It's not entirely surprising what Lake's Zach Sharpe successfully pulled off recently at the Northern Buckeye Conference wrestling tournament.

Sharpe, a senior, captured the 195-pound title, giving him his first individual league championship in his last attempt in high school.

Lake coach Tom Jackson saw Sharpe as a league champion even before he recorded a pin in the conference finals.

"I expected him to be improved from last year, that's for sure," Jackson said. "He's been a little better than what I even expected."

Sharpe weighs about 180 pounds and has spent most of the wrestling campaign grappling against opponents in the 182-pound division. After moving up to the 195-pound class for the first conference wrestling tournament, the Flyers senior improved his record over 40 matches to 37-3 overall.

Twenty-six of his victories were achieved by pinning his opponents, including Eastwood's Bobby Brooks in less than four minutes in a conference championship match. He became the lone Flyer to claim a title during the conference event held at Rossford.

"He's just been more focused this year," Jackson said of Sharpe, who competed as a 171-pounder during his junior season. "He lost a couple of matches last year that I thought he shouldn't have lost. He's cut down on some of his mistakes this year."

Sharpe entered the season as one of the top leaders for a Flyers team that lacked the kind of overall experience to compete among the conference front-runners. His showing at the league tournament was reflective of his effort all season.

Despite wrestling in a weight class that called for him to tangle with wrestlers nearly 20 pounds heavier, Sharpe took care of business in impressive style.

Jackson, who is in his 13th season coaching at Lake, said his top wrestler showed plenty of maturity to get to where he's at as a wrestler.

Sharpe's rise to become one of the conference's best wrestlers didn't happen without producing plenty of sweat, on and off the mat.

Beginning with workouts and conditioning training during the summer months, battling on the football field throughout the fall, right through the wrestling schedule, Sharpe maintained a sense of seriousness.

And it's paying off as in no other previous wrestling season.

"He's more driven this year," Jackson said, of Sharpe.

With the post-season wrestling competition just getting under way, the top Flyer is focused on keeping his final high school wrestling season intact all the way to Columbus, site of the annual Ohio state wrestling championships.

"His goal is to qualify for state and place there," Jackson said. "It won't be easy, but it's within his reach."

Contact Donald Emmons at: demmons@theblade.com, 419-724-6302 or on Twitter @DemmonsBlade

First Published February 22, 2012, 5:00 a.m.