Lawrence High's Alan Clothier, left, wrestles Gardner-Edgerton's Dustin Carstens in the Class 6A, 182-pound state wrestling title match Saturday at Park City. Clothier won.

Park City ? In the hours before his Class 6A state championship wrestling match Saturday, Lawrence High senior Alan Clothier was loose and at ease.

When the time before his match turned from hours into minutes, Clothier went from relaxed to focused. All season long he had a goal of winning a state title, and he wasn’t going to let anybody get in his way.

Clothier won a state championship at 182 pounds, winning by a 13-4 major decision at Hartman Arena. When the clock finally struck zero, he celebrated his victory by clapping his hands and pointing to his family and friends sitting in the stands.

Lawrence High's Alan Clothier, left, wrestles Gardner-Edgerton's Dustin Carstens in the Class 6A, 182-pound state wrestling title match Saturday at Park City. Clothier won.

Free State High sophomore Tate Steele won a state championship at 132 pounds, becoming the first wrestler in school history to win a state title.

“There’s no other feeling like it when you win a state championship,” Clothier said. “You’re on top. The feeling is amazing. Last year, I came short (third place). It was sad, and it was hard. But I’m happy I worked hard and finished it out strong.”

Clothier, who had a 33-2 record, made it look easy in the finals against Gardner-Edgerton senior Dustin Carstens. He raced to a 4-1 lead in the first minute, using his speed for a takedown and his strength to earn two back points.

After scoring a takedown in the second period, earning a 9-2 lead, Clothier said he knew he had his second career state title locked up, also winning in his sophomore year. He started smiling before the start of the third period.

“It’s amazing,” LHS coach Pat Naughton added. “He had a goal all year. That was his goal, and he stuck to it.”

In the final minutes before the match began, before he put on his headgear, Clothier tapped the middle of his white shirt and pointed to the sky. His shirt had former LHS state champion wrestler Reece Wright-Conklin’s name on it. Wright-Conklin died from a motorcycle accident in September. The letters “RWC” were in the middle, attached to wings.

“He was really close to me,” said Clothier, who was 151-8 in his four-year career. “I watched him win a state championship, too. It felt kind of the same. It felt like he was there with me on the mat. Every shot I took, everything I did in that match, it felt like he was right next to me, cheering me on.”

Free State's Tate Steele, left, wrestles Manhattan's Devin Norris in the Class 6A 132-pound state title match Saturday at Park City's Hartman Arena. Steele became the Firebirds' first-ever state wrestling champion.

Steele won by a 5-2 decision in the championship against Manhattan junior Devin Norris, a rematch of the regional finals last week. Steele won 6-5 in the regional final, but learned to be on the lookout for the Peterson Roll, a move designed to get the opponent on his back.

After heading into the third period with a 5-0 lead, the same score from a week ago, Steele refused to get turned on his back, holding on for the final minute. Steele finished with a 40-2 record, improving to 76-4 in his career.

“All I did this week was think about if I face him, no Peterson,” Steele said. “That’s all he was going to do.”

It was a quiet celebration by Steele, who is no fan of showboating. The official raised Steele’s left arm, and he flashed a quick thumbs up and sly wave to his family and teammates in the crowd before embracing his coaches.

“It didn’t feel real,” Steele said. “In the third period, I was up 5-0, and then it felt like a dream.”

Last season, Steele was ranked No. 1 in the state all season but lost in the semifinals on his way to third place at 106 pounds. He said his mind-set never changed, but he has never liked being a “target” for opponents.

Now that he’s the school’s first state champion, Steele said it wasn’t going to set in until his name was up on the school’s walls.

“The best part about it is, Tate is just a nice kid in general,” FSHS coach Mike Gillman said. “He helps a lot of kids in the room and tries to be a mentor to those kids to see what it takes to get to that level. He’s a special kid.”

Free State sophomore Gage Foster placed third at 170 pounds, winning four matches Saturday after losing in the quarterfinals. He won by a 9-6 decision over Shawnee Mission North’s Cesar Salgado in the third-place match.

“It’s nice because nobody really knew who I was,” said Foster, who only moved up to 170 pounds last week before earning a regional title. “I was kind of out of nowhere, and nobody really believed I was going to place or do very well at all.”

FSHS sophomore Isaiah Jacobs added a fifth-place finish at 126 pounds, helping the Firebirds tie for ninth in the team standings with 64.5 points. The Lions were 20th with 38 points.

Free State's Gage Foster, top, rides out a hold by Shawnee Mission North's Cesar Salgado in the consolation semifinals of the Class 6A state wrestling meet on Saturday in Park City. Foster won, 9-6.

CLASS 6A STATE

Saturday in Park City

Hartman Arena

Team scores: Garden City 168.5, Manhattan 141, Olathe North 129.5, Derby 91, Dodge City 85, Wichita Northwest 84.5, Blue Valley Northwest 82.5, Campus 72, Free State 64.5, Blue Valley 64.5, Wichita South 57.5, Olathe South 52.5, Gardner-Edgerton 52, Washburn Rural 52, Hutchinson 49.5, Junction City 47.5, Olathe Northwest 47, SM North 45.5, SM West 39, Lawrence 38, SM East 33, Wichita West 30.5, SM Northwest 27.5, Olathe East 24, Blue Valley North 19, Wichita East 15.5, Wichita Southeast 14, Topeka 13, Wichita North 4, Wyandotte 3, SM South 3.

City results

Consolation round one

113: King, Free State, p. Broce, SM East, 0:52.

120: Wilson, Manhattan, p. Cassella, Lawrence, 0:24; Shanks, Free State, d. Olson, SM South, 5-0.

126: Jumping Eagle, Lawrence, d. Rockey, BV Northwest, 11-7.

138: Burghart, Lawrence, d. Marrie, Olathe North, 4-3.

152: Qaddour, BV Northwest, d. Dye, Lawrence, 6-4.

160: Wilson, Lawrence, d. McCarrick, Blue Valley, 5-2.

170: Gee, Lawrence, sv. Williams, Washburn Rural, 5-3.

182: McClain, BV Northwest, p. Beers, Free State, 2:24.

285: Napier, Wichita South, p. Husman, Lawrence, 3:48.

Consolation round two

113: Andrade, Wichita Southeast, p. King, Free State, 1:45.

120: Alderman, Olathe North, d. Shanks, Free State, 4-0.

126: Sanchez, Manhattan, p. Jumping Eagle, Lawrence, 5:00; Jacobs, Free State, md. Bonham, Gardner-Edgerton, 11-0.

132: Dye, Lawrence, md. Roberts, Wichita North, 13-4.

138: Smith, SM Northwest, d. Burghart, Lawrence, 5-0; Miller, Free State, d. Totta, Blue Valley, 6-5.

160: Wilson, Lawrence, md. Landrum, Wichita South, 16-4.

170: Gee, Lawrence, d. Schweigert, Hutchinson, 5-3; Foster, Free State, d. Wewer, Manhattan, 2-1.

Consolation round three

126: Jacobs, Free State, md. Jenkins, Washburn Rural, 14-5.

132: Kalantari, Olathe Northwest, md. Dye, Lawrence, 11-3.

138: Schmidt, Olathe Northwest, d. Miller, Free State, 7-1.

160: LaPointe, Garden City, p. Wilson, Lawrence, 2:34.

170: Salgado, SM North, d. Gee, Lawrence, 11-5; Foster, Free State, sv. Middleton, Olathe Northwest, 4-2.

Consolation semifinals

126: Kent, Hutchinson, d. Jacobs, Free State, 6-3.

170: Foster, Free State, d. Tierney, BV Northwest, 3-2.

Fifth-place match

126: Jacobs, Free State, d. Sanchez, Manhattan, 7-2.

Third-place match

170: Foster, Free State, d. Salgado, SM North, 9-6.

Championship

132: Steele, Free State, d. Norris, Manhattan, 5-2.

182: Clothier, Lawrence, md. Carstens, Gardner-Edgerton, 13-4.