Free State senior Nick Eddis finishes up a pin during the title match on Saturday at Shawnee Mission South. Eddis was Free State's lone league champion in the 2017 Sunflower League tournament.

Overland Park ? Free State senior Nick Eddis wasn’t wasting any time.

As soon as the referee lifted his arm up, signaling him as the victor, Eddis made his way to the stands. There he was greeted with congratulations from his family, including his great-grandparents, who made the trip to Shawnee Mission South to watch him become a Sunflower League champion Saturday.

“My grandma gave me three taps over her heart, which means I love you, which is a thing we do,” Eddis said. “Having family from out of town, where I don’t see them, definitely gives you that edge. If they are going to come all this way out for me, I’m going to give them something to take back with them.”

Eddis certainly lived up to his own promise, sealing a first-place finish in the 220-pound weight class at the league tournament. He was the only champion for Free State, which finished second as a team with a total of 197 points, well behind Olathe North’s mark of 231.5. It was the third straight year the Firebirds have placed in the top three.

Though his path had less roadblocks than most, Eddis made sure to make quick work of his time on the mat. After consecutive byes in the first two rounds, Eddis pinned his opponent from SM West within 80 seconds in the semifinals.

In the title match, Eddis downed Matt Burks, of Olathe North, within 1:32, to seal his first league title of his career. He’s the school’s second league champion since 2007. Prior to Saturday, the closest Eddis got was a fourth-place finish as a sophomore after not competing his junior year due to an injury he sustained in football.

“For Nick to not be in our varsity lineup last year and to come out ready to go was great,” FSHS coach Mike Gillman said. “For him to win the Sunflower League title is a pretty good summation of his career. Nick was great.”

Lawrence senior Tucker Wilson attempts to pin Caleb Cossairt of Shawnee Mission South in the 182-pound title match at SM South. Wilson earned his first career league title during Saturday's Sunflower League tournament.

Six other Free State wrestlers finished in the top-three in their respective weight classes, including a pair of runner-ups — Bennett King (120) and Isaiah Jacobs (126). Meanwhile, Lou Fincher (106), Joey Eddis (160), Gage Foster (170) and Elijah Denmark (182) all notched a bronze medal to help provide a bulk of the scoring.

And the Firebirds accomplished all this despite not being at full strength.

They were without state champion, Tate Steele, who hurt his ankle in practice Friday. Which is why Saturday’s showing was all the more impressive.

“As a team, with everyone we have here, I think we did good,” Eddis said. “Definitely could have been a couple different outcomes. If we would have had our 132 and our 285 here, I definitely feel like first would have been ours.”

LHS places sixth

Lawrence High also had one league champion en route to a sixth-place finish at the league tournament.

Senior Tucker Wilson, who is now 30-1 on the year, cruised through the 182-pound weight class to clinch his first career league title. Wilson had finished third in each of his last two trips through this tournament, including an overtime loss in the semifinals last year.

“It feels good, I haven’t won this tournament before because I have messed up the last couple years,” Wilson said.

Of his four matches, only once did Wilson even get to a second period. After an opening round that last just 1:37, Wilson was tested the most in the second round against Zayvion Ray, of SM West.

Wilson left little doubt, however, in the title match. He pinned SM South’s Caleb Cossairt in 1:52, his second-shortest match of the afternoon to earn the title.

“I had wrestled a lot of the people in my bracket already, so I knew I had a pretty good shot,” Wilson said. “It helps knowing that you have the confidence to win.”

Five other LHS wrestlers joined Wilson on the podium, including three top-three marks. Ja’Relle Dye fell by a decision, 3-1, in a tightly-contested 132-pound title match.

Ja’Melle Dye edged Olathe South’s Gavin Brown by a decision in the 138-pound third-place match. Billy Phiavilayvong also finished third in the 220-pound weight class.

Sunflower League Tournament

Saturday at Shawnee Mission South

Team scores: Olathe North 231.5, Free State 197, Leavenworth 182, Olathe Northwest 181, Olathe South 149.5, Lawrence 97.5, SM South 74, SM Northwest 72, SM West 62, Olathe East 44, SM East 43.5, SM North 21.

FSHS results

106 — Lou Fincher (third place), round 1, received a bye; quarterfinal, received a bye; semifinal, lost by decision to Dallas Koelzer (Olathe South) 6-3; cons. semifinal, won by tech tall over Tristan Torres (Leavenworth); 3rd-place match, won by fall over Caden Howard (Olathe NW).

113 — Garrett Bradley (sixth place), round 1, received a bye; quarterfinal, won by decision over David Martinez (Olathe North) 8-3; semifinal, lost by decision to Dane Erickson (SM East); cons. semifinal, lost by decision to Brady Pellman (Olathe NW) 13-8; 5th-place match, lost by decision to Aidan Randall (SM North) 6-1.

120 — Bennett King (second place), round 1, received a bye; quarterfinal, won by fall to Marcel Bordenave (Olathe NW); semifinal, won by medical forfeit to Jerad Habben (SM NW); 1st-place match, lost by major decision to Jace Koelzer (Olathe South).

126 — Isaiah Jacobs (second place), round 1, received a bye; quarterfinal, won by fall to Scott Austin-Riffel (SM West); semifinal, won by fall over Isaias Olson (SM South); 1st-place match, lost by major decision to Jevon Parrish (Olathe North) 13-1.

132 — Charlie Bermel (sixth place), round 1, received a bye; quarterfinal, lost by fall to Eddie Vera (SM South); cons. round 2, received a bye; cons. round 3, won by major decision over Simon Potter (Olathe South) 8-0; cons. semifinal, lost by fall to Malieke Wright (Leavenworth); 5th-place match, lost by fall to Tristan Miller (Olathe NW).

145 — Elijah Jacobs (fourth place), round 1, won by fall over Richard Waeltermann (SM West), quarterfinal, lost by decision to Devonte Smith (SM Northwest) 6-4; cons. round 2, received a bye; cons. round 3, won by decision over Andrew Schmidt (SM East) 7-2; cons. semifinal, won by fall over Stanley Holder (LHS), 3rd-place match, lost by decision to Ruben Castaneda (Olathe North) 8-3.

152 — Ben Hill (third place), round 1, won by major decision over Jamison Baiza (Olathe NW) 11-1; quarterfinal, won by decision over Will Walters (Olathe East) 3-2; semifinal, lost by decision to Juan Arambula (SM West) 9-3; cons. semifinal, won by decision over Jamison Baiza (Olathe NW) 3-2; 3rd-place match, won by decision over Max Knard (Olathe South) 8-2.

160 — Joey Eddis (third place), round 1, received a bye; quarterfinal, won by fall over Wyatt Mackley (Olathe East); semifinal, lost by fall to Terrell Garraway (Olathe North); cons. semifinal, won by tech fall over Carlos Barrios (SM Northwest); 3rd-place match, won by decision over Jacob Bohnemann (Leavenworth) 14-7.

170 — Gage Foster (third place), round 1, received a bye; quarterfinal, won by fall over Nick Troung (Olathe North); semifinal, lost by decision to Nick Jouret (Olathe South) 3-1; cons. semifinal, won by decision over Williams Schmidt (SM East) 3-2; 3rd-place match, won by forfeit over Trevor Adam (Olathe NW).

182 — Elijah Denmark (third place), round 1, received a bye; quarterfinal won by fall over Keyshawn Jones (Leavenworth); semifinal, lost by decision to Caleb Cossairt (SM South) 4-2; cons. semifinal, won by fall over Zayvion Ray (SM West), 3rd-place match, won by fall over Anthony Swann (Olathe South).

195 — Devin Beers (fourth place), round 1, received a bye; quarterfinal, lost by decision to Nick Bonzinos (Olathe North) 17-12; cons. round 2, won by fall over Will Heitman (SM Northwest); cons. round 3, won by fall over Hunter Remigio (SM West); cons. semis, won by decision over Gustavo Rocha (SM North); 6-3. 3rd-place match, lost by fall to Robert Martinez (Olathe East).

220 — Nick Eddis (first place), round 1, received a bye; quarterfinal, received a bye; semifinal, won by fall over Ryan Gellings (SM West); 1st-place match, won by fall over Matt Burks (Olathe North).

LHS results

132 — Ja’Relle Dye (second place), round 1, won by tech fall over Simon Potter (Olathe South); quarterfinal, won by fall over Will Knutson (SM East); semifinal, won by tech fall over Malieke Wright (Leavenworth); championship, lost by decision to Riley Alderman (Olathe North) 3-1.

138 — Ja’Melle Dye (third place), round 1, received a bye; quarterfinal, won by major decision over John Redmond (Olathe Northwest) 12-4; semifinal, lost in tie breaker to Joey Hancock (Leavenworth); semifinal, won by decision over Danny Malekani (Olathe East) 9-7; 3rd-place match, won by decision over Gavin Brown (Olathe South) 5-4.

145 — Stanley Holder (fifth place), round 1, received a bye; quarterfinal, won by fall over Ruben Castenada (Olathe North); semifinal, lost by major decision to Anthony Gould (Leavenworth) 15-6; cons. semifinal, lost by fall to Elijah Jacobs (Free State); 5th-place match, won by decision over Devonte Smith (SM Northwest) 9-4.

152 — Justin Miller, round 1, lost by decision to Max Knard (Olathe South) 9-2; cons. round 1, received a bye; cons. round two, lost by decision to Arthur Bagdasaryan (SM North) 5-2.

160 — Gentry Dennison, round 1, received a bye; quarterfinal, lost by fall to Terrell Garraway (Olathe North); cons. round 2, received a bye; cons. round 3, lost by fall to Wyatt Mackley (Olathe East).

182 — Tucker Wilson (first place), round 1, won by fall over Math Martin (Olathe North); quarterfinal, won by tech fall over Zayvion Ray (SM West); semifinal, won by fall over Clarence Miller (SM East); 1st-place match, won by fall over Caleb Cossairt (SM South).

195 — Isaac Flint, round 1, received a bye; quarterfinal, lost by fall to Gustavo Rocha (SM North); cons. round 2, lost by fall to Enrique Cabrera (Olathe South).

220 — Billy Phiavilayvong (third place), round 1, received a bye; quarterfinal, won by fall over Ben Turla (SM South); semifinal, lost by fall over Matt Burks (Olathe North), cons. semifinal, received a bye; 3rd-place match, won by devision over Ben Turla (SM South) 10-3.

285 — Ethan Rorabaugh (sixth place), round 1, received a bye; quarterfinal, lost by fall to Byron Sherwin (SM West), cons. round 2, received a bye; cons. round 3, received a bye; cons. semifinal, lost by fall to Zach Vesper (Olathe South); 5th-place match, lost by fall to Byron Sherwin (SM West).