PREP WRESTLING: Ready for the fight ahead ... Lake City's Macdonald eyes Tri-State title after runner-up finish in 2021

By JASON ELLIOTT

Sports writer

As a freshman at Lake City High, Zach Macdonald knew he wanted to play some kind of sport.

But Macdonald, who stands 5-feet and 113 pounds, knew it wasn’t going to be on the football field.

Enter Blaine Leonard.

“I was in P.E. class and he told me they needed a 98-pound wrestler for the team,” Macdonald said. “At first, wrestling wasn’t something I’d even thought about. And wrestling with dudes, I didn’t know if I wanted to do that. My freshman year, walking into the school, I knew I wanted to do a sport, but being small in size, that football wasn’t going to work out well.”

A talk with Lake City coach Corey Owen convinced him to give it a shot.

“I ended up really liking it,” Macdonald said. “I was a pretty scrappy kid and ended up liking it because I was winning matches. I started wrestling as a freshman and it just kind of progressed from there. By the end of my freshman year, I was getting into it. When I showed up, I didn’t have to lose weight like the other kids. I just started wrestling my butt off and winning matches. It was a lot of fun.”

“He’s always been a scrappy, tough kid,” Owen said. “He always competes and gives 110 percent, whether it’s on the wrestling mat or the wrestling room. He never gets down and keeps fighting and does a great job.”

Not that Macdonald just sat on the couch. He’s actually an avid snowboarder and loves doing tricks on his scooter.

“I was able to do some tricks on some ramps,” Macdonald said. “I love to snowboard and it’s one of my favorite things to do. Unfortunately, due to wrestling, I don’t get to do it as much and I’d like to. It’s really tough to get up there right now. In the summer, I did some downhill mountain biking, and it was one of the best experiences I’ve had in my life and I plan to do it again.”

As a freshman, Macdonald went 32-12 and was fifth at state. He followed that up by going 20-5 as a sophomore and runner-up at state before going 35-6 as a junior, winning the 106-pound state 5A title.

Last year, Macdonald advanced to the finals of the Tri-State Invitational, finishing runner-up at 106.

It was his first time competing at the event after being held out as a freshman and the event being canceled his sophomore year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“My coach didn’t think I was quite ready for that tournament as a freshman,” Macdonald said. “I’d never been to it before my junior year, either competing or as a spectator. Walking into the gym last year, it was my first time seeing it.”

Macdonald won three of his four matches by pin to advance to the finals.

“Because a lot of the teams we thought were coming didn’t end up traveling, it wasn’t quite the competition I thought I was getting myself into,” Macdonald said. “I placed a lot better than I thought I’d do. And I plan to do it again.”

The confidence that Macdonald gained at Tri-State last year helped him believe that he could win a state title.

“It gave me a nice confidence boost for sure,” Macdonald said. “It really taught me that wrestling a good guy always helps. The guy I had in the finals (Alan Salguero of Orting), he was crazy good. Mostly, it gave me good confidence going into my next matches, which is something you need going into those big tournaments.”

This year’s Tri-State Invitational at North Idaho College begins on Friday at 9 a.m.

“I’m excited to wrestle a lot of good matches,” Macdonald said. “I’m always excited to see those good kids and big time matches. It makes you way better, and I’m excited to see what I can do.”

As for the target on his back as runner-up from 2021?

“There’s a little bit of pressure, but I don’t really try to think about it,” Macdonald said. “If I’m thinking about it, I tend to wrestle worse because I’m thinking about the match. I think it’s going to work in my favor because they’re going to see it and they’ll get more nervous.”

In an effort to improve his skills, Macdonald did some offseason training in order to improve and stay in shape for the work ahead.

“I’ve just been trying to keep active and wrestling more during the offseason,” Macdonald said. “We had a few camps here and an offseason program that I put some time into. Everyone in the wrestling room did and it’s been paying off this year.”

Macdonald is undecided on what’s next, whether that comes to competing or just going to school.

“I might try to go to a two-year school next year,” Macdonald said. “Right now, everything is still up in the air.”

His preparation style is anything but on the fly.

“I’ve tried listening to music, but I think that just ends up distracting me,” Macdonald said. “I talk to my coaches and they let me know some of the moves they (his opponents) will do. I’ll think through the match and prepare what moves I’m going to do. But I don’t like to think about how good the other kid is going to be. If I hear that the other kid is good, I don’t want to think about it. I’ve done it before, and it just ruins the match for me and I have a bad match.”

And while he might not be the tallest on the roster, Zach is 5-foot-2, he doesn’t lack in ability on the wrestling mat, something he got from Owen’s leadership.

“He’s taught me perseverance and how to be confident in myself,” Macdonald said. “He’s taught me a whole bunch of stuff that I’ll bring with me later in life. But the biggest thing is although I’m small, I can do a lot of things.”

“He never doubts himself in a match,” Owen said. “He’s the type of guy where he doesn’t feel the pressure because he doesn’t think about it. He just goes out and competes, fights and usually is able to do something special.”

“It’s going to be a tough, tough tournament this weekend,” Owen said. “But Zach, he’s a fighter. He won’t be intimidated by it. He’ll compete like he knows how to do.”