Five Pirates head for D1 competition

Port Washington High School has five athletes who will compete in Division 1 college athletics this fall.

The quintet has racked up three individual state titles and a number of conference crowns and state-meet berths.

Garett Kawczynski won individual state wrestling titles as a junior and senior, going 38-0 during his final season, and finished tied for the most career victories at Port High with legend Alex Dieringer with 172.

Kawczynski will wrestle for the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he wants to train for a career in military intelligence.

Going to West Point was an easy choice, he said.

“I’d like to say it was a hard decision but it really wasn’t,” Kawczynksi said.

“Their coaches showed me the tightest family I’ve ever seen in a wrestling room. That’s something I couldn’t find anywhere else. I took a lot of visits and I talked to a lot of coaches, but none of them spoke to me like Army did. I’m really excited to be there, not only to wrestle but eventually serve my country.”

Peyton Keller, who won a Division 1 state high jump championship as a junior, took third as a senior and qualified for state in the event all four years, will compete at Weber State in Ogden, Utah.

“I chose Weber State because it was the most welcoming and the coaches and team were extremely helpful and supportive of me for my entire recruiting journey,” Keller said. “I also love being near the mountains, and I’m excited to compete out of state.”

Keller plans to major in business.

Fellow track and field team member Ada Mueller-Stenz is heading in a different direction.

She will compete at Northern Kentucky University in Highland Heights, Ky.

It’s where her older sister Peyton played her final year of softball after Cleveland State discontinued its program.

But Northern Kentucky was already on Mueller-Stenz’s radar.

“I had actually been looking at NKU since my junior year of high school, before she even committed,” Mueller-Stenz said of her sister.

“When she decided to go there, I remember thinking, ‘I don’t even want to go there anymore.’ But after visiting the campus and getting to experience it for myself, I realized how much I actually loved it. I started to see NKU as a place where I could see myself being successful and creating my own experience.”

The academics also attracted her.

“One of the biggest reasons I chose Northern Kentucky University is because of the amazing radiology program. I am very excited to become a part of the program and continue my education toward my goal of becoming a radiologic technologist,” she said.

Mueller-Stenz will compete in the long jump and triple jump. At the Division 1 regional in spring, she finished third in both events. At the sectional, she finished fourth in the long jump. Her leap of 16 feet, 6.5 inches would have won many sectionals, coach Joe Adamak said.

While she will focus on jumping in college, Mueller-Stenz also excelled in sprinting in high school. In 2025, she was part of the 400-meter relay team that broke the school record.

“Having the opportunity to continue competing in the sport I love while also pursuing a career I am passionate about is something I do not take for granted,” she said.

Cross country runner Jameson Koebel is the only one staying in state. He will head north on I-43 to compete for the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.

“I chose UW-Green Bay for many reasons, but my top two are that UW-GB has a great business school and that is my intended major, and also the fact that their cross country team is extremely well mannered and fun as well,” he said. “UW-GB has a lot to offer, and just on my orientation alone I was able to easily connect with a lot of new faces.”

Last fall, Koebel broke Jason Marhal’s cross country school record by four seconds at the Port Invite at Tendick Park in the Town of Saukville, finishing in 15:48.7.

He was fifth at the Division 2 state meet in 16:02.6. He was 28th at state in 2024.

Linebacker Izaiah Scheftgen will play for the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn., where he plans to major in exercise science.

“I chose St. Thomas after my first game-day visit. I noticed the culture that the coaches have built, and I could tell they genuinely care about developing their players on and off the field,” he said.

“The teammates I met were very welcoming and seemed like great guys. I also loved the campus and have heard nothing but positive things from alumni about the education and connections.”

Scheftgen was named to the East Central Conference first team last season. He had 52 tackles, including eight for loss, and recovered two fumbles. Scheftgen was named the ECC Inside Linebacker of the Year in 2024 and earned honorable mention in 2023.