Mater Dei wrestler Zenthoefer back on track after injury

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http://www.courierpress.com/news/2009/jan/19/mater-dei-wrestler-zenthoefer-back-track-after-inj/

 

 

Mater Dei wrestler Zenthoefer back on track after injury

By DAVID JACKSON

Monday, January 19, 2009

 

Zeke Zenthoefer remembers the annual pilgrimage to the Mater Dei High School gym to help welcome the Wildcats? wrestling team home from a state championship. Sitting in the bleachers as the team entered the gym from the far end, championship trophy held aloft, the young Zenthoefer looked on in awe as the heroes received the community?s praise.

 

One day, he thought, that would be him. ?I looked at those guys and thought about how awesome it was, and then when you finally get (to Mater Dei) you start thinking about how it?s your turn to take the tradition.?

 

It all looked good for Zenthoefer during his first varsity season two years ago. Wrestling in a very tough 125-pound weight class as a sophomore, he barely qualified for the Castle Regional by finishing fourth in the sectional. He proved he belonged by finishing second at Castle, then advanced to the state meet at Conseco Fieldhouse by placing fourth at semistate.

 

Zenthoefer suffered a difficult overtime loss in the opening round at state, but was encouraged by the fact his opponent went on to finish third. ?I took more positives away from that than negatives,? he said. ?He (East Central?s Joe Hollstegge) was a good wrestler and he went on and finished third. That gave me encouragement and after that I just set goals for coming back my junior year and placing.?

 

The goal died behind North High School on a nondescript September afternoon during a reserve football game against the Huskies. Playing safety, Zenthoefer picked up a North receiver running a fly pattern. Pivoting out of his backpedal to shadow the receiver about 15 yards downfield, Zenthoefer felt a pop in the back of his leg.

 

?I really didn?t think anything about it until I tried to get up,? he said. ?That?s when I felt the pain.

 

Initially thought to be a hamstring injury, an MRI revealed a fracture in the posterior pelvic area. Zenthoefer was given the choice to either wrestle the upcoming season in pain or sit out his junior year.

 

There was no choice. He came to find out rather quickly there also was no chance.

 

Feeling a dull ache in such simple acts as sitting down, Zenthoefer would feel sharp stabs of pain in a variety of positions on the mat. He clearly was not the wrestler he had been a year earlier.

 

?I tried to do everything everybody else was doing, but I couldn?t run as fast and it hurt when I got in certain positions so I couldn?t wrestle the way I wanted to,? Zenthoefer said. ?I had to change my style around and I just couldn?t wrestle to my potential.?

 

Zenthoefer may have started for many schools, but not at a place where champions seem to stand ready in every shadow. Unable to overcome the handicap, Zenthoefer continued to work out with the team and step in when needed, but for most matches he was relegated to the bench while Adam Weinzapfel handled duties at 135.

 

?I?m usually a pretty outgoing guy, but I got a lot more quiet after that,? Zenthoefer said. ?That was a difficult time for me to sit and watch. I had a lot of goals and I didn?t have any chance of fulfilling them.?

 

Finally healed, Zenthoefer is intent on making the most of his final chance to walk across the gym floor with the championship trophy held aloft.

 

Ranked seventh in the state at 145 by IndianaMat.com, Zenthoefer has compiled a 26-2 record, losing decisions in tourneys in St. Louis and Cincinnati against top-flight competition. With the tournament season set to begin Saturday with the Southern Indiana Athletic Conference meet at Castle, Zenthoefer?s focus this week is adjusted by the past.

 

?I can?t be satisfied with anything to this point because you don?t know what?s going to happen tomorrow,? he said. ?There?s nothing I can do about last year, but it taught me that you need to do everything you can when you have the chance.

 

?Going through what I did last year drives me to work harder everyday because I don?t want to have any regrets when this is done.?

 

n You can reach David Jackson by e-mail at djackson6218@gmail.com