Lawrence High senior Santino Gee looks for a takedown late in the third period of the 170-pound championship match of the Class 6A state wrestling tournament on Saturday at Hartman Arena in Park City. Gee lost the match by a 3-2 decision to Olathe South junior Nick Jouret.

Park City ? Lawrence High senior Santino Gee did not have any regrets after stepping off of the mat one last time in his Chesty Lion singlet in the finals of the Class 6A state wrestling tournament on Saturday at Hartman Arena.

Gee dropped a 3-2 decision against Olathe South junior Nick Jouret in the championship match of the 170-pound weight class, but disappointment wasn’t the first feeling that came to the Lawrence High senior after his down-to-the-wire loss.

“It was pretty exciting. I’ve only been wrestling since freshman year, so I didn’t have a lot of experience of placing at all,” Gee said. “Last year I didn’t place at all. This year I got to the finals.

“I’m pretty proud of myself, even if I got second. I knew when I made it to the finals that I was going to be happy either way. Win or lose, I was going to go out with a bang.”

The Lawrence High 170-pounder was the lone Lion to appear in the finals, but he was joined by practice partner Tucker Wilson as a state medalist. Wilson finished sixth in the 182-pound weight class after winning by major decision over Washburn Rural’s Nathan Iles, 15-3.

“I wrestled him yesterday, close match,” said Wilson of Iles. “I knew if I could use my length this match, it wouldn’t be close at all.”

After finishing the season with a record of 35-4, Wilson was overcome with emotion following his final match for Lawrence High. Wilson was able to crack a smile, though, when thinking about watching Gee’s upcoming match in the finals.

“I remember when Tino came in freshman year and he didn’t know anything,” Wilson said. “Tino has improved a lot. It really means a lot to me that he made the finals. I’m really proud of him.”

Gee and Wilson helped the Lions place 17th in the 6A team standings with 41 points.

Rounding out the state qualifiers for LHS were Melle Dye and Stanley Holder — who both went 2-2 — and Relle Dye (1-2).

Firebirds disappointed in 15th-place finish

Free State High had three wrestlers earn top-six finishes in their respective weight classes, but the Firebirds were expecting a few more to be standing on the podium Saturday.

The junior trio of Tate Steele (fourth place, 138 pounds), Isaiah Jacobs (fifth, 132) and Gage Foster (sixth, 170) all garnered medals for the Firebirds.

“For me and actually as a team, too — I don’t think it was one of our best days at all. We should have had a lot more people place than that,” Jacobs said. “I should have placed higher. Tate Steele should have placed higher. (Foster) should have placed higher. We all had our bad day.”

While Jacobs plans to take about a three-week break away from wrestling, he said that the frustration of the Firebirds’ 15th-place finish will stick with him and his teammates as they work in the room during the offseason.

“It’s lucky that we’re all juniors, the people who placed,” Jacobs said. “We can come back next year and get our titles.”

Jacobs did end the tournament on a high note with a 5-3 win over Malachi Karibo, of Wichita South. The Free State 132-pounder grabbed the lead early in his match against Karibo to secure the fifth-place finish.

“I was tired of losing today,” Jacobs said. “I’ve just got to come back and get those wins. You’ve just got to go out there and win.”

After winning a state title as a sophomore, winning another was on the mind of Steele as he entered the weekend. However, Steele’s dream of a repeat were nixed during the semifinals on Friday by eventual state champion Tyler Flood, of Olathe North. Steele bounced back on Saturday with a 2-0 win by decision over Manhattan’s Devin Norris in the consolation semifinals, but he had to forfeit the third-place match against Derby’s Cade Lindsey due to a back injury.

“I did think I could win it coming in, but I mean sometimes you just get caught,” Steele said. “I got caught in the semis, and I got pinned there. I’ve been fighting injuries all season, and this just wasn’t the year.”

While the results at state were not what Steele had hoped for, the FSHS 138-pounder said that he saw significant progress from the Firebirds and has high hopes for next season.

“It’s always a little bit harder to work when you win,” Steele said. “It’s definitely going to give us a drive for next season and I think that we’ll come back and we’ll win.”

Class 6A state tournament

Saturday at Park City

At Hartman Arena

6A team scores — 1. Manhattan, 170; 2. Haysville-Campus, 148.5; 3. Garden City, 147.5; 4. Olathe North, 142.5; 5. Derby, 130; 6. Dodge City, 103; 7. Washburn Rural, 88; 8. Wichita South, 87.5; T-9. Olathe South, 69; T-9. Wichita Northwest, 69; 11. Junction City, 67; 12. Gardner-Edgerton, 59; 13. Blue Valley Northwest, 56; 14. Olathe Northwest, 53; 15. Free State, 50; 16. Hutchinson, 45.5; 17. Lawrence High, 41; 18. Blue Valley, 36.5; 19. Wichita West, 31; 20. Shawnee Mission Northwest, 23; 21. Shawnee Mission East, 19; 22. Wyandotte, 18; 23. Wichita Southeast, 17.5; 24. Blue Valley West, 16; 25. Wichita East, 13; 26. Shawnee Mission South, 12.5; T-27. Blue Valley North, 5; T-27. Shawnee Mission West, 5; T-29. Shawnee Mission North, 4; T-29. Topeka High, 4; 31. Olathe East, 2.

Saturday’s results

Free State

106 pounds — Lou Fincher, cons. round 2, won by decision over Caden Howard (Olathe NW), 5-2; cons. round 3, lost by major decision to Kai Rhea (Haysville-Campus), 15-1.

120 pounds — Bennett King, cons. round 2, lost by fall to Andres Sanchez (Garden City), 2:48.

132 pounds — Isaiah Jacobs, cons. round 2, won by decision over Eddie Vera (SM South), 5-3; cons. round 3, won by fall over Kevin Robinson (Wichita West), 2:33; cons. semifinals, lost by fall to Brandon Becker (Derby), 3:53; fifth place, won by decision over Malachi Karibo (Wichita South), 5-3.

138 pounds — Tate Steele, cons. semifinals, won by decision over Devin Norris (Manhattan), 2-0; third place, lost by injury default to Cade Lindsey (Derby).

160 pounds — Joey Eddis, cons. round 2, lost by fall to Quinton LaPointe (Garden City), 0:49.

170 pounds — Gage Foster, cons. round 2, won by fall over Bryce Cooper (Topeka), 1:31; cons. round 3, won by tech fall over Chance Henderson (Manhattan), 17-1 (3:36); cons. semifinals, lost by injury default to Gavin Carter (Washburn Rural); fifth place, lost by injury default to Aaron Davis (BV West).

182 pounds — Elijah Denmark, cons. round 2, lost by major decision to Garrett Tierney (BV Northwest), 10-1.

Lawrence High

132 pounds — Relle Dye, cons. round 2, lost by decision to Kevin Robinson (Wichita West), 8-4.

138 pounds — Melle Dye, cons. round 2, won by decision over Danny Malekani (Olathe East), 7-1; cons. round 3, lost in sudden victory to Devin Norris (Manhattan), 5-3.

145 pounds — Stanley Holder, cons. round 2, won by decision over Curtis Near (Garden City), 4-3; cons. round 3, lost by decision to Easton Schroeder (Haysville-Campus), 3-2.

170 pounds — Santino Gee, first place, lost by decision to Nick Jouret (Olathe South), 3-2.

182 pounds — Tucker Wilson, cons. semifinals, lost by ultimate tiebreaker to Garret Tierney (BV Northwest), 3-2; fifth place, won by major decision over Nathan Iles (Washburn Rural), 15-3.