Cassville's Zach Coenen claims three overtime wins en route to state wrestling title
Mar. 12—INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — Zach Coenen struggled to muster up the energy to raise his arms for a celebratory hug with his coaches at the conclusion of his state finals match.
Of course, he had a good reason to show a little bit of fatigue. He'd just won a third straight overtime match on the same day, after all.
"I mean, it's rough," Coenen said, laughing. "I feel pretty tired after going that long for three times today. ... But I think that was an advantage for me. I was ready to run the gauntlet today."
And his ability to run the gauntlet was why the physically drained Coenen was in an exceptionally high spirit at the end of the MSHSAA Class 2 Boys Wrestling Championships on Thursday night inside Cable Dahmer Arena. The Cassville standout picked up a 2-1 win over Moberly senior Jarrett Kinder to punctuate his performance on the big stage, giving the Wildcats their first male state wrestling champion in program history.
Coenen's feat added to a breakout week for Cassville, which also crowned its first female state champion on Tuesday when sophomore Annie Moore won a title at the 112-pound weight class.
"We got two in one week," Coenen said. "That's crazy, and especially for a new (girls) program. I'm so pumped. I'm pumped for coach (Nathan) Fortner."
"This week has been a huge stepping stone for our program," Fortner said. "It's moving in the right direction, and I've been blessed to have great, great kids that love the sport of wrestling. Hopefully it ignites something in our town and keeps the program growing."
Coenen, a multi-sport athlete who's signed to play football at Pittsburg State, received a first-round bye before starting his day off with a 2-1 overtime win over Fulton's Josh Dunmire in the quarterfinals. He went on to edge Boonville's Peyton Hahn with a 4-1 overtime decision in the semifinals thanks to an escape and a late takedown in the last tiebreaker period.
"It's kind of crazy to realize he's just a third-year wrestler," Fortner said. "I started coaching him in middle school football and got him to wrestle his freshman year. He got injured his sophomore year and then placed (fifth) at state last year as a junior.
"If there's any match that's relatively close, I would put all my money on him winning it. He has the most grit of any athlete I've ever been around. I mean, when it comes down to it, he is going to find a way to win. He just shows me over and over again. It stresses me out a bit — I nearly had a heart attack twice today. But he's a winner and he's a great kid who does everything the right way."
Coenen's commitment to the Pittsburg State football program means Thursday was likely the final chapter to his competitive wrestling career. Albeit, he'd describe it as one helluva final chapter.
"If you would have told me as a freshman I'd be a state champion, I don't know what I would say to that," said Coenen, who finished with a 28-3 season record. "It's incredible. ... I kind of wish (wrestling) wasn't over. I have a few coaches (at Pittsburg State) who are wrestlers though. So you never know. We might get an exhibition in or something."
Contact Jared Porter on Twitter at @JaredRyanPorter.
