Arrowhead star puts on a show
MADISON – The first day of the WIAA state wrestling tournament is in the books and all of the area's top performers took care of business.
Arrowhead senior Keegan O'Toole's pursuit of a fourth straight state championship is as strong as ever. Two-time champion Hayden Halter, a junior from Waterford, and returning champions Dajun Johnson of Whitefish Bay and Jalen Spuhler of Hartford, both seniors, moved on as well.
In all 23 area athletes advanced to the Division 1 semifinals, which will be held at 7 p.m. Friday.
Wrestler of the day
Donoven Acevedo, New Berlin West/Eisenhower: There was much more this senior heavyweight could have done in his first state appearance. Not only did he advance to the semifinals, but he pinned both his opponents Friday.
He pinned Wauwatosa's Shaquielle Harrell in 96 seconds in his opening round match and then needed only 58 seconds to beat Badger senior Kyle Freund, the fourth-ranked competitor in the class by wiwrestling.com. Acevedo will try to maintain his Midas touch at state Friday in the semifinals against second-ranked Max Meeuwsen, the defending state champion.
Match of the day
Greenfield's Skyler Gill-Howard vs. Brookfield Central's Frederick Kyles: Gill-Howard walked away to the 220pound quarterfinal but also struggled to put into words how, exactly, he pulled it off.
“There's not much I can say,” the Greenfield junior said. “That match was just crazy.”
Gill-Howard staged a third period comeback for a 12-9 victory in a match that was 0-0 after 2 minutes. Kyles led, 7-4, following an escape to start the third, but Gill-Howard secured a takedown and near-fall to claim a 9-7 advantage. A reversal by Kyles tied the match. He then came close a go-ahead takedown, but Gill-Howard escaped with 31 seconds left.
“I was just like, ‘I gotta get out,' ” GillHoward said. “‘There's no other way. If I don't do this, my season is over.'”
Gill-Howard then secured a takedown of his own with 11 ticks remaining.
“I knew what I had to do,” he said. “I hit him with the head throw at the end. He almost got me with the throw but I was able to reverse that and then from there I just got the ‘W.' ”
Gill-Howard's ascension this season is a lesson for those not competing at state this weekend. A year ago, he won junior varsity state and zeroed in on making a splash at the Kohl Center.
“Ever since then I wanted to be on a bigger stage and wanted more,” he said.
Quote of the day
“I'm not afraid of losing and I'm ready to put it on the line.” -Arrowhead sophomore Mitchell Mesenbrink, who suffered a concussion in December that nearly knocked him out for the season. He returned for the regional tournament and now has a chance to best his thirdplace finish from last year.
O'Toole, Arrowhead look good
Last year, Keegan O'Toole walked into the WIAA individual state wrestling tournament with his mind centered on getting four pins in four matches.
He didn't quite accomplish that goal en route to winning his third state tournament in three seasons, winning two of his matches by fall.
This time around, with a chance to make history as a four-time state champion, the Arrowhead senior has his mind on something else but may still wind up with four pins at the Kohl Center in the process.
“My goal is to enjoy everything,” O'Toole said. “This is my last time being here. My first match, I was a little excited. I maybe came out a little too hard and that's when bad things happen, so I made sure I was calm and made sure that I was moving my feet well, not rushing into the match, letting the match pace come to me and I felt much better."
By the end of the weekend, O'Toole could become the 18th wrestler in state history to win four individual titles. He would become just the third to do so in Division 1 and the second from the greater Milwaukee area.
O'Toole won by fall over Crosby Schlosser of West Bend East in 3 minutes, 11 seconds in the opening round. In the quarterfinals, he felt much more at ease from the beginning and pinned Hudson's Peter Hansen in 1:56.
It was part of a strong opening day for Arrowhead, which sent five wrestlers through to the semifinals. Joining O'Toole in the championship bracket Friday will be Mitchell Mesenbrink (138 pounds), Jack Ganos (145), Noah Mulvaney (152) and Mason Diel (182).
Bay's Johnson advances
Whitefish Bay senior Dajun Johnson, one of the area's four returning champions in Division 1, advance to the semifinals for the third straight year, but not before overcoming what could be termed hunger pains.
The top seed at 170 didn't eat heading his matches Thursday and paid for it early in his quarterfinal match with D.C. Everest's Gabe Carter when his hips cramped. Johnson got stretched out during a timeout and went on to score an 8-3 decision over an opponent who entered the day with one loss, but the discomfort lingered.
“I felt it more and more,” he said, “but we train so much to train through all that pain, so it was like if I don't want to lose, I have to keep shooting.”
Henschel's comeback continues
A year ago Cayden Henschel was upset at the sectional and missed the state meet. Thursday the West Bend East senior competed as if he were trying to make up for lost time.
He scored two major decisions on the way to reaching the Division 1 semifinals at 132. The combined score of his wins, which came over Stoughton's Trenton Dow and Muskego's Austin Elger, was 24-7.
The victories raised Henschel's record to 45-1 and leave him two wins from becoming East's sixth state champion. Up next is Mukwonago junior Tyler Goebel, who knocked off second-ranked Logan Stumpf in a tiebreaker, 5-4.
“That could be the best thing that ever happened to me for my character, coming back from those setbacks,” he said.
Schedule
Friday
Division 1 consolations, 10 a.m. Division 2 and 3 quarterfinals, 11:15 a.m.
Division 1 consolation semifinals,
1:45 p.m.
Division 2-3 consolation semifinals, 2:45
Division 1, 2, 3 semifinals, 7 p.m.