It was tough for the Free State High wrestling team to pinpoint what exactly went wrong in Wednesday night’s opening dual against Blue Valley West.

It wasn’t tough, however, to figure out what turned the Firebirds around for their second matchup against Olathe Northwest.

“We got a talk in the locker room and got told to get our tails in gear,” Free State senior Jesse Hardy said. “We came back and did pretty good the second dual.”

Though Free State was routed 46-15 by West, the team did respond to the challenging words with a 42-30 team victory over Northwest.

“We went into the locker room and did a little evaluation,” Free State coach Darrell Andrew said. “We kind of put it on the line. We asked kids who wanted to step up and who wanted to get the job done tonight.”

Led by seniors K.J. Siebert and Hardy, who each participated in his final home meet on Senior Night, the Firebirds went on to win seven of 10 matches in the nightcap, taking the victory despite having three open weight divisions.

Siebert lost his first match of the day to West’s Brandon Budd, which was made even more disappointing because he defeated Budd earlier in the season to take third place at the Blue Valley tournament.

“I don’t know what it was,” Siebert said, “but everybody wasn’t quite as focused as they normally are.”

Siebert responded by controlling his emotions and the second match, cruising to a 7-2 victory over Northwest’s Weston Schaper.

Hardy, who wrestled an exhibition match in the first dual, dominated Northwest’s Max Williams, 13-2, to improve his record to 23-2.

“I kind of wanted a pin, but it didn’t really matter,” Hardy said. “I was just trying to get our team a win.”

Marc Somers (130) and Harry Cornwall (140) both contributed pins against Northwest. Alex Hardman (119), Jack Caywood (135) and Caleb Gress (171) also added victories.

“I thought the kids did an extremely good job of picking up their intensity in their wrestling,” Andrew said, “and a much better job of supporting one another.”

Whatever it was – the early starting time, a shortened warm-up period or just a lack of focus – Free State failed to show the same fire early in the day.

Though many matches were close, the Firebirds lost their first five duels, with each loss carrying over to the next.

“When you get out there, that first person who steps on the mat kind of sets the tone,” Andrew said. “In that first dual, we set the tone flat, and we were flat throughout the whole dual.”

Zach Toelkes (145) and Andy Neighbors (215) came away with the only two Free State victories against West.

In addition to Siebert and Hardy, Michael Goble was also honored for his four years of varsity wrestling before the match. The senior, who has an 8-5 record, was held out of the meet because of injury.

The three-team event was the final set of duals of the year for the Firebirds.

“This is fun time now,” Andrew said. “We’re done with duals. We have the league tournament, the regional tournament and the state tournament. That’s what these kids have worked all their lives for.”