Miltons Aeodon Sinclair celebrates after defeating Port Washingtons Garrett Kawczynski in the Division 1 championship match at 215 pounds during the WIAA state individual wrestling tournament at the Kohl Center in Madison on Saturday, Feb. 24.
MADISON Aeoden Sinclair savored all six minutes of his final high school match, scoring takedowns for sport as he won his third Division 1 state championship match in a 16-8 major decision Saturday night, becoming Milton High Schools first three-time champ.
Earlier Saturday night, brother-and-sister pair Tyson Peach and Madi Peach put behind them the disappointment of last years state tournament and finally reaped the reward of another season of hard work in the Milton High School wrestling room.
That they did it within seconds of each other on adjacent mats on the Kohl Center floor added to the sweetness of their first state championships.
Miltons Tyson Peach celebrates after defeating Neenahs Declan Koch in the Division 1 championship match at 138 pounds during the WIAA state individual wrestling tournament at the Kohl Center in Madison on Saturday.
Miltons Madi Peach celebrates after defeating Hudsons Natalie Klavetter in the girls championship match at 126 pounds during the WIAA state individual wrestling tournament at the Kohl Center in Madison on Saturday.
To a person, all three knew they would win their own match, and they all knew their teammates would win theirs, as well.
I knew that I was going to wrestle my hardest and that my hardest is going to win, Madi Peach said. I put in the work, I put in the time, and so when I go out there, I just want to do my stuff score my points, take my shots.
She took down Natalie Klavetter of Hudson in the first period before scoring a pair of near falls in the second to take a 7-1 lead into the final frame. Klavetter started in the top position, and Peach refused to give her any openings to score.
While the final seconds on Madi Peachs 126-pound title match were winding down, Tyson Peach had put the finishing touches on his win at 138 pounds over top-seeded Declan Koch of Neenah.
Tyson Peach, a senior, notched a takedown in the first, then scored again on a second-period escape from the bottom starting position. Another takedown in the third put him up 5-1, and that was the final tally when the clock hit zero.
I knew he had some tricks up his sleeve, but I knew Im the better wrestler, he said.
His match finished before his sisters. When her 7-1 decision went final about 20 seconds later, her first stop was to see her parents in the stands, who told her that Tyson had won, as well she was so focused in on her match that she didnt hear the announcement of Tysons win over the public address system.
Its a cool experience getting to win with my brother, especially since its his last year, she said.
Tyson Peach said afterward he has felt a responsibility to be a role model to his younger sister and that he wanted to pass his love of wrestling to her. Its safe to say he has done that.
I knew her time was coming, I knew my time was coming, and this was definitely the year with my reign of dominance and hers, as well, he said.
Milton coach Pat Jauch said both the Peaches were disappointed with the way they exited the state tournament early last year. He also felt the disappointment and took it personally, especially after they transferred to Milton High School with big goals in mind.
Miltons Tyson Peach competes with Neenahs Declan Koch in the Division 1 championship match at 138 pounds during the WIAA state individual wrestling tournament at the Kohl Center in Madison on Saturday. Peach won the bout in a 5-1 decision to take the state championship in his weight class.
Miltons Madi Peach hooks the arm of Hudsons Natalie Klavetter in the girls championship match at 126 pounds during the WIAA state individual wrestling tournament at the Kohl Center in Madison on Saturday.
His excitement was evident in the moment as he tried to watch both matches at once from the end of the bench on the girls mat.
Those moments are things that itd be worth it anyway but those are super special moments and the stuff you dont forget, he said. Im so proud of them and so happy for them and their family.
Sinclair took pride in watching the Peaches win, as well.
They just both work so hard and the reason I know that is because they do what I do, and so it just cements in my brain that my process works, he said.
Sinclair, the top-ranked wrestler nationally at 190 pounds who harbors Olympic and NCAA national championship aspirations, wrestled up a weight class and had won all his state matches by pinfall leading up to the title match.
His championship match at 215 pounds was against Garett Kawczynski of Port Washington, who was in the honorable mention portion of the latest national rankings himself.
Still, Sinclair controlled the proceedings as he has done at the high school level for the last three years.
His takedowns came early and often, and Kawczynskis only points came by escape, usually with Sinclair letting him up easy.
The Milton senior did have to navigate a couple of brief scrambles, but he did so deftly.
This guy wanted to see how close he could make it, and I did not want that to happen, Sinclair said. Im getting those bonus points. Im going out there to score. He took two shots and that was it.
For the final time, Jauch counted his blessings that he was able to have an athlete of Sinclairs caliber on his team.
Aeoden Sinclair wrestles Port Washingtons Garett Kawczynski in the Division 1 championship match at 215 pounds during the 2024 WIAA State Wrestling Tournament at the Kohl Center. The win over Kawczynski marked one of Sinclair's three individual state titles with Milton.
He handled this season in a really mature way, and us as a program and me as a coach, were blessed that he continued to pour into us when he couldve gone away, Jauch said. He could be training in freestyle, he could be doing anything he wanted to do, and the fact that he finished by competing hard, enjoying himself and teaching other people how to love the sport showed his maturity.
Weve never had a kid like him, never going to have another kid like this, and the skys the limit for him in wrestling and in his life, Jauch added.
Sinclair said he hoped he instilled a love of wrestling in people who watched him compete for the Red Hawks, and he hopes that his exploits serve as inspiration for others in southcentral Wisconsin who have big dreams like his.
What I want them to take is, you come from our area, you see these people doing these amazing things, and sometimes you sit there and think to yourself, Man, I wish I had this opportunity, or Man I wish I had these things that those guys had, and I just what people to take away, if chubby Aeoden Sinclair who was at the Kohl Center seven years ago writing all the names in the bracket, hoping one day to get his hand raised ... if he can do it, then why the freak cant you? he said.
Siblings Madi and Tyson Peach of Milton hug in celebration after each won their championship matches during the WIAA state individual wrestling tournament at the Kohl Center in Madison on Saturday.