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University of Wyoming Athletics

2012 Wrestling

Profile

  • 133
    Position
  • Sophomore
    Class
  • 0'0
    Height
  • Tomahawk
    High School
Zach Zehner
Zach Zehner
133
Position
Sophomore
Class

Summary

Biography

2012-13: Zehner entered the Cowboy lineup late in the season at 133 before moving to 141 pounds. He tallied a season mark of 15-7 with six pins, one technical fall and three major decisions. He was 3-1 versus conference opponents and won three tournaments, including the Cowboy, Northwest and the Nebraska-Kearney Opens. The sophomore had the team's fifth-fastest pin of the season, sticking Miguel Baltazar of Southern Oregon in just 1 minute, 4 seconds. 

2011-12: Just a redshirt freshman, Zehner had perhaps the most impressive breakout year of any UW wrestler. In just his first season at the varsity level, he finished with 29 wins (fifth on the team) and was second with 44 dual points. His aggressive style lent itself to nine pins, fourth on UW, and six major decisions, sixth among the Cowboys. He wrestled 13 ranked wrestlers, defeating five. His biggest win came versus then No. 5-ranked Ryan Mango of Stanford, an All-America honoree in 2010. He placed in four open tournaments, finishing second in the Cowboy Open. He had a 7-2 record versus the WWC, with one technical fall. He finished second at the West Regional to earn his first automatic NCAA bid. Zehner went 1-2 in his first NCAA Championships experience, and received the Joe McDaniel Most Improved Wrestler award from the UW coaching staff. He also was the WWC Freshman of the Year. 

2010-11: One of UW's top redshirts during the season, Zehner posted an impressive resume at 133 pounds in his first season in the program. He finished 25-3 with three tournament titles and a 4-2 mark against the WWC, while notching a team-high 12 pins to go with three major decisions. Zehner opened with a second-place finish at the Northwest Open in early November, but wouldn't lose again until January. His run included titles at the Cowboy Open, Kaufman-Brand Open and UNK Loper Open with six falls at the events. He ended his season by finishing third at the Utah Valley Open and the Rocky Mountain Open. 

High School: Zehner was a Wisconsin State D2 high school champion at 125 pounds in 2009 and then again at 130 pounds in 2010. Wrestling for Tomahawk H.S., Zehner was a two-time regional and sectional champion, as well as First Team All-Conference as a sophomore, junior and senior. He was a member of the Wisconsin National Dual Team, was the freestyle state champion in 2009 and was runner-up at the 2009 Junior National Tournament. In addition to four years as a wrestling letterman, Zehner also lettered four years in track and field and once in football. 

Personal: Zehner was born in Tomahawk, Wis., and he is the son of Jeff and Connie Zehner and Chris and Julie Winger. He has five siblings: Rachael, Kersten, Alyssa, Zander and Lucy. He is an elementary education major at UW. 

Career record: 44-20 (15 falls) (One-time NCAA qualifier)