Zitek once again ends with win
East Butler senior Devin Zitek has finished each of his last three wrestling seasons with a win, so by doing so for a fourth straight time probably wasn’t that big of a deal.
Think again.
“Oh, man, it feels good. I always got upset or got caught with something,” Zitek said. “It finally happened where I didn’t get caught.”
Zitek finished his freshman and sophomore seasons with wins in the consolation finals at 103 pounds. He followed suit by winning the bronze medal at 112 pounds last year as a junior.
With a 6-2 decision over Robbie Johnson of Stanton in Friday night’s semifinals, Zitek finally assured himself he would get something other than a third-place finish.
And early in his championship match with Trenton Nekoliczak of Greeley-Wolbach/Cedar Rapids on Saturday, it looked like his ascent to the top of the medal stand would be complete.
Zitek took Nekoliczak down, then recorded three near-fall points to grab a 5-0 lead early in the first period.
With 20 seconds remaining in the third period, the score remained the same. Then, disaster nearly struck for Zitek.
Nekoliczak took Zitek down to his back. By the time the referee had finished counting up the near-fall points, however, Zitek’s back had only been exposed long enough to earn Nekoliczak two points and Zitek survived with a 5-4 win.
“I didn’t want to go out with a loss. There was no way I was going to lose,” Zitek said. “I told my teammates if I lost they were going to have to pick pieces of me up off the mat. I was going to go until I died.”
By surviving Nekoliczak’s late spurt, Zitek not only won the gold medal, he also capped his season with a 33-0 record.
“It’s just an honor to be a state champion. To be undefeated makes it that much better,” Zitek said.
Shortly after Zitek had put the finishing touches on his win, 135-pounder Dustin Payne took to the mat for East Butler and grabbed himself a gold medal as well.
Payne turned Brandon Timm of Neligh-Oakdale to his back and recorded the pin at 3:06, giving the Tigers two golds in two attempts.
“That set the tone and got me amped,” Payne said of the Zitek win. “I knew I needed to come through and finish strong. Two-for-two in the finals isn’t bad.”
Think again.
“Oh, man, it feels good. I always got upset or got caught with something,” Zitek said. “It finally happened where I didn’t get caught.”
Zitek finished his freshman and sophomore seasons with wins in the consolation finals at 103 pounds. He followed suit by winning the bronze medal at 112 pounds last year as a junior.
With a 6-2 decision over Robbie Johnson of Stanton in Friday night’s semifinals, Zitek finally assured himself he would get something other than a third-place finish.
And early in his championship match with Trenton Nekoliczak of Greeley-Wolbach/Cedar Rapids on Saturday, it looked like his ascent to the top of the medal stand would be complete.
Zitek took Nekoliczak down, then recorded three near-fall points to grab a 5-0 lead early in the first period.
With 20 seconds remaining in the third period, the score remained the same. Then, disaster nearly struck for Zitek.
Nekoliczak took Zitek down to his back. By the time the referee had finished counting up the near-fall points, however, Zitek’s back had only been exposed long enough to earn Nekoliczak two points and Zitek survived with a 5-4 win.
“I didn’t want to go out with a loss. There was no way I was going to lose,” Zitek said. “I told my teammates if I lost they were going to have to pick pieces of me up off the mat. I was going to go until I died.”
By surviving Nekoliczak’s late spurt, Zitek not only won the gold medal, he also capped his season with a 33-0 record.
“It’s just an honor to be a state champion. To be undefeated makes it that much better,” Zitek said.
Shortly after Zitek had put the finishing touches on his win, 135-pounder Dustin Payne took to the mat for East Butler and grabbed himself a gold medal as well.
Payne turned Brandon Timm of Neligh-Oakdale to his back and recorded the pin at 3:06, giving the Tigers two golds in two attempts.
“That set the tone and got me amped,” Payne said of the Zitek win. “I knew I needed to come through and finish strong. Two-for-two in the finals isn’t bad.”
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