Hallelujah and heartbreak:

Defending state wrestling champion Garett Kawczynski did what he does, and the Port Washington High School team nearly maxed out its expected state qualifiers at Saturday’s Division 2 sectional at home.

The Pirates qualified six for the individual state tournament in Madison on Feb. 28, and the team finished second with 235.5 points, advancing to the team sectional in Kewaskum on Saturday, Feb. 21.

Kawczynski (32-0) won the 215-pound bracket by an injury default, a pin over Grafton’s Caleb Ernst (30-12) in 1 minute, 59 seconds, and in the finals by pinning Pewaukee’s Parker Mikelonis (29-22) in 51 seconds.

“I’d be lying if I said that I don’t get a little nervous. I think in my head I train hard enough to warrant me being successful,” Kawczynski said.

He was just as pumped for his teammates.

“I think I had a higher heart rate watching Ashton Steinert get a tech fall and Chase Barber get a pin at the same time than I did during my match,” he said. “Over the last couple of years, there haven’t been as many state qualifiers besides me. We’re becoming a team that people fear, and I’m really just proud of it.”

Kawczynski is a top seed at state.

“He did his thing,” coach Angelo LaRosa said. “His bracket will be loaded at state.”

Sophomore Graysen Koepke (34-4) was Port’s other sectional champ. He won by pins in 1:58 and 1:43 before pinning Campbellsport’s Logan Knoeck (27-8) in the final in 3:14.

“I gave up a takedown right away. That kind of woke me up. He was really strong and physical, a good opponent,” Koepke said. “I felt like I was just a little quicker.”

Koepke just missed qualifying last season.

“All offseason I put in a lot of work trying to make sure I could get through this year and accomplish my goals,” he said. “It really means a lot that I can pull through.”

Brothers Carter and Grant Melichar each took similar routes to finish second and qualify. The top two places advance.

Carter (31-6), a sophomore at 157 pounds, won by pins in 1:17 and 44 seconds, then lost a 21-6 technical fall to Kewaskum’s Bryston Scoles (36-0), a state runner-up last year, in 4:23 in the final.

“He’s tough, but I wrestled him a little better than last time. He’s on that next level that we’re working toward,” Melichar said.

Melichar came back to pin Lake Mills’ Aric Braund (31-9) in 1:58 for second place.

“It was pressure, but I was in the same scenario last year and lost that wrestleback match, so I knew what the pressure felt like and I didn’t want that to happen again,” he said.

Carter is seeded eighth at state.

Grant (29-10), a freshman at 165 pounds, won by pins in 1:29 and 3:09 and a 15-1 major decision. In the final, he lost a 4-3 decision to Waukesha North’s Mitchell Stigler (19-2). In the second-place match, Grant beat Lake Mills’ Mason Wollin in a 7-1 decision.

“It was amazing for a freshman to make it to state. It was a goal the whole season,” Grant said.

Senior Ashton Steinert (23-16) qualified at 175 pounds. He won a 7-5 decision, lost a 9-3 decision, then ripped off three technical falls in a row — 17-2 in 3:19, 19-3 in 4:00 and 22-6 in the second-place match in 4:27 over Lakeside Lutheran’s Jack Thiele (34-12).

“I was a little nervous. I listened to coach Josh Konitzer. He told me to put my head down and double, and it worked out,” Steiner said of an aggressive takedown move.

Steinert is seeded 13th of 14 wrestlers at state.

Sophomore Chase Barber (21-10) pinned his first opponent in 40 seconds, then took a forfeit against defending state champ Ethan Immel (40-1) of Kewaskum in order to prepare for the consolation bracket.

Barber finished with three straight pins, first in 1:09, and 1:05. In the second-place match, he pinned Landon Zirbel of Waukesha North in 5:23, a match that was tied at 6 at one point.

“Sophomore year — I’m really really proud of it,” Barber said. “I put in the work in the offseason. I did all I could and made it happen at the end.”

LaRosa said that’s the first time he’s intentionally taken a forfeit in 20 years.

“I wasn’t a fan of forfeiting to anyone, but it worked out and Chase is going to state,” he said.

LaRosa said he expected three to seven wrestlers to qualify for state.

“You always want to get more. It’s always a roller coaster,” he said.

Junior Jackson Hatfield (28-10) at 190 pounds went 3-1 and finished third. He won his third-place match in a 21-3 technical fall over Watertown Luther Prep’s Jude Hillmer in 5:08, but Kewaskum’s Eli Ogi beat Hatfield earlier in the day and secured second place. Hatfield laid face down on the mat in disappointment.

Grafton qualifies a pair and as a team

Grafton freshman Ryan Gartman (43-9) cruised through the 106-pound bracket, pinning two opponents in 1:26 and 58 seconds, then pinning Noah Jesko (35-5) of Rio/Cambria/Fall River/Randolph in the finals in 30 seconds.

“I just wanted to get after it, be aggressive. I saw the cradle opening and stuck with that,” Gartman said.

It was Gartman’s first tournament win of the season.

“I feel like I’ve gotten better over the year. I’ve really progressed and handled myself better in bigger matches like this one today,” he said.

“Ryan has put in a lot of work, a lot of time. He just makes a lot of sacrifices,” coach Mike Dodge said.

Gartman is the first freshman in school history to win a sectional and the second to qualify for state. The other was in 2017 by Ellis Pfleger, who won a state title as a senior.

“There’s elite company there. He did an amazing job and he set the tone for us right away in his matches,” Dodge said.

Ernst (30-12), a senior at 215 pounds, won by pin before losing to Kawczynski, then won a 20-2 technical fall in 6:00, a pin in 2:30 and in the second-place match won an 8-0 decision over Pewaukee’s Parker Mikelonis (29-22).

“I was just thinking this is a tall guy but I’ve got to wrestle him like anybody else,” Ernst said.

“He’s just a great kid,  a hard worker. It’s just awesome to see him get that,” Dodge said.

Grafton’s match of the day might have been senior Tom Schumacher (26-18) taking fifth place by pinning Watertown Luther Prep’s Titus Hefti (27-11) in 5:26.

Schumacher fell behind, 17-4, before coming all the way back to tie the match.  He fell behind, 19-17, then tied it again before scoring the pin, sending Grafton’s corner of coaches and fans into hysterics.

Dodge gave Schumacher some advice during a break while his senior’s bloody nose was being plugged.

“I said, ‘Don’t let him score any more points. You’ve got to take him down and turn him.’ Something clicked, and Tom was Tom,” Dodge said.

Grafton got fifth with 128.5 points and advanced to Saturday’s team sectional.

All six girls advance to sectional

In the girls’ regional in Port last Friday, all three Grafton grapplers and all three Port wrestlers advanced.

Senior Ellie Federl (34-11) at 126 pounds beat Kewaskum’s Sybil Gadouas (15-4) in an 11-2 major decision.

Senior Audrey Hanson (42-4) at 138 pounds pinned Random Lake’s Arianna Smith (35-10) in 5:17.

Both have eclipsed 100 career victories this season.

“I wasn’t expecting it at all. It was awesome. It was really cool to have gotten that,” Hanson said.

Federl said, “It was nice because Audrey got it just a few weeks before me. It’s nice to be the first two girls for girls’ wrestling at our school. I know that sport’s going to grow.”

Maddie Hatfield (27-8) at 132 pounds won a 16-0 technical fall over Kewaskum’s Sadie Fonte (15-12) in 4:36.

Port’s Cora Stewart (39-4) at 120 pounds pinned Cedarburg’s Evie Sova (22-9) in 1:34.

“I felt confident. I wasn’t really worried. I just treat every match like it’s a big deal,” Stewart said.

Aubrey Rickard at 235 pounds (8-13) pinned Kettle Moraine Lutheran’s Alayna Winklbauer (10-8) in 4:00.

Ava Knitt (11-19) at 145 pounds went 1-1 and got second. The top two finishers advance to sectional.

The sectional meet is Friday, Feb. 20, in Beaver Dam.