Free State wrestling coach Steve Burns talks to his team before their meet. The Firebirds defeated Holton and Olathe East in a double dual Thursday, Dec. 5.

Behind a balanced effort, Free State’s wrestling squad took home a third-place finish in its final tournament of 2019.

The Firebirds had nine different wrestlers place in the top six of their respective weight class during the Emporia Winter Classic on Saturday at EHS. Free State finished with 113 points to place third out of 15 teams. Emporia (175) and Hutchinson (140) were the only teams to finish higher than FSHS.

Lawrence High, meanwhile, placed sixth with a score of 73.5 points.

Caleb Streeter was the only Firebird to earn an individual title, placing first in the 138-pound weight class. Streeter, who is now 9-1 on the season, won by fall against Elijah Collins of Burlingame in the championship match.

Nolan Bradley (106-pound weight class) and Lou Fincher (132-pound weight class) both fell in their respective first-place matches to notch second. Titus Birdashaw placed third in the 182-pound weight class. Eric Streeter, Ezra Birdashaw and Cole Rorick all finished in fourth. Austin Burenheide and Ben Mellenbruch came in fifth and sixth, respectively.

Kevin Honas won the 120-pound weight class for LHS. He won by a 12-9 decision over Daylen Borisouth of Schlagle in the first-place match, improving to 10-2 on the year. Trey Medina netted second in the 145-pound weight class, while Jack Elsten claimed third in the 106-pound weight class. Daniel Parrish also placed sixth in the 132-pound weight class for the Lions.

Both teams will be back in action in January.

Emporia Winter Classic

Team scores: 1. Emporia 175.5; 2. Hutchinson 140; 3. Free State 113; 4. Goddard-Eisenhower 93; 5. Burlingame 78.5; 6. Lawrence High 73.5; 7. Schlagle 70; 8. Topeka High 64; 9. Jayhawk-Linn 53; 10. Wichita Southeast 52.5; 11. Uniontown 44; 12. Cottonwood Falls 42; 13. Effingham-Atchison County 40; 14. Kingman-Norwich 26; 15. Wichita East 8.

LHS results

106: Jack Elsten (9-4) placed 3rd and scored 16.5 team points.

113: Hunter Girard (6-7) place is unknown and scored 3.0 team points.

120: Kevin Honas (10-2) placed 1st and scored 24.0 team points.

126: Zach Razak (2-8) place is unknown and scored 0.0 team points.

132: Daniel Parrish (3-6) placed 6th and scored 3.0 team points.

138: William Maas (2-5) place is unknown and scored 3.0 team points.

145: Trey Medina (9-4) placed 2nd and scored 24.0 team points.

FSHS results

106: Nolan Bradley (4-1) placed 2nd and scored 17.5 team points.

113: Eric Streeter (5-5) placed 4th and scored 15.5 team points.

120: Ezra Birdashaw (6-4) placed 4th and scored 9.0 team points.

126: Ben Mellenbruch (3-4) placed 6th and scored 6.0 team points.

132: Lou Fincher (6-3) placed 2nd and scored 18.0 team points.

138: Caleb Streeter (9-1) placed 1st and scored 28.0 team points.

145: Zach Shepley (2-6) place is unknown and scored 0.0 team points.

170: Austin Burenheide (7-4) placed 5th and scored 11.0 team points.

182: Titus Birdashaw (2-2) placed 3rd and scored 7.0 team points.

195: Cole Rorick (3-8) placed 4th and scored 1.0 team points.

Veritas drops narrow decision

In its final game before winter break, Veritas dropped a 61-55 decision to Wichita Homeschool at home on Saturday.

The Eagles jumped out to a 13-10 lead in the first quarter and even led by a 29-16 margin in the second period. The Warriors scored 26 points in the final frame to claim the narrow win.

Will Rau led the way for Veritas with 20 points, shooting 7-for-19 from the floor. He also collected nine rebounds and seven assists. Will Bartkoski went 5-of-10 on the day, notching 14 points in 32 minutes.

Veritas (4-2) will host Manhattan CHIEF on Jan. 4.

WAHA 10 6 19 26 — 61

Veritas 13 16 12 14 — 55

Veritas (55)

Will Rau 20, Will Bartkoski 14, Lawson Ream 6, Aden-Jay Baker 6, Brennan Clements 9.

Tonganoxie falls on road

Despite an early lead, Tonganoxie’s boys basketball team suffered a 59-47 road loss to Hayden on Saturday.

The Chieftains jumped out to a 15-7 lead in the opening period before giving up 18 points in the second quarter. Hayden closed things out by scoring 34 points in the second half. THS is now 3-2 entering winter break after dropping back-to-back games.

Tonganoxie will host Baldwin on Jan. 7.

Tonganoxie 15 8 10 14 — 47

Hayden 7 18 15 19 — 59