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Orem • Wasatch's Zak Kohler has been wrestling as long as he can remember, and he considers the sport the perfect choice for him.

"When you go one-on-one against someone and you win, you're personally rewarded for all the time and effort you put in," he said.

But he likes the team aspect just as much — "without good coaches and good partners to push you, you don't get to good places," Kohler said. "I also like being on a team that's successful. My teammates uplift me, and I like the feeling of being a direct contributor and making a difference with my individual effort."

With his history, it would be easy to conclude that Kohler must come from a wrestling family, and he does — but not in the way that you'd think.

Both his parents are from Heber, which is a wrestling town. Zak's mother and her family attended wrestling tournaments while she was growing up, even though they didn't have any relatives involved. When Zak's parents started dating, his mother brought his future father along, and the habit stuck after they got married. As a toddler, Kohler said he would fall asleep between the bleachers during the championship matches, when they would turn the lights out and use spotlights for the center mat.

Last year as a high school freshman, he won the state title in the 120-pound weight class. This year as a sophomore, he is a favorite to win another state title, this time at 132. Kohler scored a fall in 53 seconds in his first-round bout Wednesday, and followed up with a 24-7 technical fall in the quarterfinals.

Kohler helped the Wasps, the defending Class 4A state champions, grab the team lead after Day 1 with 120 points, followed by Payson with 111 and Uintah with 106.5. Wasatch led the classification with 19 pins Wednesday.

Kohler said he gets a lot of his competitive edge from his experience at national tournaments in places such as New Jersey, Virginia and Indiana.

Ultimately though, he says his favorite part about the sport is that he finds it fun.

"When I go out there and perform well, everyone can see I showed up," he said. "It's the best payback for hard work that I know."