Port star takes season’s first loss in marquee matchup

Garett Kawczynski is accustomed to top competition, and he got it at the Bi-State Classic wrestling tournament in La Crosse last weekend.

Kawczynski, a junior ranked No. 1 at 215 pounds in Division 1, rolled through opponents who got tougher as the matches went on in the two-day event. In the final he faced off with Prairie du Chien’s Blake Thiry, the No. 2-ranked wrestler in Division 2, according to Wisconsingrappler.com.

Thiry, who has committed to play tight end for Indiana University next season, won, 4-2.

“Garett nearly got a couple of takedowns. Thiry got a takedown off Garett’s shot with 45 seconds left that made it 4-1 and rode him a bit. Garett got away with 10 seconds left,” coach Angelo LaRosa said.

“He didn’t have his best match in the finals. That guy is really good. He’s probably 6-5 and all of 215 pounds.”

But LaRosa isn’t worried about his star, who placed third and second at state the past two seasons.

“Garett’s got a really good head on his shoulders and keeps a good perspective,” he said.

It was Kawczynski’s first loss of the season. He is 19-1. Thiry, who has placed sixth, fourth and third at state, is 21-2.

LaRosa said he loves how the finals matches are set up at the tourney.

“The match is on a stage with light and fog. It mimics the state finals more than any other tournament. It’s really cool,” he said.

To get to the finals, Kawczynski pinned Aedan Xiong (6-9) of DC Everest in 25 seconds, John Qualley (10-7) of Dodgeville in 1 minute, 1 second and Jackson Seippel (12-5) of Lancaster in 39 seconds. He won a 16-2 major decision over Gatlin Empey (20-5) of Stoughton.

In the semifinal, Kawczynski won a 16-1 technical fall in 2:19 over Hudson’s Dawson Clymer (22-2), who was ranked eighth in Division 1.

LaRosa said the top-ranked Division 3 wrestler was also in the 215-pound bracket. Kawczynski may see him at two tournaments this season.

Freshman Graysen Koepke (12-5) was the only other Port wrestler to place. He finished 10th at 106 pounds

“He had a really nice tournament. Tenth is fantastic for a freshman,” LaRosa said.

“Graysen just needs more matches. He wrestles better every meet. He’s got a great head on his shoulders.”

Koepke won by a 16-0 technical fall in 2:28 over Micah Bremer (12-6) of Marshfield, was pinned by Jack Falk (15-3) of Pulaski in 1:58, pinned Oliver Shefchik (13-9) of Bay Port in 2:46 and won a 7-0 decision over Sawyer Kundinger (15-5) of Auburndale.

Koepke lost a 21-5 technical fall in 3:17 to Rex Lancaser (15-3) of Holmen,  pinned James Schramm (16-5) of Riverdale in 2:30 and in the ninth-place match lost a 13-2 major decision to Owen Dorshorst (15-2) of Lodi.

“It’s such a tough tournament. Just to make it to day two and in the top 12 you’ve got to be a state qualifier or placewinner,” LaRosa said.

“There are freshman champions, which is completely insane. You’re seeing freshmen pinning and tech falling state champs. You’re seeing the next four-time state champs.”

Hewitt Dekker (12-7) at 285 pounds and Carter Melichar (13-6) at 157 each went 3-2. Sam Pasten (10-8) at 190, Austin Knapp (9-9) at 138 and Jackson Hatfield (11-7) at 165 each went 2-2.

Connor Zinuticz, Bryce Nichelsen, Connor Boehm, Blake Gnodtke, Nick Currie and Ashton Steinert each won one match.

“We lost a ton of winnable matches. At that tournament you can’t lose any of those and go very far,” LaRosa said.

The Pirates spent three nights at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, LaRosa’s alma mater.

“It’s a team-building trip. We got to practice in the University of La Crosse wrestling room,” LaRosa said.

Holmen won the tournament with 214.5 points. Marshfield had 189. Port scored 94 points and was 16th of 25 Division 1 teams. Sixty-nine teams scored at least one point across all three divisions.

Port wrestles in the Rocket Invite at Cedar Grove-Belgium on Saturday, Jan. 4, and in a double dual at Cedarburg on Wednesday, Jan. 8.