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02/07/2018 11:00 PMBranford’s Zach Cash says that he joined the wrestling team at Walsh Intermediate School because he wanted to be part of something great. Zach helped the team continue its extraordinary run of success, and wrestling became his favorite sport as he prepared to compete with the high school team.
“I fell in love with the sport and wanted to keep competing,” says Zach. “I’m competitive and continued to work hard, because you need to have a heart for the sport. So I got really dedicated and started dedicating my time to get better at the sport of wrestling.”
Zach joined the Hornets’ wrestling squad upon entering the high school and worked his way up the weight classes. He started out in the 132-pound division and then went from 145 to 152 to 160, which is where he currently wrestles. Zach adjusted well to each bump up the ranks and recently recorded his 100th career victory. Zach accomplished that goal when he earned a pin-fall win at the Ellis Tech Duals on Jan. 13.
“It was a huge milestone for me,” Zach says. “Our team keeps a list of everyone who wrestles and seeing me climb that ranking just meant a lot...The thing with hitting the 100 mark that meant a lot to me is that it shows the hard work and dedication I’ve put into the sport paying off.”
Branford Head Coach Jesse Hurlburt has seen Zach use his quickness to his advantage no matter what weight class Zach has competed in over the years. Hurlburt believes that’s a big reason why Zach has done so well on the mat.
“He doesn’t let anything slow him down or stop him. He has the ability to never stop moving on that mat, which tires out a lot of people, so he’s able to prevail by larger margins,” says Hurlburt. “He’s not the strongest 160-pounder out there, but he’s one of the fastest and uses that to his advantage. He works on his angles, so he’s not shooting directly underneath people, but going around to the side and using his speed to get to their foot a little faster than they can recover. He’s good at using momentum on his side, especially from the top position. He’s good at letting people stand up and then using their body strength and weight against them. He’s mastered not using your own body, but your opponent’s against them.”
Zach has had to alter his wrestling style as a result of continuously moving up in weight. One of the big things he did was switch to a new go-to move in order to earn a takedown.
“My go-to move last year was a duck-under. I’d hit it every match, but as my weight class changes, you have to do different moves. So this year, I switched to a low-single, because they can’t get down to their feet as fast, so I have to go down low to get them better,” says Zach, who also played football for Branford and is joining the boys’ lacrosse team this spring. “The duck-under is when you go under their arm from a tie up, throw their arm over your head to get behind them, and bring them down to the mat. The low-single is when you shoot down towards and grab their ankle. Sometimes they fall...but when they stay on their feet, you have one leg up in the air, so you can kick the other one down.”
Last season, Zach advanced to the Class M State Championship final in the 152-pound weight class and lost to Foran’s Mike Ross, who went on to win the Class M, State Open, and New England titles. Zach says he felt proud about how performed against a formidable opponent in the state final.
“It was a big achievement, because nobody ever scored on him,” says Zach. “I wish I could’ve held him, but he eventually got out and came back to beat me.”
Zach is also one of the captains for the Hornets this season. While Zach and his teammates are always grinding it out and striving to perform their best, Zach also wants to make the experience fun for everyone, and so he likes to lighten the moods at times.
“It’s a lot of work...so you want to make it a fun time, so that was my main focus this year,” says Zach. “And I think I’m doing a good job of that.”