Newton ? Reece Wright-Conklin advanced to today’s finals, and the Lawrence High wrestling team sat in fifth place after the first day of the Newton Tournament on Friday.

Eight out of the top 10 Kansas Class 6A teams are in Newton, and the Lions are second among those squads. Tulsa Union leads the tournament.

“Why not us? Why not now?” Lawrence High coach Pat Naughton asked. “We kind of want to throw caution to the wind and start getting after people. We wrestled pretty well today.”

Wright-Conklin, ranked No. 10 in the country in the 171-pound weight class, will face Kyle Crutchmer of Tulsa Union (No. 3 in country) in today’s finals.