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It didn’t take long for the gravity of the moment to hit Arrowhead’s Keegan O’Toole. 

Just seconds after pinning Elkhorn’s Colman Karl in the 160-pound Division 1 state championship match, O’Toole slid his headgear toward his coaches and exhaled. As he remained on his knees and ran his hand through his hair, the Kohl Center crowd came to its feet. 

With the victory, his 47th of the season, O’Toole became the 18th wrestler in Wisconsin history to win four state titles. 

“That standing ovation … I broke down. I couldn’t handle that,” O’Toole said. “I’ve been dreaming of that for so long.” 

The fourth and final title came in style as O’Toole pinned his way through the tournament. 

“I’ve been dreaming of this moment since the moment I started watching high school wrestling,” O’Toole said. “This is the biggest thing, in my opinion, that I have ever accomplished. It’s just amazing. I wouldn’t be here without my coaches and my wrestling partners and my family. I have a lot of them here tonight, so it makes it a lot more special.” 

O’Toole cruised through the first three rounds. He recorded a pin in each bout and none of his matches made it into the third period. 

In Thursday’s opening round, O’Toole topped Crosby Schlosser of West Bend East in 3:11. Later that night he pinned Peter Hansen (Hudson) in 1:56 to advance to the semifinals. 

Friday night, O’Toole punched his ticket to the state finals by pinning Burlington’s Ben Kumprey in 2:37. 

The last pin of the weekend came in 2:49. In total, O’Toole spent just 10:33 on the mat on his way to making history. 

Last year, O’Toole fell just short of his goal to pin his way through the state tournament. He ended that title run with three pins and a major decision. This time, O’Toole got the ending he wanted. 

“Last year, I think I might have been a little bit too tunnel vision,” O’Toole said. “But this year I made sure that I had to enjoy everything. This is my last time being here and I’m so grateful and thankful for the opportunity God has given me to compete.” 

2020 marks the third-consecutive year Wisconsin has crowned a four-timer. Prior to Saturday, Brock Schlough of Boyceville was the most recent member to join the exclusive club. 

Each of O’Toole’s four championships came at a different weight class. As a freshman, O’Toole won it all at 120 pounds. 

Title No. 2 came at 132 pounds during his sophomore campaign. The third came a year ago at 145 pounds. 

“I always envisioned this moment coming so soon. It came fast but, man, it was a long four years,” O’Toole said. “After my freshman year I’m like, ‘damn, I want to win the fourth one.’ But I needed to take it one match at a time, one day at a time, one second, one practice, everything. I needed to make sure I enjoyed it. And I think this year has really made me realize that. 

O’Toole’s career record stands at 157-5. He has not lost a match to an in-state opponent during his career. 

“I don’t really look at that too much just because the state of Wisconsin is growing as a [wrestling] state and we’ve got so many up and comers,” said O’Toole. “I’m lucky that I haven’t lost to someone in the state of Wisconsin because we have a lot of hammers coming in.” 

Though the individual portion of the season has concluded, another opportunity to compete remains. O’Toole and the rest of the Warhawks will be right back in Madison for Team State at the UW Field House on Friday. 

“It would mean the world to me, even better than a four-time state championship, if we won a team title,” O’Toole said. “Team is so much more fun than individual. I’m out there competing by myself. But when I’m with the team I’m having so much more fun and I have so much more joy in the sport of wrestling.”

O'Toole joins the following group as four-time state champs: Matt Hanutke of Pittsville, Kraig Underwood of Athens, Brian Slater of New Lisbon, Scott Hady of North Crawford, Kevin Black of River Falls, Josh Miller of Arcadia, Cole Wunnicke of Ithaca, Bobby Wunnicke of Dodgeville, Zac Cibula of Luxemburg-Casco, Nick Hagar of Tomahawk, Jesse Thielke of Germantown, Jarod Donar of Cuba City/Southwestern, Jens Lantz of Ellsworth, Hunter Marko of Amery, Jeremy Schoenherr of Stratford, Sam Stuhl of Prescott and Ellsworth, and Brock Schlough of Boyceville.