East Liverpool’s Eric DiAgosta named The Review Wrestler of the Year

By PAUL EDGAR, sports@reviewonline.com

 

Eric DiAgosta is built for wrestling. The 6-foot-3, 285-pounder is a physical specimen. He bench presses 385 pounds and squats 450. Even top wrestlers in his weight class are shocked by his brute strength.

“Eric picks up 285-pound wrestlers and you can see in their eyes they can’t believe they’re getting picked up,” East Liverpool wrestling coach Todd Smith said. “They’ve never had anyone pick them up before.”

DiAgosta’s mental approach to the sport is probably just as important as his physical presence.

“He likes to beat on people,” Smith said.

DiAgosta has a competitive drive that can only be quieted with victories.

“I hate to lose,” DiAgosta said. “I can’t take it. If I lose I get mad and I try to be friendly and classy, but sometimes I can’t talk to them for awhile because I’m so angry.”

That kill or be killed mentality coupled with his physical attributes is why DiAgosta has had so much success.

He was 46-2 this season bringing him to 113 wins in his high school career, seventh all-time in school history.

DiAgosta was first team OVAC in wrestling and placed third at the OHSAA Div. II State Wrestling Tournament.

He recently participated in the Senior Nationals against some of the best wrestlers in the United States.

Because of that, DiAgosta was named The Review Wrestler of the Year.

DiAgosta got somewhat of a late start in wrestling, not competing until 8th grade.

“I was just wrestling around with some of my friends from Beaver and they said ‘hey, you might be pretty good at this,’” DiAgosta said.

Smith met DiAgosta around the same time.

“I was the junior high coach and I was walking through the halls and saw this big kid and said ‘you should wrestle,’” Smith said. “It’s kind of neat because it was my first year in East Liverpool and his first year of wrestling. We started together.”

DiAgosta feels a little more experience might have made him even better.

“If I would have started two or three years earlier I would have been better,” he said. “I really didn’t know anything about wrestling until then.”

Once DiAgosta got started, there was no stopping him.

His tireless work ethic is what separates him from other competitors.

“He never complains about working out,” Smith said. “He runs 20 minutes every day—not many heavyweights do that.”

There were no days off for DiAgosta during the season.

“If I take days off, I’m not going to get any better,” DiAgosta said. “Toward the end, everyday was hard, but if I slack then I lose and I can’t let that happen.”

Wrestling has an appeal to DiAgosta most sports cannot match.

“I like it because it’s one-on-one,” he said. “It’s all me and him. It’s a great contact sport. I don’t like basketball very much because your supposed to fall down if they hit you.”

Football, however, is another sport DiAgosta excels at. He was also named first team OVAC in football as an offensive lineman.

“At first, I thought I was better at football, but I’m still developing in wrestling,” DiAgosta said. “I think I’ve leveled out in football and it’s not quite as fun. In football, on offense I just block, but in wrestling I do everything.”

His ability at both wrestling and football has brought him to a crossroad. He has been offered a scholarship to play football at Robert Morris and has drawn interest from Ohio State and Kent State for wrestling.

DiAgosta plans on majoring in civil engineering with a minor in business.

“I’d like to be a contractor and own a contrstruction company someday,” he said.

At least DiAgosta won’t need anyone to help him with the heavy lifting.