Lawrence High senior wrestler Santino Gee tries to pin Gardner-Edgerton's Daniel Young in the final seconds of their dual match at 195 pounds on Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2016 at LHS.

With three freshmen and one sophomore serving as the first four wrestlers for Lawrence High, coach Pat Naughton knew it was going to be a tough start.

Lawrence ultimately lost a home dual to Gardner-Edgerton, 48-24, Wednesday, and it was never able to overcome an early 30-0 hole created by three pins and two forfeits to start the dual.

Three of the wrestlers were pinned, and the fourth — freshman Noah Schamburg — was disqualified because he lost his mouth guard, leaving his braces exposed which is against the rules.

In fact, of the six freshmen and sophomores the Lions wrestled, sophomore Alden Hunt (145 pounds) was the only one who came away with a victory.

“The first few matches just didn’t go our way,” Naughton said. “We’re still like a half-step behind. We’re not where we’re supposed to be. Our youth and inexperience really showed through.”

In addition to a few wrestlers not making weight, the Lions were also missing two wrestlers who are a part of their normal lineup. Junior Ja’Relle Dye (132) missed the dual because he was sick, and senior Kevin Nichols (285) was held out as a precaution after bumping heads with a wrestler in the Eudora Tournament of Champions on Saturday.

Despite the team results, there were a few positives for the Lions. Junior Billy Phiavilayvong pinned his opponent at 220 pounds, while fellow junior Ja’Melle Dye won his 138-pound match in decisive fashion, 24-9.

Senior Santino Gee also earned a victory with a 9-2 decision despite wrestling at 195 pounds after wrestling at 182 pounds last weekend in Eudora. Gardner-Edgerton senior Daniel Young — standing at 6-foot-7 — provided a unique challenge for Gee with his length. As a result, Gee said shooting for his legs was the key to the match.

“We had planned to do that because we’re not sure where Tino (Santino) might be at,” Naughton said. “He has to be able to test the waters and see what it might feel like to wrestle 195 (pounds).”

Gee isn’t sure which weight class he would prefer to wrestle at going forward. He said that if he wrestles at 182 pounds, he would likely be tired because he’ll have to continue to cut weight. But at 195 pounds, Gee wants to get stronger to be able to pin his opponents, which he wasn’t able to do Wednesday.

Gee had his opponent on his back for the final 40 seconds of the match, and came within a few inches of pinning Young. But it never happened, which left Gee frustrated despite earning a decisive victory.

“I needed the pin,” Gee said. “(The team) wanted me to get the pin. It came down to strength because his back was just inches from the ground. It’s frustrating.”

Lawrence High will play host to Eudora for a dual at 4:30 p.m. on Friday.

Gardner-Edgerton 48, Lawrence High 24

106 pounds: Kye Humphrey. GE, pinned Sebastian Aguliar, LHS, 1:10.

113 pounds: Kadyn Humphry, GE, pinned Julien Cassella, LHS, 1:15.

120 pounds: Brayden Ratcliffe, GE, won by forfeit.

126 pounds: Alex Weber, GE, pinned Abby Afful, LHS, 1:38.

132 pounds: Taven Ewbank, GE, won by forfeit.

138 pounds: Ja’Melle Dye, LHS def. AJ Rodriguez, GE, 24-9.

145 pounds: Alden Hunt, LHS, def. Zane Stutzman, GE, 14-3.

152 pounds: Jensen McDermott, GE, def. Cade Burghart, LHS, 7-5.

160 pounds: Conner Grieg, GE, def. Jay Cheatham, LHS, 14-8.

170 pounds: Jackson Curbow, GE, pinned Ulises Rojo, LHS, 0:39.

182 pounds: Tucker Wilson, LHS, won by forfeit.

195 pounds: Santino Gee, LHS, def. Daniel Young, GE, 9-2.

220 pounds: Billy Phiavilayvong, LHS, pinned Tristen Martin, GE, 0:19.

285 pounds: Ryan Shirley, GE, won by forfeit.