By Gary Ogle
gogle@wbcowqel.com

Legendary football coach Paul Brown was asked once how to rank and rate the all-time great quarterbacks. His answer was by the number of championships they had won.

Although Danielle (Grochowalski) Vilt never quarterbacked a high school football team, one has to wonder what Brown may have thought of her as an athlete. The three-sport star to be inducted into the Wynford Athletic Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2014 claimed 30 or more individual and team championships in four years.

“I’m truly honored,” Vilt said about induction into her alma mater’s Hall of Fame. “I guess it was the rush when I needed it most at the championships. You need to come alive and do what you’ve been practicing for the whole season. I left it out there. That’s how I live my life every single day.”

Vilt’s first titles actually came at Colonel Crawford where as a freshman she was on the Lady Eagles’ second state tournament basketball team, a sectional championship volleyball team and medaled in two events at the state track meet.

Then she made a decision that broke some hearts while making others very happy. Vilt transferred to Wynford.

“It was hard leaving my close friends at Crawford, but I’m glad I made the decision I did,” Vilt said. “It was worth it.

The change in schools paid huge dividends for both her and the fortunes of Wynford girls’ athletics. By the time she graduated three years later, Vilt had earned All-Ohio honors in both volleyball and track, a place on the 2003 All-State Tournament Basketball Team, and a state track title.

“Those teammates at Wynford were teammates I had played with in junior high when I played AAU basketball,” Vilt said. “The friendships I had made definitely made the transition easier.”

So did winning.

In volleyball Vilt contributed to North Central Conference and sectional crowns for the Lady Royals. In addition to being named All-NCC for three seasons, she was All-District twice, All-Ohio twice and named to play in the Division III All-Ohio All-Star game.

On the basketball court, Vilt was probably best known for her lock down defense. But she also proved to be a reliable scorer inside and outside the three-point arc and she was extremely effective in the Lady Royals’ transition game.

The Wynford girls posted three consecutive 20-win seasons during Vilt’s time there, including the magical 26-1 campaign her senior season that only ended at the Division III state tournament.

That season she set Wynford records for most steals in a single game, 13, most steals in a single season, 157, and most steals in a career, 314.

But perhaps what she was best known for was hitting the go-ahead free throws against Worthington Christian at Lexington in the regional finals to cap a thrilling come-from-behind win.

“I remember being like numb, thinking, ‘If I miss this, it’s over,’” Vilt said. “I needed to take my mind off of that and make them like any other free throw.”

She did and the Lady Royals were off to the Final Four. Although Wynford lost for the only time that season in the state semi-finals, Vilt was named to the All-Tournament team.

One memorable play saw her inbounds the ball off the back of a defender, recover it and score.

“I literally thought I was going to be in the deepest trouble from Coach Taylor if I missed it,” Vilt said.

That senior year wouldn’t end until Vilt claimed an individual state title in the 400-meter race at the Division III state track meet. It capped off a perfect season in which she never lost one 400-meter race the entire spring.

“”I think I put a lot of hard work and a lot of thought into how I would run that race,” Vilt said. “I think that came with maturity. Once that gun goes off, you just come to focus and go, and that’s what I did.”

Vilt also placed eighth in the 200-meter dash in that meet. She graduated a champion and the school record holder in both the 200 and 400.

“I want to thank my coaches and my family. I can’t remember a time my parents missed a game or a meet,” Vilt said. “I want to thank them for their dedication and support.”

Vilt went on to an extremely successful track career at the University of Findlay. She claimed five school records there and earned All-American status five times. She was also a two-time GLIAC Academic All-American and was named the 2006-2007 Female Athlete of the Year for Findlay.

Vilt has a bachelor’s degree in personal training and a master’s in strength and conditioning. She lives with her husband, Edward, in Westerville where she is a currently a stay-at-home mom for 2-year-old Adelynn and 10-month-old Lincoln.