Defense wins championships. Perryville's Zac Zacerous proved that adage Saturday night as he captured the 1A/2A state title in the 170-pound weight class. Although that axiom is typically applied to other sports, Zacerous (35-3) used it to claim state gold at The Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro. With the score tied at 1-1 and 45 seconds left in the third period, north region champ Nick Blake of Hereford got in deep on a single leg takedown attempt. Zacerous had him just where he wanted him. He executed a Merkle with 26 seconds left and rode out Blake the rest of the way. "I've always been a defensive wrestler," Zacerous said. "I always let them shoot in and I work from there. So when I realized he had my leg, I hooked it and I had my hands connected. My coach always says that's a takedown position. And once the ref said 'two', I was not letting go." The Merkle, named for German Olympian Joseph Merkle, turned out to be the difference. "That's one of those fun things with the rules," Perryville coach Thad Gough said. "That Merkle position is a takedown as long as you hold it good. Zac doesn't look it all the time, but he's really strong. When he gets that locked in and they're all bent up, that's pretty hard to get out of." Even when Zacerous looks like he could be in trouble, he has a knack for remaining in good position because of his agility. "It was a little hairy but if you watch him wrestle all year, he's got good hips, and he gives guys trouble taking him down," said Gough. Zacerous got progressively stronger following a 1-0 win in the first round. He triumphed 9-4 in the quarterfinals and dominated west region champ Kyle Fisher of Winters Mill 9-2 in the semifinals. Zacerous lost once in the postseason and that was a 17-7 defeat to Aberdeen's Ethan Smith in the UCBAC final. Smith finished the season undefeated and won the 3A/4A title in convincing fashion. Both Gough and Zacerous believe the UCBAC title tilt benefitted the Panther junior. "Ethan destroyed everybody in the 3A/4A," said Gough. "He didn't exactly struggle with Zac, but Zac gave him a better run than anybody else in the tournament. When you roll with a guy like that and hang with him, it helps your confidence." Said Zacerous: "He took me to the limit. I gave him a run, too, more than what most of his opponents have done. He helped a lot. It opened my eyes and made me realize, there's people out there better than me. So that made me work harder to get where I am now." Zacerous, sixth at 152 pounds last year, was making his third straight appearance in the state meet. "He's a junior now. This was his third trip [to the state tournament], so he's used to it," Gough said. "He didn't have the deer in the headlight look that a lot of guys do." Zacerous used all of his experiences to peak at the right time. "[My confidence] built as the season went along," Zacerous said. "I had those three tough losses and I've built off of them. I watched the film to see what I did wrong. I made my failures my greatness." Zacerous is the fourth Perryville wrestler to win a state title, joining Chris Brown (2014), Keith Norman (1998), and Kenny Mauk (1989). Next winter, Zacerous will attempt to do something no other Perryville wrestler has ever done – win two state titles. "It's more motivation since I'm the top dog and everyone is going to be aiming for me," said Zacerous. "I'm going to have to train harder and get better, work hard to win again." North East's Fleming finishes sixth North East senior Tyrek Fleming (132) was the only other county wrestler to place. Fleming won three matches after losing the opener on the way to a sixth place finish. Rising Sun junior Matt Childs (106) prevailed in his first round match, lost in the quarterfinals, and triumphed in his first consolation bout before being eliminated. Elkton's Pierre Lotts (106) dropped his first two matches. The Tigers' Jon Price (113) went 1-2, winning his first consolation match. North East's Colin Day (120) was also 1-2, triumphing in the first round before losing two in a row. Rising Sun's Noah Ulrich (126) opened with a win before losing two straight matches. UCBAC and region champ Silas Filliaux of Rising Sun (132) lost both of his bouts. Perryville's Jarrett Hunter (132) also lost twice. Rising Sun's Tyler Jones (160) was 2-2, winning his first round match and first consolation bout. The complete state tournament photo gallery is posted below. State wrestling photo gallery Comments are closed.
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