Blake Hegeman’s match was not indicative of Tuesday’s entire city wrestling dual at Lawrence High.

But without a doubt, the LHS junior’s 26 seconds of dominance said it loud and said it proud: Once again, Lawrence High was king of the city mat.

Hegeman, wrestling at 275 pounds, pinned Free State’s Ricky Lockner just 26 seconds into the final match, ending an otherwise tight city showdown with a repeat winner.

Lawrence High 42, Free State 30.

Hegeman’s pin put an abrupt end to four straight Free State victories at 160, 171, 189 and 215 pounds, wins that pulled the Firebirds within striking distance at 36-30.

It also ensured Chesty Lion bragging rights, no matter how strenuous the fight turned out to be.

“I normally wait for them to make the wrong move,” Hegeman said. “I’m not as fast as he would be, so when he made the wrong move, I went after it.”

Hegeman’s match almost didn’t happen. Originally, the Firebirds were open at 275, but in a strategic move to give Free State a chance to win in all classes, FSHS coach Darrell Andrew inserted Shelton Heilman at 140 pounds, and bumped seven wrestlers up one class to fill out the lineup.

Just like that, Hegeman, originally planning to accept a forfeit, instead put an exclamation mark on the city showdown.

Lawrence High wrestler Chris Ermey, left, escapes the grasp of Free State's Alex Benson. The Lions beat the Firebirds in a dual Tuesday at LHS.

“I was told to warm up at the beginning of the match just to stay into it,” Hegeman said. “Turns out, I got the match.”

Free State, decimated by injuries to key wrestlers this season, still had to forfeit matches at 103, 130 and 135 pounds. On top of that, Lawrence High’s studs at 140 and 145, Brendan Halpin and Nolan Kellerman, each recorded pins to put the Lions up 33-9.

Sophomores Halpin and Kellerman have a combined record of 54-8 this season.

“They’re very important because they start us on a roll,” LHS coach Mark Dulgarian said. “If the younger kids in the lighter weight classes really start coming on, it’ll be very valuable for us.”

LHS junior Larry Tuthill won a 7-2 decision at 152 pounds to put the Lions up 36-9, but even a lead of that magnitude wasn’t safe.

Pins by Free State’s K.J. Siebert and Cameron Reschke, a 10-5 victory by Ryan Williams and a pin by Jesse Hardy at 215 secured 21 unanswered Free State points.

But Hegeman still was left.

6Sports video: LHS wins city wrestling showdown

“We were hoping to have a six-point lead by the time we got into the heavyweight,” FSHS coach Darrell Andrew said. “But we lost a couple matches early on, and there were a couple of matches where we were expecting a fall and got either a major decision or a minor decision.

“It was just a few little things here and there. Hand it to Lawrence High. They came out and wrestled extremely well today.”

Lawrence High's David Stites, front, tries to get out of trouble against Free State's Mike Goble. Goble pinned Stites in their 119-pound match Tuesday at Lawrence High.

Marc Sommers and Mike Goble recorded victories at 112 and 119 for Free State, and Lawrence countered with a 6-5 victory by Chris Ermey at 125. That tied the score at 9 before the roller coaster began.

Of the 22 wrestlers to compete Tuesday, only Williams, at 189 pounds for Free State, is a senior. It assures that the best times are still to come for both city squads, which could lead to an even more electric city showdown next year.

“We knew it could be tight. Free State knew it could be tight,” Dulgarian said. “My hat’s off to both sides. I thought everybody wrestled very hard.”