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No small wonder By Kris Henry Jan 23, 2017 12:00 AM A A CENTRAL POINT — With all due respect, Crater’s Zeth Brower knows a little too much about coming up short. Standing a generous 5-foot-1, Brower isn’t exactly someone who stands out in a crowd. But that all changes when Brower takes to the wrestling mat. Once there, he may as well be a giant for the respect he commands these days as the Comets’ 106-pound standout. Still, for all Brower has accomplished since taking to the mat at age 8 from the urging and support of his father Herb — and that list is long — there are a handful of goals that have escaped the 16-year-old junior. One of those goals got crossed off the checklist on Saturday when Brower earned his first championship title at the Reser’s Tournament of Champions at Liberty High in Hillsboro. “It felt really good to accomplish that goal finally,” said Brower, who is ranked No. 1 at 106 in Class 5A. “I took third my freshman year and second last year so to finally win this year felt good and I’m proud of it. It was a really good tournament and our team did really good (placing fourth overall), too, but there’s always ways to improve and things to work on.” It’s that attitude that Crater hopes will carry Brower to a couple other goals in a month as he strives to help lead the Comets to their first state title since 2006 — which capped a run of four straight large classification titles — and his first individually after two years as the 5A state runner-up at 106. “He’s really progressed as a wrestler,” said Crater head coach Greg Haga. “He’s one of our hardest workers this year and he does a great job of mentoring those around him. If you look at our kids up there at Reser’s, our JV 106 was first (Angel Diaz), our JV 113 was first (Tanner Ulrey) and our varsity 113 was fifth (Hunter Grant). All those guys have benefitted from being his workout partner.” It’s rare for a wrestler to compete for three seasons at 106 pounds, but most of that is a testament to how small the fresh-faced Brower was when he entered high school. “My freshman year coming in I was tiny … I still am,” Brower said with a laugh. “I was smaller than everyone I wrestled but it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the fight in the dog.” Brower weighed 98 pounds when he advanced to the 5A state finals as a freshman in 2015 and lost an 11-4 decision to Hillsboro junior Jaiven Rodriguez, who was a half-foot taller and naturally weighed in the 115-pound range before cutting down. Rodriguez won the state title at 113 last year. In 2016, Brower dominated the field until matching up with Crescent Valley freshman Legend Lamer, who lived up to his name by keeping the Comet at bay throughout for a 7-0 triumph. This year, Brower is the elder statesman of his weight class and more physically equipped to handle the rigors of the competition after “bulking up” to around 110 pounds in the offseason. “I don’t think he’s the biggest guy in the weight,” said Haga, “but he’s definitely bigger and stronger and that allows him to deal with those bigger kids now.” Brower has noticed a difference, most recently on Saturday when he matched up with Hillsboro freshman Tristin Keffer in the Reser’s finals and ultimately prevailed by pin in 3 minutes, 25 seconds. “In the finals I was just determined,” said Brower. “The kid I wrestled was obviously a little bigger than me, even though he was a freshman, because we had a four-pound allowance and I think we had a few 113-pounders in there who were cutting down, but I felt good the whole tournament.” With Saturday’s result, Brower bumped his season total to 19 pins with a 26-1 record. He’s second on the team in falls to fellow junior 145-pounder Logan Meek, who boasts 29 pins and won the Gregorian Award at Reser’s for the most falls in the least amount of time at the tourney. “It’s kind of weird but kind of nice now that I’m the older person and a little bigger person now, not the small 106-pounder I used to be,” said Brower. “The strength is a big thing now, but if you’re really good at your speed and technique I think that will trump everything, and that’s where my focus has been, using my technique and speed and it’s gotten me very far. Now that I’m adding strength, everything is coming together and I think it’s going to be pretty good for me.” Already what Haga terms “a grinder” when it comes to his attacking wrestling style, Brower also has uncanny instincts that only come from years of experience and natural gifts. “His mat awareness of where he is and his body awareness is pretty amazing,” said Haga. “He’s done some gymnastics over the years and he kind of can feel where his body is in space and just being able to move his hand a little here and there makes a huge difference.” The promise of a potentially big year for the Comets has pushed Brower and company to ramp up their workout routines and, of course, there’s some unfinished business that fuels the fire within Brower. “These last two years losing in the state finals has been pushing me hard,” said Brower, who carries a 2.9 GPA. “It’s been my goal this year to be a state champion and it’s all I can think about.” Well, that and an even loftier goal to give back to a Crater wrestling community that has already given Brower so much. “We have high expectations of ourselves at Crater and our goal this year is to win a state title, and we’re just pushing each other to go as hard as we can to make that happen for everyone at Crater,” he said. “It takes everyone to make that happen. It’s not an individual sport, you can’t have a team championship with just one or two state champions that makes your team. You’ve got to have a whole team that works together to make the state title happen. This is the year we’re really pushing for it and I really think we can do it if we keep training hard and all do our best.” Reach reporter Kris Henry at 541-776-4488, [email protected], www.facebook.com/krishenryMT or www.twitter.com/Kris_Henry Crater High junior wrestler Zeth Brower has rolled to a 26-1 record with 19 pins. He garnered the 106-pound championship at the Reser's Tournament of Champions Saturday. DENISE BARATTA/MAIL TRIBUNE