Perhaps the most telling indication of Zachary Hernandez’s growth as a wrestler came in a rare moment of vulnerability Friday night.

In his first match of an Interscholastic League of Honolulu dual meet at McCabe Gym, the Punahou senior lost control for a split second, putting himself in jeopardy of being pinned by Saint Louis’ Ikaiah Simeona.

But years of training taught Hernandez to keep his wits and he almost instantaneously regained the advantage and seconds later finished the match with a pin with 5.6 seconds left in the first period.

“That’s his mental toughness,” Punahou co-coach Matt Oney said, “his refusal to stay in trouble.

“Once he got into good position he was back to his dominant self.”

Hernandez’s next match ended even quicker, as he pinned his opponent in 53 seconds to help the Buffanblu complete an undefeated run through the ILH dual-meet schedule with wins over Saint Louis 81-0 and Kamehameha 39-17.

Punahou (9-0) now enters the next phase of the season, with the ILH championships Feb. 23 and 25, followed by the Chevron/HHSAA State Wrestling championships March 2-3 at Blaisdell Arena.

“Coach always tells us we have to peak at the right time,” said Hernandez, the reigning state champion in the 191-pound class. “The whole season we’ve been building up to this one time.”

Hernandez is among five Punahou wrestlers who finished first or second in their divisions at last year’s state championships. Senior Todd Murakawa won at 125 in 2010 and at 132 last year, and Bryan Peralta claimed the 152 title as the Buffanblu won their fifth consecutive boys team championship.

While completing the dual-meet season without a loss was a step for the team, the coaches’ focus was more on the team’s growth heading into the league and state championships.

“The undefeated part was less important,” co-coach Jimmy Takatsuka said. “Earlier in the season we weren’t wrestling particularly well as a team. We were making a lot of errors. Tonight they really came together well. In that respect I feel real good about how we’re wrestling now, emotionally as well as on the mat.”

Hernandez has reached the state finals the past two years —he placed second at 152 as a sophomore in 2010 — and Oney said his attention to technique and his strength have been the keys to his success to date.

“What he’s done over the last three years is improve his technique so he’s not relying solely on his strength and his intensity,” Oney said.

“He took all of our coaching to heart. He understood for him to be as good as he could be he needed to stop being just a muscle guy and really learn proper technique. I give him so much credit, because it’s not easy when you’re winning and your coaches are still saying you’re not wrestling well.”

Those lessons paid off on Friday when Hernandez nearly found himself on his back early in his first match.

“I pulled him on top of me and I just messed up a little bit,” Hernandez said. “I realized he was putting me on my back so I just kept a cool head.”

Hernandez, the son of Kapolei football coach Darren Hernandez, also starred for the Punahou football team as a starting linebacker. But his college future will be in wrestling and he’s planning recruiting trips to Brown, Columbia and Duke after the season.

Hernandez was introduced to the sport at age 10 by his father, who coached wrestling and judo along with football. He’s since come to relish the hours of training required to exert maximum effort for just a few moments on the mat.

“It’s worth it,” he said.