Anthony Zanetta qualified for the USA Wresting Cadet National Championships twice, but did not make the trip to Fargo, N.D. either time.

"I qualified last year, but we had a family vacation planned that week," said Zanetta, who recently completed his junior year at Keystone Oaks High School. "The year before, I qualified but didn't feel I was ready for a tournament of that magnitude, so I declined the invitation."

This summer, Zanetta made sure his schedule could accommodate a trip to North Dakota State University. He qualified for the Junior National Freestyle Championships that get underway Saturday.

"I'm really looking forward to my trip to Fargo," said Zanetta, who will be competing in the 119-pound weight class. "I've never been there before, so I don't know what to expect. I will be facing some of the best wrestlers in the country.

"My goal is to go in there and do my best and hopefully place [by finishing among the top eight in his weight class]."

Zanetta has compiled an impressive 110-13 career record in his three seasons at Keystone Oaks. He reached the pinnacle of Pennsylvania scholastic wrestling in March when he claimed the 112-pound title at the PIAA Class AA tournament.

"Winning a PIAA title was an incredible feeling," said Zanetta, who plans to compete at 119 during his senior season. "There will be a lot of pressure on me to repeat this year, but it's a good kind of pressure. Everybody wants to beat the state champion. That will make me work even harder."

Zanetta has been training all summer with Jim Akerly and the Quest Wrestling Club.

"I've been working out three times a week at Quest since the week after the PIAA tournament," Zanetta said. "I also plan to wrestle for Quest at the New Jersey Duals in August.

"We will be facing some of the best club teams in the Eastern part of the country. Quest has won the title three years in a row."

Zanetta broke into the starting lineup at Keystone Oaks as a 103-pound freshman, with the Golden Eagles competing in Class AAA. He won a section title and placed sixth in the WPIAL, thus finishing his varsity debut season with a 34-8 record.

Keystone Oaks dropped to Class AA for the 2006-07 season, and Zanetta earned his first PIAA berth while wrestling at 112 pounds. He won a second section title, then placed second in the WPIAL, and first in the Southwest Region, before posting a 1-2 record at Hershey.

All three of his matches at Hershey that season were against returning or eventual PIAA place-winners. He opened with a win over Matt Yocco of Brandywine Heights, a returning place-winner. He then lost, 7-4, to to the eventual runner-up, Evan Yenolevich, of Northwestern Lehigh, and 4-2 to Pottstown's Seth Ecker, a two-time place-winner.

"I was a little disappointed with my performance at Hershey that year, but it gave me a lot of incentive coming into my junior year," Zanetta said. "My goal was to become Keystone Oaks' second state champion."

And that's just what he did. Zanetta claimed his third section title, then won his first WPIAL title, and earned a return trip to Hershey by winning his second Southwest Region title. Zanetta capped a perfect 40-0 season with a 9-7 victory against Boiling Springs' Joe Spisak in the PIAA title match.

With 110 career wins, Zanetta will most likely pass Myles Caragein, who owns the school record with 138 wins.

"I need 29 wins to break the school record," Zanetta said. "It's a big goal for me, but not as big as my goal of winning a second PIAA title."

Zanetta would like to continue his wrestling career at the collegiate level, but hasn't made a choice yet. He's been talking to Pitt, Maryland, Edinboro, Mercyhurst, West Virginia and North Carolina, all Division I programs.