Tied up in knots about it

Ask Lakeland High senior Zach Horsley how he fared at the 4A state wrestling tournament last year and the quick answer is simple.

Third place.

Probe a little deeper and the real answer comes out.

He lost a state title by a point.

But even that reply needs further explanation. Horsley’s final loss last year, by a 6-5 count, came in the 140-pound semifinals against eventual state champion John Siddoway of Hillcrest. Siddoway went on to handle Josh Clapier of Minico 9-3 in the state final. Clapier reached the title match by upsetting No. 1 seed Em Powell of Jerome 3-2. And Horsley captured third with a 12-4 major decision over Powell.

“I should have won state,” said Horsley, who entered seeded second.

Frustrating and disappointing are words Horsley and his coach, Rob Edelblute, frequently use to sum up last year.

“In my mind he should have won state,” Edelblute said. “He lost on a tilt, a move he scores on a lot. He looks back now and knows he should have won as well.”

After a scoreless first period, Horsley used a takedown to take a 2-1 lead into the third period. He chose to start on the bottom and Siddoway quickly tilted Horsley for five points. Horsley scored an escape and a takedown with 10 seconds left before running out of time.

He bounced back to finish the season with back-to-back major decisions in capturing third.

“That was the Zach we expected to wrestle in the finals,” Edelblute said. “He was wrestling to win in those final two matches. He was wrestling not to lose in the semifinals. Although it sounds the same, it’s a whole different story in wrestling.”

Horsley, who moved to 145 this year, is thankful for a second chance. He’s on the right path, judging by his 13-0 record to start. He won by technical fall in the season-opening Inland Empire Classic and followed a week later by fulfilling a dream he’s had since elementary school by winning a Tri-State title with a technical fall in the championship match.

The key win at Tri-State – and Horsley’s closest match in the dominating start – came when he knocked off No. 1-seeded Anthony Varnell of Lewis and Clark 5-4 in the semifinals. Varnell placed fourth at the Washington State 4A meet last year.

In more ways than one, it was the kind of match Horsley would have probably lost last year. In fact, the biggest margin of defeat last year in his six losses was two points.

“Going into Tri-State we felt pretty confident,” Edelblute said. “He wasn’t seeded, but I knew and he knew that he could win it.”

Horsley’s senior season is the culmination of a career that began when he was in Athol Elementary through fifth grade, continued for the next five years while he lived in California and returned full circle when he moved back to the area last year.

He went 37-12 as a freshman at Calaveras High in San Andreas, Calif., a small town 45 miles southeast of Sacramento. He became the first sophomore in school history to qualify for California’s one-size-fits-all state tourney. He finished 35-10 that season.

Horsley, whose career record is 119-28, has set the bar high this year. Not only does he want to win the state title that eluded him, but he wants to run the table and go undefeated.

“He is one of the most technically sound kids to come out of Lakeland,” Edelblute said of Horsley, who has attracted recruiting interest from Oregon State. “He has an arsenal of weapons he can use.”

Horsley, who is ranked No. 1 in 4A and third in the combined rankings, doesn’t want to leave any doubt this winter. To that end, he has been waking up at 5:30 three days a week to spend two hours before school increasing his endurance in a specialized training program.

“I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in,” Horsley said.

“Whenever you walk out on the mat and you know you’re in better shape than your opponent, that’s a huge mindset,” Edelblute said. “He knows that if he gets tired, the other kid is more tired. His attitude is there’s no next year.”

After all, state title has a better ring than third.