WPIAL Alum Q&A – Zack Zavatsky

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, January 18, 2016 | 2:33 PM

Greater Latrobe’s wrestling team has been one of the top programs in the WPIAL for quite some time. While the Wildcats have had some great grapplers over the years, perhaps no one left a bigger mark than Zack Zavatsky.

Zavatsky, a 2014 graduate, compiled an incredible career mark of 166-18 in high school. After posting 41 wins in each of his freshman and sophomore seasons, the 182-pounder went 42-2 as a junior, and finished third in the Class AAA PIAA Championship. His senior campaign, though, was historic, as Zavatsky compiled an undefeated season, going 42-0 and winning the state title by defeating Mount Lebanon’s Kellan Stout.

Ranked as a top 100 college recruit by scouting services, Zavatsky elected to continue his career on the mat at Virginia Tech. As a freshman for the Hokies, he redshirted, and competed unattached. In doing so, he recorded a 15-1 mark, and won three open tournaments.

As an official member of the wrestling squad this year, Zavatsky has posted a record of 11-4 wrestling in the 184-pound class.

The Hokies have enjoyed a successful season thus far, as they’ve been ranked as high as No. 5 nationally, and have won eight of their last nine meets.

Zack took time to respond to questions about his wrestling career in both high school and college, as well as his favorite class and his pre-match rituals.

Q: You redshirted last year, but still were able to compete “unattached”. What does that mean, and what was the strategy behind that?

A: Being unattached means that Virginia Tech can’t fund anything you do during that year, so all expenses are paid by the individual. We often travel to open tournaments and pay for the hotels, travel, and registrations. Redshirting is a good option for some college wrestlers. First, you can still practice with the team during this year, so you become more experienced without using a year of eligibility. Also, you can allow your body to adapt to the lifting and hard workouts to become more mature in your weight class. Lastly, there can be two good guys at a weight and you can choose to save one guy a year with a redshirt

Q: You are wrestling this year in a very similar weight class to your senior year of high school. Do you think that’s the ideal class for the rest of your time at Virginia Tech, and how easy has that been to maintain for you?

A: In high school we didn’t focus on lifting during the year as much as we do here at VT, so once I got to college I ate healthier and focused more on strength to compete with big, strong college guys. In the summer time I eat more and see how strong I can get, then during the season with all of our workouts I begin to lose some fat. It isn’t very difficult to make weight when we wrestle more and I add extra cardio workouts. I believe I can still become stronger and more lean for my weight class so I will most likely compete at the same weight.

Q: What is your best quality as a wrestler?

A: Being athletic. I grew up playing multiple sports and ended up sticking with wrestling. I think being active in sports growing up helped me gain athleticism on the mats as well.

Q: You are among the team leaders in wins so far this year. What has allowed you to make an impact in your first official year with the Hokies?

A: Just taking matches one by one and not looking too far ahead in the season. It’s a long season so I try to focus on learning from past matches and continuing to improve every time I step out on the mat against my next opponent.

Q: What led to you attending Virginia Tech?

A: I like the college-town feel here in Blacksburg and the campus is very welcoming. Also, the coaching staff always believed in my abilities and truly care about me being successful.

Q: Latrobe has had great success in its wrestling program. What was it like having high expectations every year in high school?

A: I didn’t really understand early in my high school career how great of a program I was stepping into but after being on a great team my freshman year, I began to realize our legacy. I only knew names of former wrestlers that graduated before me who I looked up to, so when I got to high school I wanted to leave my own mark on the program and it allowed me to excel in the sport.

Q: What was your fondest memory in high school?

A: Winning a state title my senior year. It was my last match wrestling for my high school and it felt great to end on top to become only the third state champ in school history.

Q: Where was the loudest or most intense crowd environment in which you have ever competed?

A: In high school we had some heated rivalry matches with neighboring schools, so our gym would be packed with tons of screaming students and fans

Q: What has been your favorite class in college thus far?

A: My favorite class was probably a Geo science class called Earth’s Natural Hazards. It was a free elective class and was interesting to learn about.

Q: Did you get to spend much time home during winter break this year, and if so, did you do anything exciting or interesting?

A: I went home for about 10 days. For the first eight days, I visited my high school, former coaches and family, then flew to Florida to visit my aunt, uncle, and cousin who I don’t get to see very often.

Q: Do you have any pre-match meals or rituals?

A: I always eat a bagel with peanut butter and honey, some fruit and granola bars right after weigh ins. Before wrestling I move around, shake out my muscles and stretch a lot to get ready for the match.

Q: Who is your favorite athlete or celebrity?

A: Antonio Brown

Q: Where is your favorite vacation spot?

A: Ocean City, Maryland

Q: What was your quickest career victory?

A: I believe in high school I pinned someone in less than 10 seconds, but college is much tougher.

Tags: Latrobe