PHOTOS: Hunter Zacerous reaches 100-win milestone in Perryville wrestling's important victory2/2/2018
It was a night of milestones for the Perryville wrestling team. And the Panthers' star wrestler Hunter Zacerous was as happy about the team's big accomplishment as he was of his own. In Wednesday's 57-22 Senior Night triumph over North Harford, Zacerous posted his 100th career win with a pin in the opening bout as Perryville clinched the top seed and home mat advantage in the region dual tournament for the first time. Zacerous said he had been thinking about this moment since the beginning of the season. "I was looking forward to it but I just wanted to get it out of the way, make [the focus] on the team" he said. "It's a team sport. We're going to regional duals as a team. It's pretty exciting."
Zacerous is now a member of an exclusive club which includes two former Perryville state champions. "I was just excited to join names like Chris Brown and Zac Zacerous, my brother," Zacerous said. "It was exciting to join someone like my brother." Zac Zacerous has been an inspiration to his brother "It's lovely [being Zac's brother]," said Hunter. "He's a great role model." Zac Zacerous, who attends Stevenson University, wasn't able to attend the match, but watched on a FaceTime video call. "It means the world to me, everything he's been able to overcome to finally reach 100 wins," Zac said Thursday. Zac Zacerous, who finished his Perryville career with 133 wins, recently gave his brother some hands-on lessons. "When I came home for Christmas break, I watched some of his matches to see what I could help with and after that I got in the wrestling room and showed him different ways to finish his headlock and I even went as far to teach him the Merkle," Zac said. "Other than that, I loved what he was doing out there." Hunter Zacerous has been a fixture in the Panthers' lineup for four seasons. "He's grown as a wrestler since he came in as a freshman," Perryville coach Thad Gough said of Hunter. "He was an extremely good wrestler when he walked on the mat as a freshman. He has gotten better but he has always had that kind of constant level of performance. Last year he broke through to states for the first time so we're hoping that this year he's going to keep taking that step further and go a little bit further like our guys have done in the past. Go to states the first time and then move their way up the chain the next time." Perryville's Kole Dobash (145), Khaleil Mitchell (152), Nathan David (182), Phillip White (195), Steve Thomas (285), and Nikolas Weatherington (120) each won by fall. Jarrett Hunter (160) prevailed by technical fall and Jeff Leonard (126) triumphed by major decision. Caleb Phillips (113) received a forfeit. Wednesday night's win enabled the Panthers to secure the top seed in the region tournament. "It's amazing," Hunter Zacerous said. "This is something our team has never done. We have a chance to actually bring it home for once. I wish Zac was part of it because it's something he really wanted." Last season, the Panthers qualified for the 2A/1A region dual tournament. This year, the MPSSAA split the dual meet tournament into four classifications. So instead of having to travel to North Caroline under the old rule, Perryville will be the host. "We have a history here of good individual wrestlers," Gough said. "We've had competent and good teams every now and then. When it comes to team titles, it's not really something Perryville has done in the past so anytime we can add that first notch in the belt it makes it easier to get the next one. So, as a coach I'm kind of viewing it as setting a precedent for what we can do with the program going forward." Perryville will host the region dual meet on Wednesday, February 7. "This is year five for me coaching here," said Gough. "Last year, I thought we had a really strong team, could've made a run at it. Injuries hit us and we wound up not being able to do what we could do. This year, knock on wood, we managed to avoid a lot of the same pitfalls and things have come together a little better, team-wise. It will mean a lot to be able to hang a banner in the gym. Like I said before, it's a way to build the program. Kids see that you're successful in the program. That's how you can keep the momentum going. You get more people in the gym. You get more guys in the [practice] room. You get a bigger team and it makes it easier to do it in the future." Comments are closed.
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