Witte motivated for return to state

CEDAR RAPIDS - Zach Witte went from wrestling on the state's biggest stage to needing a ticket to watch the show.The r Rapids Prairie junior doesn't want to revisit his role as spectator anytime soon.After reaching the state finals as a freshman, Witte suffered a heart-breaking district defeat that prevented him from advancing to last year's Class 3A state tournament. The setback adds fuel to the fire to return for a chance to reach the state awards stand."It was pretty upsetting," Witte said about placing third at the district meet and one spot away from state qualifying.  "It gave me a lot of motivation to do a lot better this year. I want to keep working and doing the best I can. I don't want anything like that to happen ever again."

Witte, the 2009 state runner-up at 135, had produced a solid sophom one of the top 145-pounders, but faced a tough road to Des Moines. Two major roadblocks in the form of eventual state champion Cody Caldwell of Waverly-Shell Rock and Marshalltown's state runner-up Gustavo Martinez stood in the way at his weight. With two state berths available, Witte ended up the odd man out, losing to Martinez in the semifinals on a last-second move.

"We knew going in that three of the top wrestlers, including him, in his weight class were there," Prairie Coach Blake Williams said. "The match to go (to state) he was pretty much ahead the whole match and then got taken down at the end."It was heartbreaking."Added disappointment set in when he attended the state tournament as a workout partner to help prepare the Hawks' other qualifiers."Yeah," said Witte, noting he would have preferred to be competing. "Especially when I saw people on the podium that I beat earlier in the season, it was like some things weren't meant to be."He had a seat to watch to wrestlers from his district compete in the finals. A position he had been in a year earlier, and one he knew he could have been in again."I actually watched the finals match," Witte said. "Just knowing I could compete with them and I almost won, until the last 10 seconds, it made it even worse."The experience was devastating, but the process of turning a negative into a positive began immediately. Williams and his staff tried to help him accept it and come back stronger."I've talked a lot since then," Williams said. "Hopefully, it will be a blessing in disguise and he will use it to his advantage and motivate him to get back to where he wants to be."Keep it in the back of his mind each match he wrestlers this year and just remember that feeling."Witte and Williams both said returning to state wasn't taken for granted after the success as a freshman. Last year did provide a valuable less. "It made me realize you can't overlook things," Witte said. "You have to take one thing at a time."Witte watched as teammate, classmate and friend Peyton Wagner earned his first state medal, placing seventh. The two reached the state meet together as freshmen, but Wagner didn't reach the podium and Witte advanced to wrestle after the Grand March.They depend on each other to get through the grind of the wrestling season."It's nice having someone in the room you're super close with and you can talk things over with," Witte said. "The season gets tough and it's long."Witte, who could eclipse the 100-win mark this season after going 32-4 as a sophomore, is ranked fifth at 145 pounds. He's been able to grow into the weight after being a little smaller previously.“He's definitely a little bigger and stronger than he was a year ago,” Williams said. “I really think that will make a big difference.”The Hawks are hoping that difference is accompanied by a different ending. One that resembles Witte's first season in a Prairie singlet.“I'm definitely planning on going to state,” Witte said. “It's a huge goal of mine. I really want to do well at the weight I'm going.”