had a season record of 39-5. In the off-season, I have had a very busy yet result-filled schedule. Starting off, I had Beach Wrestling Nationals, which I won first at, once again qualifying me for the U20 world team. After that, I was at California Greco State, where I also got first place. Then I was chosen to be a part of the California Wrestling Exchange program, in which we went to Japan to compete in freestyle duals. Finally, my last event was the U20 Pan-American Championships, where I was USA’s 90+kg for beach wrestling. Once again, I came out on top and got first, which is such a large accomplishment for me. Since starting wrestling, the Pan-Am tournament has always been an event I wanted to compete in, so being able to go for the first time and win was something I take pride in. |
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| Now I have two major things to look forward to. First, I’ll be continuing my wrestling career at Mercyhurst University, which I couldn’t be more excited about. After that, I will once again have the U20 Beach Wrestling World Championships this September. Both of these steps in my wrestling journey will undoubtedly be big ones, but being able to represent not only Nevada but all my friends and family is a huge inspiration for me. |
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