High school wrestling: Buckeye sectional champ Brody Zoul ready to go from spectator to competitor at state

After years of watching former Buckeye wrestlers, teammates and friends compete at the state tournament, Bucks 165-pound junior Brody Zoul wants to add to the tradition of the program and make the leap himself.Zoul enters this weekend's Kenston Division II District as one of two Kenston Sectional champions for Buckeye, along with senior Blake Bartos. They lead the Bucks' 10 district qualifiers looking to finish in the top four of their respective weight classes to earn a berth in the state tournament at Value City Arena in Columbus on March 13-15.Bartos has gone to the state tournament and placed each year of his career, including winning a state title as a sophomore. Zoul feels like it's his time to go from spectator to competitor."It would mean a lot to me," he said. "I've been looking forward to it my whole career of wrestling. Watching a lot of my friends go down there and compete at the highest level is very exciting to me. I want to be a part of that. I grew up throughout this whole program since I was in kindergarten."The state tournament has been elusive for Zoul after missing weight before sectionals his freshman year and then going 2-2 at districts last season, when he entered as a sectional champion. He finished two wins from qualifying for state.Each of those setbacks came with lessons learned and a more determined focus to handle each challenge as it comes. Combined with a new mindset that it takes extra work to forge a champion, that has Zoul determined for a better result this year."I think I've improved a lot on my attitude," he said. "I cared last year, but I wasn't too serious. This year I've changed and put in the work all summer. I've gone hard every practice to put the work in."The increased dedication and motivation are palpable to those around Zoul, who has a 30-7 record."He is driven this year to not only make sure he not only qualifies for state, but places at state," Buckeye coach Mike Tecco said. "After missing weight his freshman year and last year his season ended a little sooner than we envisioned, he's put in a lot of time over the summer and through the season to get himself where he needs to be."While Zoul won't be looking ahead or beyond his next match, his draw to the state tournament is solid. The only two returning state placers in his bracket, St. Vincent-St. Mary's Rylan Hurley and West Geauga's Brian Denamen, are in the other half. If Zoul continues to win, he wouldn't see either until the final, after he clinched a state berth."I'm feeling pretty good, pretty confident," he said. "I like my draw, how my bracket is."That confidence has grown from a more aggressive approach to his matches. Zoul kicked off the season by winning the Edison Invitational and added a Cleveland West Conference title. He also placed at Olentangy Liberty, the M.I.T., Mansfield and Alliance's Top Gun. He enters this weekend with wins in his last six tournament matches."This year he is wrestling to win," Tecco said. "Every time he steps on the mat he thinks he is going to win and he is doing whatever it takes to do that. He's scoring the first takedown, going for back points. He's way more aggressive and more determined."A big part of Zoul's growth has been the competition in the room with guys like Blake Bartos, Brenden McKee, Collin Bartos and Logan Letner."The group of teammates he has, they have been doing the extra stuff they need to do," Tecco said. "He's bought into it with them. They push each other really hard and hold each other accountable."Zoul took those lessons to heart, and when the Bucks suffered injuries to guys like Justin Augustine and Ryan Wilhelm, he was there to help point the team's younger wrestlers in the right direction."He's really grown into a leader this year," Tecco said. "With the upper weights we had when Ryan and Justin got hurt, he stepped up and made sure those underclassmen were working hard and doing what they needed to be doing. Every day it seems like he gets a little bit more leadership in him."Now Zoul has his sights set on taking the next step and helping a strong Buckeye contingent take care of business."I think everyone is feeling pretty good," he said. "Everyone has the confidence that they need coming out of sectionals. We're all focused on making it to state and improving on what we did last year."Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com.