Going into the Free State wrestling team’s senior night double dual against Olathe South and Olathe Northwest on Thursday, the Firebirds hadn’t lost a dual in more than three years.

The streak of 28 straight dual victories was in serious jeopardy in the Firebirds’ first dual against Olathe South, but senior 195-pounder Elijah Denmark and junior 220-pounder Joey Schmidtberger had no intentions of letting it get snapped. As the Firebirds faced a 32-27 deficit with three weight classes remaining, the pressure was on for Denmark and Schmidtberger since Free State had an open spot in its lineup at 285 pounds.

Denmark and Schmidtberger welcomed the challenge of needing to get pins with open arms, though, and came through in crunch time to guide the Firebirds to a 39-38 victory over the Falcons. Free State then defeated Olathe Northwest, 42-31, to extend its dual winning streak to 30.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve gotten that amped up from winning,” Denmark said. “I try to keep a cool head no matter what, but I definitely knew that if I didn’t get the pin on that that we wouldn’t have won the dual. I didn’t want to break our record, so it was super exciting to be able to do it for my team.”

Denmark won both of his matches by fall after being recognized before the double dual along with fellow seniors Tate Steele, Charlie Bermel, Isaiah Jacobs and Gabe Smith. The Free State 195-pounder got a reversal and near fall in the first and second periods to jump out to a 10-2 lead, and then pinned Murphy early in the third.

“I’m kind of a bendy dude, so I find myself in weird positions where stuff just works out for me,” Denmark said. “I wasn’t thinking anything. It just worked out for me.”

While Denmark knew that he and Schmidtberger both needed pins, Schmidtberger wasn’t quite aware of the exact situation. The Free State junior realized that he needed to win, but not that he had to do so by fall.

“I really didn’t even know I needed the pin until after the match,” Schmidtberger said. “When I went out there I just thought, ‘I need to beat him and then we’re good.’ I forgot about their 285 guy. Then I just pinned him, so thank God that happened.”

Schmidtberger didn’t have to wrestle against the Ravens since Olathe Northwest was open at 220 pounds. Denmark, Steele, Joey Eddis, Isaiah Jacobs and Elijah Jacobs won both of their matches for the Firebirds.

“They wanted to make sure to stay undefeated in dual competitions. They (seniors) lost their freshman year to an Arkansas team by one point,” Free State coach Mike Gillman said. “Ever since then, it’s kind of been a motivating factor. They love duals. They love the team part of it, so they were pretty excited about the wins.”

Gillman also enjoyed being able to recognize the five seniors before the match. He credited them for helping the program reach new heights. The Firebirds are currently ranked No. 7 in Class 6A.

“(They mean) absolutely everything because this program was not in good shape. Once these kids came on and took hold of the program they said, ‘This is what we’re going to do,'” Gillman said. “They brought along the younger kids as they went through. I can’t say enough about those kids. Great kids. I’m to see them winning the home dual. Now we’ve got LHS next week.”

The Free State coach commended Isaiah Jacobs, Smith, Steele, Denmark and Bermel for bringing much more than their wrestling skills to his program. Denmark and Bermel are both planning to serve their country after graduating from Free State.

“Charlie Bermel is one of those kids I put up there right at the top. He’s going to the Air Force Academy,” Gillman said. “He already knows his life plan and he does nothing but stay focused on what he’s doing. That’s wrestling right now. Next it will be his academics and then next it will be the Air Force Academy. That’s just how he is.

“And then Elijah Denmark is signing his papers to go to the Army. That’s huge. We’ve got kids that are going to serve our country. It’s way bigger than any of us. They’re trying to look forward to their future, so it’s pretty cool.”

But before the five seniors go in their different directions in the spring, they want to take care of business on the mat.

“I’m definitely trying to place at state this year,” Denmark said.

The Firebirds will be back on the mat at 1 today for the Paola Invitational.

Free State Double Duals

Thursday at Free State

Free State 39, Olathe South 38

106 — Tyler Johnson (OS) won by fall over Justin Thompson (FS), 1:11 (6-0, OS)

113 — Mateo Palma (OS) def. OPEN (FS) (12-0, OS)

120 — Dallas Koelzer (OS) won by decision over Garrett Bradley (FS), 5-1 (15-0, OS)

126 — Jace Koelzer (OS) won by tech fall over Andrew Park (FS), 18-2 (TF-2:58) (20-0, OS)

132 — Isaiah Jacobs (FS) won by fall over Ben Bluel (OS), 3:04 (20-6, OS)

138 — Tate Steele (FS) won by fall over Bobby Thomas (OS), 1:10 (20-12, OS)

145 — Elijah Jacobs (FS) won by fall over Gavin Brown (OS), 0:38 (20-18, OS)

152 — Charlie Bermel (FS) won by major decision over Brandon Stowe (OS), 11-0 (22-20, FS)

160 — Joey Eddis (FS) won by tech fall over Jarek Braden (OS), 15-0 (TF-3:08) (27-20, FS)

170 — Max Knard (OS) won by fall over Gabe Smith (FS), 5:45 (27-26, FS)

182 — Nick Jouret (OS) won by fall over Devin Beers (FS), 1:54 (32-27, OS)

195 — Elijah Denmark (FS) won by fall over Kolby Murphy (OS), 4:11 (33-32, FS)

220 — Joey Schmidtberger (FS) won by fall over Griffen Wilson (OS), 3:00 (39-32, FS)

285 — Zach Vesper (OS) def. OPEN (FS) (39-38, FS)

Free State 42, Olathe Northwest 31

106 — Caden Howard (ONW) def. OPEN (FS) (6-0, ONW)

113 — Quintin Talbert (ONW) def. OPEN (FS) (12-0, ONW)

120 — Garrett Bradley (FS) won by fall over Brady Pellman (ONW), 0:44 (12-6, ONW)

126 — PJ Williams (ONW) won by major decision over Andrew Park (FS), 19-5 (16-6, ONW)

132 — Isaiah Jacobs (FS) won by fall over Henry Boatwell (ONW), 2:20 (16-12, ONW)

138 — Tate Steele (FS) won by fall over Brayden Hestand (ONW), 0:33 (18-16, FS)

145 — Elijah Jacobs (FS) won by decision over John Redmond (ONW), 6-1 (21-16, FS)

152 — Charlie Bermel (FS) won by major decision over Alec McKernan (ONW), 13-3 (25-16, FS)

160 — Joey Eddis (FS) won by tech fall over Alex Baiza (ONW), 16-0 (TF-2:39) (30-16, FS)

170 — Trever Adam (ONW) won by decision over Gabe Smith (FS), 9-2 (30-19, FS)

182 — Braden Medina (ONW) won by fall over Devin Beers (FS), 4:53 (30-25, FS)

195 — Elijah Denmark (FS) won by fall over Cody Marlette (ONW), 3:00 (36-25, FS)

220 — Joey Schmidtberger (FS) def. OPEN (ONW) (42-25, FS)

285 — Seth Zegunis (ONW) def. OPEN (FS) (42-31, FS)