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Patriots’ Zane Hinzman commits to West Lib

Photo by Jay W. Bennett Parkersburg South’s Zane Hinzman is seconds away from a pin inside Rod Oldham Athletic Center. Hinzman committed to West Lib Tuesday.

PARKERSBURG — Escaping the sport of wrestling was never in the cards for Parkersburg South grappler Zane Hinzman. The Harrisville native spent years watching his father coach and his brother participate in the mat sport.

Not to mention he took up the sport at the age of 3 and proved adept at the discipline.

Three straight trips to the high school state championship match, including a runner-up finish at 152 his sophomore year and back-to-back state championships at 160 lbs. as a junior and senior resulted from his hard work.

He wanted to wrestle at 152 his senior year at South but being the team leader he is he realized the team would be better with him at 160.

Hours of effort which drew the attention of colleges eager to add Hinzman to its wrestling program. Division I Maryland checked in on the Patriot as did Division II schools Clarion, alma mater of Olympic champion Kurt Angle, Wheeling Jesuit, Alderson Broaddus and Davis and Elkins along with several other out of state schools.

No school felt more like home however than West Liberty University. Prior acquaintences with current team members put his mind at ease which created a family atmosphere.

“He really deserves this,” said Patriot head coach Shaun Smith.

“He is such a hard worker and if anyone is going to wrestle and do well at Division I or Division II I think with with his hard work determination and drive he is going to do extremely well.”

Patriot fans shouldn’t rule out the possibility of Hinzman joining fellow Patriots’ Louden Haga and Josh Humphreys at the D-I level I level in the next few seasons either.

“I know I am good enough to wrestle D-I but I wanted to stay home a little bit and work on my craft a little more,” said Hinzman. “If the opportunity comes to go D-I, I would definitely do that but right now West Lib is the place for me.”

The Wheeling-based school began correspondence with Hinzman following his performance at the Powerade Tournament his junior season. The school was the first visit Hinzman took following completion of his junior year. “It just felt like a perfect fit,” he said.

The university remains the destination of choice despite Smith’s resignation the morning of his signing. The Hilltopper team has already identified Wheeling Jesuit head coach Danny Brown as a potential replacement. The Cardinals finished as D-II national runner-ups this season.

“It came down to Wheeling Jesuit and West Liberty,” said Hinzman. “Brown also recruited me.”

The plan under Smith was Hinzman would slot in at the 157 slot when he arrived on campus. After the turnover, Hinzman believes he could go 149 or 157. He walks around at 165 but can cut weight easily while eating anything on the menu.

“I am just excited to get up there and compete,” he said. “They go to national duals where the top teams and kids wrestle and that is what I want to do.”

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