MADISON, Wis. – The only thing Keegan O’Toole failed to achieve at the state meet this year was the high standard he’d set for himself.
The Arrowhead Union High School (Hartland, Wis.) junior didn’t win each of his matches by pin at the WIAA individual state wrestling tournament, but he achieved the primary objective, which was to win another championship and set himself up to achieve a historic goal at state next year.
O’Toole won his third state championship Saturday night at the Kohl Center, defeating Stoughton’s Luke Mechler in the Division 1 145-pound final with a 16-3 major decision. The win sets up O’Toole for a run at becoming a four-time state championship next year.
The victory also provided a happy ending to a season that began with the Missouri recruit suffering a broken ankle in practice.
“I had an expectation of not only winning the state tournament, but doing it in the most dominant way, which is four pins,” O’Toole said. “Unfortunately, I couldn’t get that, but it’s a good learning experience. I’m going to come back next year and go for those four pins again.”
The performance highlighted a state finals in which Boyceville’s Brock Schlough became the 17th wrestler to win four state titles.
From an area perspective, the meet resulted in another season of multiple state champions for Arrowhead, six repeat champions and nine athletes in all who brought home state titles
O’Toole’s teammate Josh Otto was among the repeat champions. The Wisconsin recruit, who won at 152-pounds last season, was the 170-pound champion this year.
Read more from the state wrestling championships the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
