Connect with us

Wrestling

Column: DWest’s Zapf joins elite company; DeSanto creates moment of a lifetime

 

My favorite part of watching an athlete accomplish something great is seeing the reactions afterwards.

When Downingtown West’s Doug Zapf won the 106-pound state championship Saturday night, his smile lit up the Giant Center.

Scan over to the front row of the stands, and Doug’s father Joe’s eyes were welling up with pride. Farther up, Doug’s mother, Maureen, went from row to row, hugging friends and family.

Downingtown West coaches Rob Akers, left, and Brad Breese after Zapf’s semifinal win. (Nate Heckenberger – For Digital First Media)

Earlier in the day, when Zapf won his semifinal bout, assistant coach Rob Akers bounded from his chair while head coach Brad Breese stayed planted in his, smiling like he was watching his own son fulfill a dream.

It is so hard to win a state championship in wrestling, especially out of District 1, and even more specifically from Chester County. The PIAA had its first wrestling championships in 1938 and since then, 12 wrestlers, one measly dozen, from the current Ches-Mont League have won titles.

Zapf was not the most dominant wrestler the Ches-Mont had ever seen, but he was just so solid.

Years of refining his technique and formula for winning as an undersized underclassman finally came to fruition. He won on his feet all postseason, and gave up just four takedowns all season.

“Doug had a good career before high school and there were a lot of expectations from around the area that he would do this or do that,” Breese said. “His freshman year, they didn’t realize how much hard work went in to win just an average match. For him to win (31) matches that year, wrestling kids that were ten, fifteen pounds heavier than him, was an amazing fete. That gave him his mental toughness and really fueled him.”

Zapf is the first local to win a state title as a junior since Octorara’s Mike Letts in 2005. He will also be able to say he won his championship the same night Exeter’s Austin DeSanto knocked off Spencer Lee of Franklin Regional.

Lee was undefeated in high school, going for his fourth title, and had beaten DeSanto in the finals the year prior by technical fall. All season DeSanto claimed he was going to drop from 132 to 126 to face Lee again.

Exeter’s Austin DeSanto against Franklin Regional’s Spencer Lee (Nate Heckenberger – For Digital First Media)

He stayed true to his word and he rocked the wrestling world with one of the most sensational

matches in PIAA history. The Giant Center was went from a soft roar at the beginning of the match to a volcanic eruption by the end, and it was a true David and Goliath moment that will be talked about forever.

The beautiful thing about sports is the successes and failures do not define the athlete. The hard work and sacrifice is what chisels out character and makes these young men who they’ll be as they head into the real world.

You get to know these kids, as they grow up from awkward, brace-faced freshmen into the statue of David by the time they’re seniors. I’d never outwardly cheer for a kid I’m covering, but inwardly it’s rewarding to see them succeed.

You feel for a kid like West Chester Rustin’s Brett Kaliner, who did everything right for four years and busted his butt in some of the deepest weights in the state, fall one match short of the medal he’s dreamed about all his life. Or Oxford’s David Cox. Or West Chester Henderson’s Jake Reid, or any of the many seniors every year that get so close.

They have a ton to be proud of and the best is yet to come with the work ethic they’ve developed.

The best may be yet to come from the Whippets, as a team, as well.

West loses just Cole Zapf, Gio Angelini and Alex Murta to graduation. Doug Zapf and fellow state qualifier, Nick Lilley, will be back, as will regional qualifiers, Gavin Hale, Chris Madanat and Jesse Cook.

With Max Hale, Joe Shafer and Chase Meilnick, among others, returning for the Whippets, West appears destined to compete for a District 1 Duals championship.

There are also four other returning state qualifiers joining the West duo — Rustin’s Dan Labus and Collin Hurley, Henderson’s Killian Delaney and Downingtown East’s Lukas Richie.

The league is in good hands and the future is bright.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

More in Wrestling

situs slot gacor provider terbaik agen toto slot terpercaya 2023 agen toto togel terpercaya 2023 situs toto togel pasaran resmi terbaik bandar toto macau pasaran resmi toto togel bandar toto slot gacor 4d 2023 bo togel online pasaran terlengkap sepanjang masa bo toto slot terlengkap sepanjang masa situs toto togel 2023 bet 100 perak daftar toto slot dan toto togel 2023 bermain toto togel dengan bet hanya 100 perak daftar toto slot bonus new member terpercaya bermain toto slot pelayanan 24 jam nonstop situs toto togel terpercaya situs toto togel online terbaik winsortoto winsortoto winsortoto winsortoto winsortoto winsortoto unsurtoto unsurtoto unsurtoto winsortoto winsortoto winsortoto rasa4d rasa4d rasa4d gampangtoto gampangtoto gampangtoto winsortoto unsurtoto gampangtoto rasa4d bungtoto bandar toto togel terbesar hadiah 4d 10 juta daftar winsortoto situs toto terbaik winsortoto situs toto slot gacor dengan toto togel terbaik winsortoto situs toto terpercaya bet 100 perak winsortoto agen toto togel dan situs toto slot 4d winsortoto situs toto togel online deposit 10rb winsortoto situs toto togel online resmi hadiah 4d 10 juta winsortoto agen toto togel online terpercaya winsortoto agen toto slot dan situs toto togel resmi winsortoto situs toto togel 4d terpercaya winsortoto bandar toto togel dan toto slot winsortoto situs toto togel online resmi terbesar winsortoto situs toto togel dan agen toto slot terpercaya winsortoto situs toto terpercaya beragam bonus winsortoto situs toto terpercaya toto togel dan toto slot gacor winsortoto situs togel online dan slot online terpercaya winsortoto situs togel online hadiah terbesar winsortoto agen toto togel bonus harian terbesar winsortoto agen togel online terlengkap bet 100 perak winsortoto situs toto togel 4d dan toto slot 4d terbaik winsortoto situs toto togel dan toto slot terpercaya winsortoto bandar toto togel online terpercaya 2023 winsortoto agen toto togel 4d dan toto slot 4d winsortoto agen toto togel online banyak bonus terbesar winsortoto situs toto terpercaya bonus new member winsortoto situs togel online resmi terpercaya pasaran terlengkap winsortoto situs toto togel online 4d terpercaya situs toto togel deposit pulsa tanpa potongan winsortoto situs toto slot pasti slot gacor winsortoto situs toto slot dan toto togel hadiah terbaik winsortoto situs toto terpercaya permainan resmi dan terpercaya winsortoto situs toto resmi bonus new member 100rb tanpa potongan winsortoto toto slot gacor dan togel online resmi terpercaya winsortoto situs toto toge online terpercaya di Indonesia winsortoto toto togel online bonus new member terbesar winsortoto agen toto togel resmi hadiah 4d 10 juta terpercaya winsortoto toto togel online hadiah 4d 10 juta bet 100 winsortoto situs togel online terlengkap dan terpercaya winsortoto situs togel online resmi dan toto slot gacor winsortoto situs toto togel dan agen toto slot gacor winsortoto situs toto togel permainan toto togel dan toto slot winsortoto situs toto terpercaya bonus menarik winsortoto situs toto togel online terpercaya winsortoto bandar toto togel dan toto slot terpercaya winsortoto situs toto togel online terlengkap dan terpercaya winsortoto situs toto togel online winsortoto situs toto terpercaya togel online dan slot online resmi winsortoto situs toto dengan permainan togel 4d dan slot 4d winsortoto situs toto terpercaya permainan togel online terlengkap winsortoto situs toto togel terpercaya permainan resmi winsortoto situs toto togel resmi bet 100 perak tanpa potongan winsortoto agen toto togel dan situs toto resmi winsortoto toto togel dan toto slot terpercaya dan terbaik winsortoto unsurtoto gampangtoto bungtoto rasa4d titi4d ltdtoto bobatoto bobatoto situs toto togel slot situs bandar toto togel slot terpercaya titi4d titi4d login titi4d daftar titi4d slot titi4d togel situs titi4d titi4d login titi4d daftar titi4d titi4d togel titi4d slot situs titi4d agen titi4d bandar titi4d