Inzana joined the varsity wrestling team at 96 pounds as a seventh grader, making it all the way to sectionals his very first year. The following season Inzana sharpened his skills and focus, reaching the state finals as an eighth grader in a highly competitive weight class. This year, you can expect even bigger things from this rising star.
“Our goal for Dominic is for him to make it back to the state tournament,” said varsity wrestling coach Kris West. “At the 106 weight class, you’re going to have some very tough matches, but I think he’s ready, and I think it isn’t unrealistic for him to place in this year’s state tournament.”
It was apparent almost immediately to West that Inzana’s ability on the mat was something special, even though Inzana was still in sixth grade when the two first crossed paths.
“He came up through the peewee program and he comes from a wrestling family, so he had a really solid base when he joined us in seventh grade,” said West. “From seventh grade on he’s just been one of the hardest workers, and it’s clear that he’s one of the most experienced guys in the room.”
Inzana’s family has played a large part when it comes to encouraging their son in the sport.
“My dad wrestled when he was in high school and college,” said Inzana, “and he was really good. He was the one that kind of got me into it.”
To this day, Inzana’s father serves as a role model for the young wrestler. But Inzana said he also draws inspiration from a wrestler named Anthony Robles, a stunning individual who won the 2010-2011 NCAA wrestling championship at 125 pounds, despite being born with only one leg.
“He’s really good,” said Inzana, who was impressed with how the wrestler, “took the disadvantage that he had and turned it into his advantage.”
To sharpen his own skills, Inzana practices two hours every day with his Saratoga teammates, works with a personal trainer three times a week at Global Fitness, and wrestles constantly during the offseason with a travel team.
“I know Dominic does a lot of work in the offseason, so he’s gained a lot of experience from that,” said West. “During this season we have some tough lightweights now, and they bang heads every day. But he’s never been afraid of anybody, even when he was a seventh grader. He wrestles with older kids, scraps with them and beats them out. I think there was even an older guy he fought when he was still in seventh grade that ended up quitting because he couldn’t beat Dom.”
But quitting simply isn’t a word in Inzana’s vocabulary.
“I just love to win; I love the feeling of winning,” said Inzana. “Just going out there and to have your hand raised and everything, it’s just great.”
Inzana is only a freshman in high school, so while wrestling in college is certainly on his mind, he still has plenty of time to narrow down his choices.
“I’m looking to maybe get a scholarship to keep wrestling in college because I like it. I just really want to keep the sport going,” he said.
But until Inzana reaches the collegiate level, coach West plans to continue working with the young wrestler to help him improve.
“I’d say 90 percent of his wins are by pin, which is a lot. He’s very reliable,” said West. “He’s got a lot of moves on top and is very strong on top; he’s good on his feet, he’s good on bottom, but I think if he really wants to take it to the next level he’s got to get a little bit better on his feet.”
For Inzana, working to increase his stamina is a definite priority, an area West agrees there’s always room for improvement.
“106 pounds is a tough weight class, so he’s going to have to be able to go six minutes in those matches. He’s going to have to work on his conditioning there. But if he improves that much more, he’ll just be tougher,” said West.
With his impressive record of only three losses, 28 wins and climbing, Inzana is a force to be reckoned with in the New York State wrestling community. With only a few weeks to go before sectionals and, hopefully, the state tournament, Inzana had only this to say to future opponents:
“Just be on your toes.”
