Athlete – Wrestling
Dominic Black, a native of Lexington, KY, was a 1987 State High School Wrestling Champion from Henry Clay High School. He was named the state’s most outstanding wrestler, with an undefeated season of 42-0. Black is regarded as the state of Kentucky’s most decorated wrestler.
Dominic enjoyed a banner collegiate wrestling career at West Virginia University. He finished as one of only six wrestlers in school history to amass more than 100 career victories, posting a 105-36-2 record. He capped his stellar collegiate career with impressive seasons in 1990 and 1991. As a junior, Dominic went 35-5 to establish a record for wins in a season by a WVU 177-pounder, won an Eastern Wrestling League title and competed in his second NCAA tournament. As a senior, he posted a 39-win season (third best in school history), a second EWL crown, and earned All-America honors (fourth-place finish) at the NCAA Championships.
Dominic took first place in the University Freestyle National Championship in 1992. Then in 1995, he won a gold medal in the 198-pound weight class at the World Cup of Freestyle Wrestling. He moved to Colorado Springs, CO, in 1997 to become a resident athlete at the Olympic Training Center. Dominic would go on to be on three championship World Cup Teams. He entered the U.S. Army in November, 1997, and was a member of the elite Army’s World Class Athlete Program.
Competing for his country, Dominic won the two senior national titles and the U.S. World Team Trials to earn spots on the 1999 and 2001 U.S. World Championship teams. He was a gold medalist at the 1999 Pan-American Games, and in 2000 he won a silver medal at the U.S. Olympic Trials, qualifying as an Alternate on the 2000 Olympic Team. Dominic held a No. 1 World Team ranking in 1999 and 2001. He medaled in multiple international competitions and also won the 2003 Military World Championships. Dominic finished his final season competing in the 2004 Olympic Trials and held a No. 5 national ranking in freestyle wrestling.
Dominic continued to serve in the Army as a Psychological Operations Officer. He completed combat deployments to Iraq and operational deployments to South America. He retired from active-duty as a Lieutenant Colonel on November 30, 2022, completing more than 25 years of service. Dominic holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sport Management and a Master of Science in Safety Management, both from West Virginia University. He now resides with his family in Cincinnati, OH. He is the current Senior Army Instructor for the Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (JROTC) program and the Head Wrestling Coach at Western Brown High School.
