DIXFIELD – Jon Smith enjoyed an incredible athletic career at Dirigo High School. The three-time state champion capped off that career by being named an honorable mention All-American by Wrestling USA magazine.

In addition to his third consecutive state title, Smith reached the finals of the 145-pound division in the New England championships in March before losing to the Connecticut state champion.

“I never really thought about being an All-American,” Smith said. “I figured it would be very tough coming from Maine. I submitted the paperwork with coach (Doug) Gilbert and didn’t really expect much from it. Then he made the announcement at our assembly, and I was completely surprised.”

Smith is one of four Maine wrestlers to receive the honor. The others were Carlin Dubay of Caribou, Chris Smith of Deering and Jerod Rideout of Foxcroft.

Smith gained notoriety by reaching the state finals as a freshman, but lost to Charlie Stambach of Lisbon. The second generation wrestler refocused and captured the state crown as a sophomore to match his father, Harry, who won a state championship for Mexico in 1969.

The younger Smith would lose just once more to an in-state opponent – three-time state champion Joey Eon of Massabesic in a preseason dual meet, but Smith avenged it by beating Eon by a decision in the finals of the Atlantic Invitational.

“He matured a lot over the four years and does not like to lose,” Dirigo coach Doug Gilbert said. “I remember his freshman year losing to (Stambach) seven times, he was really (upset) after each of them. Eventually, he decided to learn something from each loss. That’s when he started to become great.”

Former Dirigo All-American Dan Waite, who placed fourth in New Englands, challenged the Canton resident to win a medal at this year’s New England championships. Smith did medal, but narrowly missed the gold medal by losing 6-3 to Derek Fish of Connecticut. His opponent’s defensive style prevented Smith from utilizing his legs. This forced Smith to push the issue, and he ended up making mistakes that he hadn’t made all season.

His 2008 record was 43-0 in Maine – 46-1 overall. He led the team in takedowns and pins. Smith also set a school record with 153 career wins.

Smith helped the Cougars when the 2007 team championship.

“Winning is always been my goal,” Smith said. “I love to be competitive. Wrestling, being a very individualized sport, made it even better because all success was in my own hands. I love that feeling. Seeing my name with all the outstanding wrestlers in different parts of the country is a very good feeling.”

Smith didn’t take any thing for granted and practiced hard during the year. This work ethic and having two-time state champion Derek Daley there to push him at every practice had a lot to do with his success.

A multi-talented athlete, Smith excelled in soccer and baseball. He earned all-state honors in soccer and shattered the school record for goals in a season and a career. In baseball, the pitcher/shortstop was co-MVP of the Mountain Valley Conference and is one of four finalists for the John Winkin Award, presented to the state’s top high school baseball player

“Jon doesn’t like to lose at anything,” Gilbert said. “If you were having a contest to see who could get the most bug bites, Jon would walk through a swamp with no shirt. He would make the final statement.”