Few people expected Free State High and Lawrence High to finish 1-2 respectively at the Sunflower League wrestling tournament Saturday.

It had been a long time coming.

The city of Lawrence hardly has been a wrestling hotbed. The Lions have won four league tournament titles, but none since 1988. The city has had only two individual state champions, and none since Ken McGovern in 1978.

Neither the Lions nor the Firebirds have a full varsity squad — both are one wrestler short in the 14-man lineup — and both have about 20 on their rosters.

That’s surprising, considering football’s popularity at the two schools. One would think the physical nature of both sports would lend itself to several athletes participating in both, but that’s not the case.

At the start of the season, there were six football players on each roster. Among varsity wrestlers, Free State has four football players, while LHS has three. (That doesn’t include freshmen.)

However, some of the best athletes in the city are on the mat, as evidenced by Saturday’s success at league.

The Firebirds had four champs — juniors Matt Somers (125 pounds) and Brett Shoffner (152), and seniors Kyle Frank (171) and Nick McGovern (189) — while LHS senior Aaron Madill won the 160-pound title, extending his unbeaten string to 34.

Yet it was the back-door points — from wrestlers who weren’t in the finals — that paved the way for the 1-2 finish. Winning one or two matches in the consolation bracket, or even reaching the consolation finals can push a team to the title.

On Saturday, the Firebirds had three wrestlers who didn’t win a match, while LHS had four who didn’t.

That’s why, without the depth, the 1-2 finish was surprising.

“Yeah it is, but we’re both quality teams,” Lawrence High’s Madill said. “But I’ll say that it’s nice to have the top two teams.”

The other LHS medalists (Chris Cates, Pharouk Hussein, Brendon Halpin, Chris Hultine, Clayton Kellerman and Kenny Poeverlein) and the other FSHS medalists (Brandon Allsbury, Grant Steinbach and Jeremy Bustamante) came through Saturday.

What happens next is anyone’s guess.

Both teams Saturday will be at Lawrence High for the Class 6A regional. The Firebirds, who won four individual league titles, should qualify six wrestlers for the state tournament in Wichita, while the Lions should advance at least five.

Both teams could finish 1-2 at regionals — every Shawnee Mission school and Kansas City Wyandotte are the other assigned schools — but state will be far tougher to predict.

Maybe that’s why both city squads should relish last weekend’s surprising success.

“At the Blue Valley Northwest tournament, we were in first place after the first round,” Free State’s Shoffner said. “We were joking, saying, ‘Oh, that’ll probably never happen again.’ And here we are, competing with Lawrence High for first.

“It shows that wrestling in Lawrence is getting back to where it should be.”