Free State High's wrestlers outnumbered and outmaneuvered Lawrence High on Tuesday in a steamy LHS gym.
With a full lineup, the No. 8-ranked Firebirds capitalized on four LHS forfeits and won six other weight classes to coast to a 57-15 dual victory over the short-handed Lions before an estimated crowd of 500 fans.
The four open LHS weights didn't matter to Free State, which hadn't beaten the Lions since 1999.
"It didn't take anything away from the dual," Free State 189-pounder Justin Stevens said. "It's always exciting with Lawrence High. We came out to wrestle as hard we could and we didn't look at how they stacked up or anything. We just wanted to wrestle to the best of our ability."
Stevens, ranked No. 2 in his weight class in Class 6A, continues to wrestle his best. He defeated Clayton Kellerman, 20-5, to improve to 20-0.
Not counting forfeits, other Firebird winners in the dual were Adam Berg (125), Dane Morris (145), Brett Shoffner (152), Kyle Frank (171) and Ian Brk (215). Berg withstood an aggressive Pharouk Hussein for a 16-8 decision. Morris, Shoffner, Frank and Brk all won by pins.
Frank, ranked No. 3 in Class 6A, pinned Carl Lisher in the second period.
"My shots were too far out early, and I wasn't quite set up and the second period I got warmed up and tried to take it too him," said Frank, now 14-5.
The Lions, now 0-15, were open at 103, 119, 130 and 140 pounds.
"We knew there'd be quite a bit of difference in the score," said Firebird coach Darrell Andrew, whose squad improved to 7-2. "The score was lopsided mainly because (LHS coach Jeff Tummons) is filling in with a lot of freshmen from the junior high programs. There's a big difference in the level of competitions from the ninth-grade program to the varsity."
Andrew said he liked the excitement surrounding the intracity dual.
"It's a different atmosphere," Andrew said. "When you compete in front of all your friends, it's easy to showboat a little bit. For the most part, they did a good job of staying somewhat focused."
LHS winners against Free State were Joey Kelly (112), Chris Hultine (135), Aaron Madill (160) and Kenny Poeverlein II (275).
Hultine defeated Anthony White, 4-3, in the tightest match of the dual. White, ranked No. 5 in Class 6A, scored a point with 30 seconds left on an escape, and with 16 seconds remaining Hultine scored two points on a takedown for the win.
"Chris and Anthony will probably match up a few more times before the season is over," Tummons said. "I was pleased with the patience Chris showed and kept waiting for his opportunity."
Hultine didn't panic when White took the late lead.
"A window of opportunity opened and I took it," said Hultine, now 15-5.
Disappointed LHS was unable to field a full lineup, Tummons remained high on the Lions' effort.
"We just have a lot of inexperience on our team," Tummons said. "We're going through a phase this year. We need to get them up to the level they need to be. They work hard every day and I was happy with the way they performed. They kept going after it."
Free State now leads the intracity series, 3-2. Last year's dual wasn't decided until LHS won at heavyweight.
"Dropping that barnburner last year at our place kind of leaves a bad taste in your mouth," Andrew said. "I'm sure the kids are going to feel a lot better when they wake up in the morning."
No comments
Commenting is turned off for this story.