Dante's Inferno: Rini Will Settle for Nothing Less than Gold as He Eyes Rematch with Fields.

OHIO WRESTLING SITE: Dante, after finishing 3rd and 2nd in Division I of the Ohio state tournament the past two years, people may have thought you were headed for a division I school.  Why Notre Dame?
RINI: It’s close to home and I get along well with people on the team.  Romano is  a good coach too. I also think Notre Dame is going to be real tough in the next few years. I like the chance to step in and compete right away. I think I am big and physical enough to compete in college now.  I want to win a couple national titles at Notre Dame and help the team out so they can win a national championship. I like the fact it is a small campus and their is a brand new wrestling room right below the dorms so you don't got to walk far.

OHIO WRESTLING SITE: What weight will you be competing at for Notre Dame? 
RINI: I’ll be a career 125. 

OHIO WRESTLING SITE: Notre Dame had an incredible recruiting class last year,  have you heard if anyone else is expected to sign?
RINI: Romano has recruited 41 kids. I know Brian Dean, Jamey Srock, and Michael Lybarger are looking at the program as well.

OHIO WRESTLING SITE: How would you describe your style of wrestling?
RINI: I don’t back down, just keep going after them.  I’m very physical- I try to stay on the guy most of the time.

OHIO WRESTLING SITE: Dante, you’ve had an incredible rivalry with Tony Jameson over the past two years.  What does the series between you two stand at right now?
RINI: I think it’s 5-2 in his favor.

OHIO WRESTLING SITE:  Last year in the state finals you got in on a nice single against Jameson, only to get countered and pinned in the first period.  How often do you reflect on your state finals match from last year?
RINI: I don't worry about the past. It motivates me for my last year in high school. I just got caught and I definitely wasn’t expecting that at all. 

OHIO WRESTLING SITE:  Has the state finals loss affected your training or approach to the sport?
RINI: Yeah….I never stop moving, I’ve been working out three times a day. Lifting, wrestling, running.  Lifting is a pretty big part of my training.

OHIO WRESTLING SITE:  What weight will you be at this year? 
RINI: Somewhere between 119 and 130. I have to see where I feel and wrestle the best at.

OHIO WRESTLING SITE:  Though he is only a sophomore, Collin Palmer of St. Edward is considered by some the best wrestler in the state, and expected to be at 125.  Does Palmer’s weight class affect your decision as to where to wrestle?
RINI: No, not at all. 

OHIO WRESTLING SITE:  Why is that?
RINI: Anyone can get beat at any time.  My sophomore year, I was sick at states, there are so many things that could go wrong.  You never know what can happen.  He could be sick.  He could be injured. My old North Akron teamate Richie Spicel won it as a freshman, but he was hurt last year. Anyone can get caught off guard at anytime with any move.

OHIO WRESTLING SITE:  Have you ever wrestled Palmer?
RINI:  Not in a match since we were very young.  But we were on the North Akron team together so we practiced then. We’re pretty good friends and talk a couple times a week. 

OHIO WRESTLING SITE: Would that make you not want to match up? 
RINI:  Not really….. I’m friends with Jameson too, in fact I’m friends with most of the kids I wrestle against.

OHIO WRESTLING SITE: At 119 you will likely match up with Ryan Fields of Lakota West.  Fields beat you in the state semifinals your sophomore year by a score of 4-1.  What are your thoughts on a rematch?
RINI:  I look forward to revenge. I know what I need to do to beat him. I shot a high crotch so deep that he fell over top of me, and he got a fluke takedown. I chased him the rest of the match and got careless.

OHIO WRESTLING SITE:  So you feel confident in winning that match?
RINI: Yeah.

OHIO WRESTLING SITE: Who do you consider your toughest potential opponent at 119?
RINI:  Probably Fields.  But I really haven’t asked other people what weights they are going, it can only set you off your goals and I like to stay focused on myself.

OHIO WRESTLING SITE:  How many other times have you wrestled Fields?
RINI: Three times.  I beat him back in the 8th grade.  This summer he beat me in Greco, but I haven’t done Greco since I was a schoolboy.

OHIO WRESTLING SITE: Off topic, I understand you have quite a talent for woodworking.  What do you make?
RINI: (Laughs) Yeah, I make cabinets and other projects I find.  I work over at my friend’s dad’s business building displays for convention centers for companies like Diebold and NASA. The displays that hold things to show information at trade shows.

OHIO WRESTLING SITE: Dante, who has had the biggest impact in your success thus far?
RINI:  My dad has had the biggest impact because he stands behind me no matter if I win or lose. There are several others who helped me including Tommy Roehlig, Pat Schlatter, and Coach Funk who all helped me. Coach Riggs trained me for five years and basically developed my skills.

OHIO WRESTLING SITE: What impact has Roehlig had on your career? 
RINI:  Quite a bit, just wrestling him a lot, we work out twice a week.  I’ve been training with him especially the last two years.

OHIO WRESTLING SITE: What do you plan to study at Notre Dame? 
RINI: I’m probably going to go into a new program called Intelligence Security against Terrorism.

OHIO WRESTLING SITE:  You wrestled at Massillon Perry your freshman year, and have been at Massillon Jackson since.  Why the move?
RINI: Perry to Jackson was a family decision to come back to my home school. 

OHIO WRESTLING SITE: With a 3rd and a 2nd place finish the last two years, what’s the goal for this season?
RINI: Win state and then I plan to wrestle at senior nationals

OHIO WRESTLING SITE: Best of luck of this season in accomplishing that goal.
RINI: Thanks!