Vondrak collects 152-pound title

The last time Hinton's Kole Vondrak was in the Akron-Westfield gymnasium wearing a wrestling singlet is probably one day he would like to forget.

It was his freshman year and during a match, he landed wrong, tore some ligaments and fractured his elbow.

He spent a season with the juggernaut that is the Hinton basketball program before returning to the wrestling room as a junior this season.

But on Saturday, he headed back to the site of that career-altering day for the Westerner Invite as the Blackawks' 152-pounder and, suffice to say, it was a rousing success.

Vondrak pinned his first two opponents and recorded a technical fall victory over Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley's Ty Koldenhoven en route to the 152-pound championship on Saturday in Akron.

By his own admission, Vondrak sometimes feels a step behind after a year spent away from the mat.

"Sometimes I try and play football more than wrestle," said Vondrak, who is a two-time All-District first team selection for the Blackhawks football team. "It's nice because it's been three years and this is where I ended."

Hinton coach Jan George is pleased with the progress Vondrak has made in such a short time.

"He's definitely budding out here, just learning the sport," George said. "He's got a lot of natural strength and he likes the physicality of (wrestling). He's very physical and the confidence is going to grow in him. We're going to win a lot more matches than a lot of people might think because of him."

Hinton also received a strong performance from senior Tanner Knop, who placed second at 189 pounds.

Knop pinned Westwood's Anthony Schroeder in 49 seconds and pinned Kingsley-Pierson's Cole Simons in 1:42 to reach the title match.

There he fell by pin in 3:35 to B-H/RV's Micah Hoogendoom, a Class 2A state participant last season.

Still, George is pleased with the performance from his senior.

"Tanner Knop has come the greater distance of a lot of kids just from the standpoint of confidence," George said. "He's really learned how to pick it up...A year ago, he just might have stopped - stopped wrestling and just gave it up. This year, uh-uh. He likes that success."