David Zabriskie weighs less but wins more.

The junior wrestler is bound by the limits of his 5-foot-11, 225-pound frame, but routinely beats other heavyweights who near the limits of the 285-pound class. The second-ranked junior neutralizes his constant size disadvantage with speed, technique, disproportionate strength and a superior stamina.

“Not everyone is built perfectly,” Zabriskie said. “But you take what you have and make it work for ya.”

The brawny New Jersey native is 17-3 against opponents currently ranked in the top 10.

“He’s got as good of a chance as anybody to win the nationals this year,” said third-year coach Cael Sanderson, who believes Zabriskie can become dominant over the next two years. “I think he’s going to win the nationals. But he’s even capable of more.”

Four years ago, Sanderson didn’t know what Zabriskie’s potential could be. Sanderson, a 2004 Olympic gold medalist, arrived late in the effort to recruit the 2005 class, which included Zabriskie and the other five third-year starters on this year’s team.

Sanderson didn’t see Zabriskie wrestle until the summer of 2005, at the high school national championship.

“You could tell, you knew he was good,” Sanderson said. “The only problem was that he was wrestling 215.”

The common high school weight class suited Zabriskie’s body type, but left him in between the 197-pound and heavyweight college divisions. He began wrestling in eighth grade and hadn’t even thought about wrestling in college until after his junior year of high school.

Zabriskie placed sixth in the New Jersey wrestling tournament that year, then went 38-0 and won a state championship in his senior season.

He drew interest from mostly smaller schools, but considered wrestling for Minnesota and Penn State. According to Zabriskie, former ISU head coach Bobby Douglas was the only suitor who “didn’t even consider” having him wrestle at 197.

“The other two schools were like, ‘Ok, well, we’ll try you out at 197, put on some weight, and we’ll probably move you up to heavyweight,’” Zabriskie said. “But coach Douglas was the only one who said ‘You’re going to be a heavyweight.’”

Zabriskie has struggled to add weight throughout his career, and said he entered college at approximately 212 pounds.

Dorm food helped add some weight, he said, but he got frustrated when the extra meals and protein shakes melted off during the Cyclones’ grueling practices.

“It took me a year or two to realize that, well, five (or) ten pounds really isn’t going to make much of a difference against a guy that’s got fifty pounds on top of me, anyway,” Zabriskie said.

As a true freshman, Zabriskie was a raw talent who struggled to keep up. He said he “didn’t know what he was getting into.”

“One of the first workouts I remember — Joe Curran and I were beating the snot out of him,” Sanderson said. “Maybe he doesn’t remember that, but I do. But that didn’t last for very long.”

As a freshman, he went 22-6 during the 2006-07 regular season and won one of the biggest matches in Iowa State history. Zabriskie beat Oklahoma State’s Jared Rosholt , 3-1, in the Big 12 heavyweight championship match.

Whichever wrestler won would secure the team championship. Zabriskie came through, securing Iowa State’s first outright conference title in 20 years. Sanderson said the team “had no idea he was going to do as well as he did.”

Zabriskie lost to Rosholt in last year’s Big 12 Championship match, but went on to earn sixth-place at the NCAA Tournament.

He has improbably developed into a favorite for the NCAA title.

“He is just as strong as any of those guys,” said No. 1 ranked junior Jake Varner (197), who said he was surprised by Zabriskie’s early success. “Just because he is 30 or 40 pounds lighter doesn’t mean he can’t beat them. He can win. It surprised me at first, but these last two years I’ve had confidence in him when he goes out there.”

Sanderson said the junior has yet to reach the ceiling of his potential. Zabriskie has wrestled seven overtime matches this season, winning six.

“We don’t have to beat ‘em by out-hustling ‘em,” Sanderson said.

“We can just beat ‘em because we’re better than ‘em. Technique is going to beat that strength. Yeah, we gotta be smart about it, but I think you’re going to see another dimension out of him before he’s done here.”