Last Call
February 08, 2008 09:39 AM | General
February 8, 2008
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Zac Fryling’s path to becoming a successful college wrestler really began on a football field during his sophomore year of high school. Fryling always had a passion for the sport, but at just 5-foot-6 inches and 157 pounds, he certainly didn’t possess the ideal size.
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| Zac Fryling and his WVU teammates compete for the last time at the Coliseum tonight against nationally ranked Pitt.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks |
However, the determination and work ethic that has made him a great wrestler at WVU wouldn’t allow him to give up on his gridiron dream until a fateful Friday night during his sophomore year. It was then that he realized playing football at his size was kind of like trying to roll a boulder up a hillside with one hand tied behind his back.
“I was playing a game and I hurt my knee. I kept on playing and then I went and got it looked at and it needed scoped,” Fryling said. “I was like, ‘This is a sign. I’m not supposed to be doing this.’ The guys I was playing against were huge and I’m the same height I am right now. After my sophomore year it was all about wrestling for me.”
That was good news for the wrestling programs across the country that would soon recruit Fryling. The Lansdale, Pa., native visited Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Virginia before ultimately coming to Morgantown. He credits the college environment as well as the coaching staff with swaying his decision.
“I was looking at schools and thinking that if I got hurt and couldn’t wrestle, would I still enjoy going there? This was a school that just fit that perfectly,” Fryling said. “I fell in love with the place. I liked the outdoors and the atmosphere as well as the coaches.”
While his gridiron dreams were long gone by college, Fryling still draws inspiration from some of the principles he learned as a kid on the football field.
“The work ethic and the toughness it takes to be successful are the things I take from it,” Fryling said. “The sports are very different but mentally you have to prepare in much the same way.”
When Fryling arrived at WVU during the fall of 2003, Greg Jones was in the midst of winning his second and third national championships in 2004 and 2005. Jones, who then became an assistant coach, has made a lasting impact of Fryling both as a fellow wrestler and as a coach.
“He keeps me intense and he did that even when he was a senior and I was a sophomore,” Fryling said. “Greg has told me to always stay intense and to win the matches when you are up 3-2 and really need a takedown.”
Fryling has certainly won his fair share of those matches. The senior grappler is currently ranked No. 18 in the country in the 157-pound weight class. He shows a 9-4 record so far this season and is 77-31 overall in his career in Gold and Blue. He has also consistently led the team in takedowns, a statistic that he is very proud of.
“I take a lot of pride in wrestling with my feet. I’m not very good on top, so I kind of have to be good somewhere,” Fryling said. “I just work on my feet and it just seems easier for me to take someone down than to ride someone.”
Fryling also takes a lot of pride in his rigorous workout regimen. In the offseason he does 400-, 200- and 100-meter sprints as well as running the Coliseum steps preparing for competition. During the season he goes in once or twice a week to work on individual improvement with the coaches
“Sometimes it will be just a half-hour workout or something light involving technique and sometimes it will be like a hard practice,” Fryling said. “Sometimes I will bring in some young guys and they will rotate in on me.”
That tireless work ethic and desire to get better has forged a hard edge inside Fryling. He wrestles with a fire and a tenacity that can often intimidate opponents even before the match begins.
“That’s just me. Last week my mom showed me this tape of myself wrestling when I was five. My style is almost the same,” Fryling said. “I’m kind of just a go-at-them person. I’m not really smooth. I’m kind of like, look out here I come. I like to wear my opponents down.”
As a senior, Fryling has become more of a leader off of the mat for this WVU team. When the squad suffered a rash of injuries earlier this season, he was one of the first guys there to offer encouragement both to the injured and to the young wrestlers that would be stepping into the lineup.
“I try to make sure the injured guys come in for treatment and work to get themselves better for next year,” Fryling said. “I try to keep the guys that are filling in focused and I try to make them feel like they are supposed to be in the lineup and they aren’t just filling in.”
Those leadership qualities have done nothing but fuel a burning desire to get into coaching, something Fryling has had a desire to do since his high school days. The athletic coaching major would like to oversee his own high school squad when his days on the mat are done.
“I want to one day have a team of my own and make them do sprints for once instead of me doing them,” Fryling joked. “My dad was my coach when I was in youth leagues and I just saw how he helped so many kids in terms of keeping them out of trouble. I like working with kids and it’s just something I have always wanted to do.”
Before that day comes, Fryling will look to add to what has been a long and successful career in Morgantown. He will get that chance tonight when WVU (6-3, 3-0) battles EWL rival Pitt (10-3, 3-0) at the WVU Coliseum at 7:30 p.m.
Despite all of his other success, Pitt’s Matt Kocher has been a constant thorn in Fryling’s side. Kocher carries a 19-4 record into tonight’s match and he is rated No. 5 in the nation in the 157-pound division. Fryling is 0-5 against him in his career, despite being competitive in most of the matches.
“I’m going to go out there and stick to what I have been working on this week. I’ve got to go out there and really open him up because he likes to stay in a square stance,” Fryling said. “Every time I wrestle him it’s like a one-point match, so I am very excited.”
The match will also provide a final opportunity for Fryling to wrestle in the WVU Coliseum. He has enjoyed a long and prosperous career and admits that he can’t believe it’s coming to a close.
“It’s something I am going to miss because there is nothing like West Virginia fans of any kind,” Fryling said. “They are the best. I’m going to miss being out there with the spotlight on with my mom and dad sitting in the same place they have for five years.”
Pitt and Kocher will provide the perfect opportunity for Fryling to exit the Coliseum in style.
“It’s our rival. He’s (Kocher) my rival in the league and it’s home and it’s Pitt,” Fryling said. “It’s always fun beating Pitt. I couldn’t think of a better way to finish things off at home.”
