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January 18, 2001'It's become a big part of our lives'- Twins hope to end the Zeits Era at TC West on a high noteBy JEFF PEEKRecord-Eagle staff writer TRAVERSE CITY - To say that wrestling is just a sport to twins Paul and Tim Zeits is like saying painting was just a hobby to Vincent Van Gogh.
"We kind of grew up with it," said Tim Zeits, a 5-foot-8, 145-pound senior who has 110 victories in four varsity seasons at Traverse City West. "Our oldest brother Ben started in the seventh grade, then our other brother Mark started, and we just followed." Actually, the Zeits' passion for the sport goes back farther than that. "I think it started with our mom," said 5-8, 140-pound Paul Zeits, who has racked up a school-record 143 wins at West. "She was a mat maid at (Traverse City) Central when she was in high school. I guess she had some friends on the team and decided to help out." Sally Zeits, a '77 Central grad who (as Sally Dunham) kept statistics for coaches Jack Clark and Ed Haughn, refuses to take credit for her sons' interest in wrestling, however. Rather, it seemed to happen by accident. Ben Zeits, who graduated from West in 1998, went out for his seventh grade basketball team and was cut from the squad. When a friend suggested he try wrestling, Ben gave it a whirl. "He was horrible at first," his mother said. "But to his credit, he stuck with it and became a very good wrestler." The other three Zeits brothers eventually followed suit. Strangely enough, Paul was the last to climb aboard the bandwagon. "He thought he was a basketball player," Sally said. "We actually had to talk him into doing it. Now he's one of the best." Zeits' father, Roger, was an equally tough sell. He said prior to his sons' participation in the sport, he "didn't know wrestling even existed." And he hated all the waiting between his sons' matches. Once he started watching and rooting for the other kids on the team, however, he was hooked. "It's become a big part of our lives," said Roger, who has been president of the TC West Wrestling Boosters Club for the past three years. "It's hard to believe that in about a month and a half it will be over." A lot could happen in those next six or seven weeks, however. West coach Berard Priante believes both Zeits brothers have the ability to challenge for a Division I state title in March. "When you get to that level, it's all about being ready," Priante said. "It's a mental thing. Physically, they're ready. "How much do they really want it? That's what it will come down to." Both say they want it pretty badly. Paul, in particular, may be more focused than he's ever been, thanks to a stunning season-ending loss last year. He posted a 49-5 record but was knocked out of the regional tournament by a wrestler he defeated earlier in the season. Priante said Paul opened the regional with a forfeit win and then "had to wait around for four or five hours" until his next match. "He never really got his concentration back," Priante said. Paul is ready to make up for that disappointment by making a strong tournament run. He even knows who he would like to face in the state finals - defending champion Justin Sinclair of Forest Hills Central. "We've wrestled twice this year and I'm 1-1 against him," Paul said. "I beat him 5-3 at Goodrich, then lost to him 11-5 at Forest Hills Northern. "I've been putting in a lot of extra time this week, so maybe it helped me to lose to him," he said. "I'm pretty focused. My main goal is to beat him again." Tim has similar goals. He would just rather focus on the task at hand. "I'm wrestling the returning state champion this week (at the Rockford Invitational)," Tim said, referring to 145-pound Joe Zolnai of Holt. "One match will tell me a whole lot - if I've been working hard enough or what things I need to do yet." But what about the state tournament? "I try not to get ahead of myself," he said. "That's still a ways away." There in lies the difference between the Zeits twins, according to Priante. "Paul has everything mapped out," Priante said. "He knows what he wants and what it's going to take to get there. "Tim wants the same things, but he adapts a little better to things as they happen and rolls with the punches. The path may not go in exactly the direction he'd like it to, but he doesn't care as long as he gets where he wants in the end." All four Zeits brothers are driven by a competitive spirit that has benfitted them well. So far, Paul holds family bragging rights. When he broke West's school record of 118 wins earlier this season, it was brother Ben's mark he snapped. "I pretty much shattered it," Paul said with a smile. "(Ben) wasn't real happy about it." That competitive spirit has carried over to the classroom, where Paul has a grade-point of 3.72, Tim 3.50. But no where is it more evident than on the mat. Paul competed in the International Down Under Games in Australia last year. Tim wrestled in the Nationals in Fargo, N.D., in 1999 and '00. When they face off - either at home or practice - they know each other so well they can avoid each other's best moves while attempting to take advantage of each other's weaknesses. That intimate knowledge has been helpful to both during high school matches. They're each other's biggest fan - and best coach. "We yell instructions to each other," Paul said. "A lot of times I'm not thinking about a move, but Tim sees something, yells to me and it works." Their secret? "We have a similar style," Paul said, "because when we started out we were both younger, and we pretty much had only each other to wrestle." Not true, according to their parents, who both have stepped onto the mat and gone toe-to-toe with their sons. Sally's wrestling career was much shorter than Roger's, however. "When (oldest son) Ben was a freshman, he needed a training partner," she said. "I took a beating a few times. That was enough for me." Roger said he has a slight weight advantage over Paul and Tim, an advantage "of about 100 pounds." "And I've used it as much as possible," he said with a laugh."I used to get down there every once in awhile and take them on. They'd say, 'Hey, that's an illegal move.' And I'd say, 'Not in this house it isn't.'" Next fall the twins expect to attend different colleges - Paul is leaning toward Division I West Virginia and Brown, Tim toward Division III Elmhurst (Ill.) or Manchester (Ind.). It will be the first time the two will be separated for more than a week or two. But the prospect doesn't seem to bother them. "They're unlike most twins in that they're very independent," Priante said. "I'm sure they'll miss each other, but they'll be fine." Maybe it's Priante we should be worried about. "We're at the end of the line for the Zeits brothers," he said. "I sure wish another four were coming through." |
