Southern's Preston Zachman works for his pin against Jim Thorpe's Ethan Mordaunt in the quarterfinals on Friday.

By MARC MALKOSKIE

Press Enterprise Writer

(Written after Friday, March 8)

HERSHEY — While a lot of the state’s most prestigious wrestlers focus on just wrestling, Southern Columbia’s Preston Zachman has a lot more on his plate.

In addition to wrestling, the 220-pounder is very successful in baseball and football.

“For me, being a three-sport athlete, I always have a lot of different things I have to work on throughout the year,” Zachman said. “So when I’m in that season, I’m focused on that season only.”

So far, Zachman is faring quite well in his first individual state tournament.

Zachman started with a huge win by pinning third-ranked Ethan Mordaunt of Jim Thorpe in just 30 seconds.

But the Southern junior is no stranger to performing in Hershey, as he’s caught six passes for 78 yards as a wide receiver/tight end on the Tigers’ football team, which he’s already won two state titles with in three trips to Hershey.

“I’ve seen Preston grow as a student-athlete, and I can see his confidence growing,” Southern coach Jerry Marks said. “What he did on the football field was awesome, filling in at quarterback, and now he’s stepped onto the wrestling mat. And when wrestling is over, he’ll step over to the baseball field.”

Zachman, a third baseman and pitcher, is batting.312 halfway through his baseball career, a batting average that will likely go up as a full-time starter the next two seasons.

“He’s a three-sport athlete, and there aren’t many of those around anymore,” Marks said. “We’re fortunate enough that we do have some three-sport athletes on our team, Gaige being one of them. A lot of guys don’t put time into three sports like Preston does, so we’re hoping that we can get him to a camp this summer and get him to wrestle a couple matches, all while continuing to work on his football and baseball skills.”

Zachman only wrestled two matches last season before an ankle surgery to treat a bone infection sidelined him the remainder of the year, but he feels as if his youth wrestling experiences prepared him for this weekend.

“My first time out here at the individual tournament feels great,” Zachman said. “I’ve done states and PJWs all the way up through the youth level, so it’s not much different than everything like that.”

This weekend isn’t the only time Zachman has wrestled the state’s top talent. His practice partner, Gaige Garcia is now a three-time state medalist.

“(Zachman) has been working very hard,” Marks said. “He has to work with (Gaige) Garcia every single day, so that just makes him tougher. They wrestle hard in the practice room and they wrestle through situations. I think Gaige has helped Preston out a little bit. I’m so, so happy for him. He’s had a great attitude the whole year. He’s made lots of sacrifices for our team, cutting down from 205 (pounds) to 195 during the season for team states. He’s exemplary and has done everything correct.”

Zachman knows his aggressive approach is what got him this far.

“The whole thing about this week is being aggressive and getting in my offense,” Zachman said. “It’s the only way you can win a tournament like this.”

Marc Malkoskie covers sports for the Press Enterprise. He may be reached at 570-387-1234, ext. 1338, or by email at sports@pressenterprise.net. Follow him on Twitter at @mmalkoskie.