DIXFIELD – Jon Smith – the name is everywhere. Text books, history books, phone books, books about everything from the New England Patriots to serial killers.

If Dirigo High School ever published a record book, it would be there, too. In fact, it would fill several pages.

This Jon Smith has rewritten the record books at Dirigo in soccer, where he broke the career goal-scoring record in one season, and wrestling, where he won three state titles and broke the career wins with 150.

He already has a Mountain Valley Conference championship under his belt and has helped lead the Cougars deep into the playoffs the last two years. But what Smith really wants is to have Dirigo’s name written in the baseball record books, next to “2008 Class C state champions.”

“I’m still going for that gold ball,” the senior shortstop/pitcher said. “I think we can do it.”

More and more people can’t help but agree with Smith, whose team is 12-1 and atop the most recent Western C Heals. They have outpitched teams when they have had to and they’ve outslugged them when the need arose. And there is probably not a better fielding team in Western Class C.

Smith sets the bar for the Cougars in all facets of the game, according to first-year coach Dave Lafleur.

“He’s a great overall ballplayer,” he said. “He’s an excellent athlete and an excellent leader. He’s very smooth, very well-rounded, and he’s quite a competitor.”

A switch-hitter, Smith is batting .415 (.529 on-base percentage) with two home runs, 17 RBIs and 16 runs scored. He’s struck out just twice all season and has swiped 14 bases.

At shortstop, his great range, strong arm, quick hands and hard work have made him one of the top defenders in the state. He started developing those skills throwing a rubber ball against a wall in his driveway as a youngster and continues to hone them in practice, sometimes staying a couple of extra hours to take grounders. He’s made just two errors all season.

The Cougars have been able to count on that kind of that kind of consistency from Smith in the middle of the infield and near the top of the order for the last three years. This year, they have asked him to move up into the role of ace after working as their number two starter behind Spencer Berry last season.

Not surprisingly, he has delivered, going 4-0 (plus a save) with a 1.04 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 27 innings pitched. But it hasn’t come as naturally as the other areas in which he excels.

“I’m excited about how well it’s gone because I didn’t really have time during the off-season to work on my pitching that much,” said Smith, who tops out in the upper 70s on the radar gun. “During practice, I’ve worked heavily on my off-speed pitches and strengthening my arm so I could throw a little harder.”

Smith shares Dirigo’s captain duties with outfielder Derek Daley. He describes it as a good cop-bad cop captaincy, and claims with a chuckle that he’s the good cop, then adds that they both get a lot of help from their fellow seniors and the coaching staff.

“All of our seniors played big roles last year and we’re all trying to step it up this year,” he said. “We’re fortunate that we’ve got a great coaching staff with all the knowledge in the world.”

Smith hopes his skills are good enough to get notice as a walk-on in the fall at Maine, where he plans to study computer science. He was heavily recruited in soccer and wrestling, too, but wants to see how far he can go in his favorite sport.

“I considered wrestling (in college), but it’s too time-consuming. It’s almost nine months a year,” he said. “I just want to give my favorite sport a shot and see if I can make a name for myself.”.