NCAA champion Alex Dieringer pursuing more lofty goals

Oklahoma State junior Alex Dieringer is ranked No. 1 and seeking his second straight NCAA title this season. Tony Rotundo photos.


It's pretty awesome when you can actually feel yourself getting better!


That is what Alex Dieringer posted on his Twitter account – @ringing57 – just a handful of days ago.


That’s a scary thought for the rest of the nation’s 165-pounders.


The top-ranked Dieringer is already pretty darn good.


Dieringer has been on a huge run during the past season and a half on the collegiate wrestling mats for perennial powerhouse Oklahoma State.


The junior from Port Washington, Wis., is a spotless 20-0 this season at 165 pounds. He’s scored bonus points in all but four matches while collecting seven falls, five major decisions and four technical falls.


He’s won his last 36 matches, and hasn’t tasted defeat since suffering a 2-1 loss to 2013 NCAA champion Derek St. John of Iowa on Jan. 10, 2014.


So what does he do for an encore?


“Keep getting better,” Dieringer said matter-of-factly. “There’s always something to work on and there’re always room for improvement. I need to move my feet more and get heavier with my hands. I need to get a little more aggressive. I’m always attacking, but I need to attack even more.”


Third at the NCAA tournament as a freshman in 2013, Dieringer powered to the 157-pound national title at the 2014 NCAAs in Oklahoma City.


He rolled to a 13-4 win over long-time rival Dylan Ness of Minnesota in the finals.


“I had been working my whole life to be an NCAA champion,” he said. “To accomplish that goal was an amazing feeling. It’s one of the top pinnacles in wrestling.”


Dieringer said he started wrestling at the Ringers Wrestling Club as a second-grader in Wisconsin. When he joined the club, a young wrestler named Jesse Thielke was already a force at the youth level.


Thielke won a Junior World bronze medal in 2012 and placed eighth at the Senior World Championships in Greco-Roman wrestling in 2013. He wrestles collegiately at Wisconsin.


“Being around Jesse helped me a lot,” Dieringer said. “I got my butt whooped by him for years. He made me so much better. I wouldn’t be here right now if it wasn’t for him. Jesse and his dad have been big factors in what I’ve accomplished.”


Dieringer excelled while coming up through the USA Wrestling ranks, winning national titles in all three styles at the Cadet and Junior levels.


Dieringer captured a silver medal in freestyle for the U.S. at the 2013 Junior World Championships.


“It was great to have a chance to wrestle against some of the best guys in the World,” he said. “It was a really, really good experience. Taking second in the World, it was great to know I’m right there with some of the top guys. I definitely got better. It boosted me to get better and helped me win an NCAA title.”


Dieringer said choosing to wrestle collegiately for Oklahoma State was a relatively easy decision.


“Obviously, the tradition and the success they’ve had here is great and (OSU coach) John Smith is one of the greatest wrestlers of all-time,” Dieringer said. “I felt like this was the best place for me to reach my goals. John has had a huge impact on me. I learn so much from him. He still shows technique and he’s still as smooth as ever. And he’s an amazing guy. I love him to death.


“Oklahoma State is a great place to wrestle. Wrestling is really important here, and it’s fun to be able to compete in front of the fans here.”


Dieringer’s family are among the regulars at Oklahoma State matches. His parents, David and Cindy, moved from Wisconsin to Stillwater. Two of his brothers, Jordan and Tyler, are competing at the high school level in Oklahoma.


“My parents have been amazing,” Alex Dieringer said. “My parents have supported me for so many years and put a lot of money into my wrestling career. They’re very supportive. They’re the best parents I could ask for.”


Dieringer has bumped up to 165 pounds this season after previously competing at 157.


“I can focus a lot more on wrestling and not worry about my weight as much,” said Dieringer, now 87-4 in his standout college career. “I feel like I’ve made the adjustment well to 165. I feel as strong at 165 as I did at 157. Wrestling 165, it doesn’t wear on my body as much. I feel great.”


Dieringer took a much-needed break from the mat following the 2013-14 college season, but he said he hopes to compete in freestyle wrestling this spring and summer.


Dieringer is a top prospect that USA Wrestling’s coaching staff is well aware of.


“Alex has proven he can make the jump from high school to NCAA wrestling quickly and dominate, and I believe he will make a quick transition from NCAA to Olympic-level wrestling,” said U.S. Assistant Coach Brandon Slay, an Olympic gold medalist. “He is arguably the most dominant NCAA wrestler, and I believe that grit and determination will carry over to his freestyle dreams. I wouldn't want to draw him early at the U.S. Open.”


Dieringer also has his sights set on competing at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials at 74 kg/163 lbs.


74 kilos is a loaded class in the U.S. that includes Olympic gold medalist and two-time World champion Jordan Burroughs along with top wrestlers David Taylor, Kyle Dake and Andrew Howe.


“I want to be a World and Olympic champion,” said the 21-year-old Dieringer said. “I’m definitely going for it next year. It’s a tough weight class, but I think I can hold my own. The Olympics are the highest level you can go, and that’s what I’m working for.”


An education major at Oklahoma State, Dieringer eventually wants to be a college wrestling coach.


But before that, big goals still await at the collegiate level. He’s one of the top contenders to win the Hodge Trophy as the nation’s top college wrestler this season.


“NCAAs are 45 days away,” Dieringer said on Tuesday. “It’s coming up quick. I’m real excited about it. I can’t wait.”