Practice opens for prep wrestlers across the state

CEDAR RAPIDS - Cedar Rapids Kennedy's Nolan Hromidko has anticipated this day for a long time.

Actually, it had been 268 days and about 6,432 hours since he stepped off the podium at the Iowa High School Athletic Association Class 3A state meet in Des Moines.

'I've been waiting for this day since I got fifth last year,” the junior 120-pounder said Monday as teams from across the state opened the 2014-15 season with the first official day of practice. 'I want to get to the finals this year. I want to push myself and do whatever it takes to get there.”

Hromidko was 35-9 at 113 last season, earning first-team all-Metro honors. He said he took a different route during the offseason. Hromidko dedicated himself to early-morning weight training sessions during the summer and decided to participate in football in the fall.

'I put in a lot of hours over the summer,” Hromidko said. 'I want to be a leader for the team.”

Kennedy Coach Dennis Hynek said he has seen Hromidko mature in all areas of his life, including athletics and academics. Hynek said Hromidko has improved as a leader for the Cougars.

'He's taking a lot better approach in everything,” said Hynek, noting that he receives texts from Hromidko boasting about his grade-point average. 'It's fun to watch.

'I think the sky's the limit.”

Hromidko is just a junior, but he doesn't want to wait to start building accomplishments to go with last season's state medal. The time is now.

'I only have two years left,” Hromidko said. 'I want to make something out of them.”

The Cougars gathered in the practice room, working on basics on the first day. Kennedy (8-14 in duals last season) has the potential to be much improved with an influx of young talent to go along with established starters like Hromidko, state qualifier Logen Rodriguez (30-10 at 126) and sophomore Garrett Kubovec, who had 23 wins as a freshman.

'We have a good young group coming up,” Hynek said. 'We have a lot of ninth and 10th-graders with wrestling experience.”

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