Hamilton Wrapup: Feb. 7

The distance Mike Konvalinka has come was demonstrated on Friday at Brookfield East in the Greater Metro Conference wrestling tournament, when Sussex Hamilton took third place among seven schools.

Wrestling down at 195 pounds after spending much of the year at 220, Konvalinka ran into Brookfield Central's Josh Mokwa in the semifinals. Last year, Mokwa defeated the Hamilton senior in the consolation semifinal of the tourney, 2-0, but this year Konvalinka pinned his man in 3:45.

Konvalinka then blew past another wrestler undefeated in GMC matches, John LeClaire of Brookfield East, for the title, 11-4.

He was one of three conference champions, joining Bobby Holzem at 138 and Nick Knoebel at 145. West Allis Hale edged crosstown rival West Allis Central for the title, 233-225.5, while Hamilton posted a score of 201.

"We went out and proved we belonged," said coach Doug Pulvermacher. "I thought the kids wrestled extremely well. We didn't leave many matches out there, with six guys in the final, three champs and eight all-conference. It was a good haul for the kids."

Revenge factor

After losing to Hale's Andy Moyle in the regular-season dual, Holzem won a rematch in the final with an 8-4 decision.

"It fired me up a little bit and gave me something to work for," said Holzem, who crossed the 100-win barrier earlier this season.

The senior Holzem grabbed hold with an early takedown and never surrendered that early lead, moving to 34-4 on the year.

Looking for more

Holzem is looking to get back to state for the first time since his freshman year. Nick Knoebel, the team's lone state qualifier last year, also knows what it takes to get to Madison and showed as much with two easy victories at 145, en route to a conference title.

Knoebel said he was nervous for his finals match against Robert Keaton of West Allis Central after a close call against Keaton in the dual meet. But Knoebel won convincingly, 8-2.

In a scrum

Konvalinka's rapid ascension can be tied to his participation with the Menomonee Falls rugby club, which he joined last year.

"It got me to be more aggressive," he said. "In my matches last year, I was kind of timid and didn't really take charge of my matches, losing matches I think I could have won. I've been more aggressive and been more explosive … rugby has made me the wrestler I am today. I really fell in love with it."

He'll be one of several wrestlers likely to make it through from Saturday's WIAA regional at Hamilton to the sectional in two Saturdays at Arrowhead, where top two wrestlers will qualify for state in each weight class.

Second-place finishers were Kevin DuVall at 113, Phil Flegner at 126 and Ben Hollnagel at 152.

Loren Hesselgrave took third at 120, as did Aaron Zagorski at 170.

Girls basketball back in first

Among the best defensive teams in the state, the Sussex Hamilton girls basketball squad has the ability to hold an opponent to 30 points. Holding two opponents to a combined 30 points, however, still counts as quite the feat.

A dominating week on the basketball court for the Chargers gave Hamilton two wins, and thanks to a Menomonee Falls win over Divine Savior Holy Angels, it also gave them a share of first place again heading into a brutal stretch of scheduling.

"We really challenged our players to get back to being us," Hamilton coach Dan Carey said after his team followed up two losses with wins over Brookfield East (66-13 on Jan. 31) and Wauwatosa East (48-17 on Feb. 3). "That all starts with defense. We talked about it 1,000 times, and we had great focus and intensity from the opening tip. The level of play didn't drop one bit when the bench came in. I was really pleased with the effort and attitude all week."

Carey lauded the play of sophomore point guard Hannah Menzia in the outings, and both games featured extensive contributions from the bench, including Sydney Sprinkel, Emily Kneer, Katie Baker, Nikki Fuerstenberg, Amy Neve and Sarah Thompson.

Mackenzie Latt scored 19 points on 8 of 12 shooting against the Spartans and outscored Tosa East by eight points with a 25-point effort in the latter game.

From here, it gets interesting. After visiting powerful Milwaukee Pius in a nonconference game Tuesday, the Chargers have a monster rematch with fellow first place squad Menomonee Falls on Friday.

Hamilton faces the other team tied for first, DSHA, on March 1. Before that time comes, a big nonconference battle awaits against Arrowhead (Feb. 21) and then a tough game against Brookfield Central (Feb. 24).

"It's good to be back in the hunt again," Carey said.

Boys top Tosa East

Chalk up the fifth victory of the Greater Metro Conference season for the Hamilton varsity boys basketball team, and it came against a foe that's been a challenge over the years, including earlier this season.

Hosting Wauwatosa East on Friday, the Chargers defeated the Red Raiders, 66-57, avenging a 59-37 loss earlier this year in Tosa.

The big discrepancy was in the first quarter, where Hamilton outscored the Red Raiders, 17-4.

Brady Ellingson scored 22 points for the Chargers. He went 10 for 10 from the free throw line. Tony Gumina had 15 points for the winners. He was also perfect (5 for 5) at the free throw line, part of a 21 for 26 effort as a team. Nick Patterson hit double figures with 11 points. The Chargers improved to 9-9 overall and 5-6 in the Greater Metro Conference.

Brandon Hagenow handled the Red Raiders' pressure and dished out five assists. Ellingson had seven rebounds, and Patterson grabbed six rebounds.

Hamilton shot 52.5 percent from the field.

Nate Moore scored 17 points for Wauwatosa East (11-8, 7-4). The Red Raiders have suddenly fallen on hard times with three losses in four GMC games, slipping behind West Allis Central (9-2) and Brookfield Central (8-3) in the league race.

In January of 2010, Hamilton snapped a lifetime losing streak against Tosa East, winning for the first time in 25 meetings since the dawn of the GMC. Tosa East had won the four matchups between the two schools since, and this win moves the Chargers to 2-28 all time against the Red Raiders.

The Chargers visit red-hot Menomonee Falls on Friday for another Greater Metro Conference game.