Free State High’s wrestlers might have been outweighed, but they certainly weren’t outmanned in their home dual against Shawnee Mission Northwest on Wednesday night.

With two varsity wrestlers missing because of injuries, four Firebirds – three sophomores and a freshman – were asked to step out of their comfort zones and step up against larger opponents.

Free State more than made up for the lost weight, winning eight of 12 matches in a 37-22 victory at FSHS.

“I thought our young kids did a really good job of bumping up a weight class to fill those spots,” Free State coach Darrell Andrew said. “They competed very well down there at those weights against heavier kids.”

Of the four Free Staters competing at a higher weight class, three came away with victories.

That included the most dramatic victory of the night from Kenny Flanders, competing at 135 pounds. With the match tied late in the third round, the sophomore registered four straight points in the final 20 seconds to defeat Northwest’s Corbin Phillips, 7-3.

“He was a lot stronger than me, but I felt I had a little more endurance and was in a little better shape than he was,” Flanders said. “I just shot at the end and took him down.”

Sophomores Chris Thompson and Alex Hardman also performed big despite competing small. Thompson defeated Dave Guerin, 15-5, and Hardman controlled the entire match, finally pinning Travis Knoll 51 seconds into the third round.

“More than anything, when you ask kids to bump up a weight, it’s a mental game to them,” Andrew said. “They just go into a match knowing that their opponent is five pounds stronger or five pounds bigger than them. Especially with young kids, once you can get that mental aspect straightened out, it doesn’t make that much of a difference.”

Junior Andy Neighbors gave an impressive effort at 215, making quick work of Isaac Hoehn by pinning him just 1:47 in.

“I was surprised I was able to do so well because he outweighed me by a lot,” Neighbors said. “I guess just having the team work me hard during practice really helps out a lot.”

Neighbors continues to be a cornerstone of this year’s team after suffering through tough times at the varsity level last year. As a sophomore, Neighbors went winless and was the only person on the squad not to make the state tournament.

“Andy has really turned the corner. He’s been working hard,” Andrew said. “He came back so much stronger than he was last year, and that strength has given him a lot of confidence. He’s been winning some big matches for us.”

Sophomore Zach Toelkes had his best performance of the season at 145, pinning Patrick Wallace in the second round.

K.J. Siebert (152), Shelton Heilman (171) and Jesse Hardy (189) all added victories for the Firebirds.