Lawrence High wrestlers vying for podium finishes at state wrestling tournament

photo by: Shane Jackson

From left to right, Lawrence High wrestlers Trey Medina, Logan Farrell, Jack Elsten, Andrew Honas and Kevin Honas pose for a photo ahead this year's state wrestling tournament. All five wrestlers will compete in the Class 6A state meet on Saturday in Hartman Arena.

Lawrence High’s wrestling team is hoping to maintain its recent postseason momentum during the Class 6A state tournament on Saturday at Hartman Arena in Park City.

The Lions took six wrestlers to its substate meet at Olathe North last week, and five performed well enough to qualify for the final weekend. Trey Medina and Kevin Honas even won their respective weight class to secure individual titles for the second week in a row after doing so at regionals as well.

But this is for all the marbles, and it features the best of the best. Each weight class will feature an eight-man bracket, meaning any given wrestler only needs to earn one win to end up placing in their respective weight class at state.

Opening ceremonies for the Class 6A state tournament is set for 11:45 a.m., with the first round slated to begin at 12 p.m.

Before that, here is a look at each LHS wrestler entering this week’s state tourney and what is at stake for them this weekend:

Andrew Honas, freshman — 106-pound weight class

In his first season, Honas did well enough to make it to the state tournament. Now, he will see how he stacks up against the other top wrestlers in his division.

Honas (14-11, No. 6 in Class 6A) will start things off by facing Free State sophomore Nolan Bradley (22-3, No. 3 in 6A) in the first round. Earlier in the year, Honas actually dropped five matches in a row against many of the top wrestlers in the state.

Honas knew he’d have to face many of those wrestlers again in the postseason, so it will be a good opportunity to see how he’s improved since then.

“It kind of hit my confidence in the wrong way,” Honas said of the skid. “It just made me practice harder and harder. I tried to forget all those matches as much as I could.”

Honas, who has been wrestling for most of his life, has responded well since that five-match losing streak. He’s adjusted to what it takes to win at the high school level, and now has a better understanding of what moves work against certain opponents.

“High school is a lot different than kids’ wrestling,” Honas said. “A lot stronger guys, so I just had to adapt.”

Honas is coming off a runner-up finish at substate, and looking to close out the freshman campaign with another medal.

Jack Elsten, sophomore — 113-pound weight class

Coming in ranked No. 3 in Class 6A, Elsten is hoping to record at least a top-three finish this weekend. It would be a noticeable jump after placing sixth at state as a freshman a season ago.

“I just want to improve on last year,” Elsten said.

Elsten, who is 18-4, will have a first-round matchup against junior Jantzen Borge (16-7) of Manhattan High. The winner of that bout would likely earn a semifinal matchup with Washburn Rural junior Jacob Tangpricha, the top-ranked wrestler with a 30-2 overall record.

Yet Elsten is used to thriving against tough competition. Earlier this season, Elsten went 3-0 during a tough tournament at Liberty High School. Elsten went undefeated against three of the top schools in Missouri, which showed what he’s capable of when the pressure is on.

“I beat some pretty good guys down there,” Elsten said. “I wrestled well and I had a good mindset.”

Kevin Honas, junior — 120-pound weight class

Honas has slowly worked his way up the podium over the last two state meets, placing fifth as a freshman and finishing fourth last year as a sophomore. But now Honas has aspirations of making it to the finals, which would guarantee him a top-two finish.

“State finals is state finals, and anything can happen,” Honas said. “Just getting there is half the battle. But I also think I can win it all.”

Honas (20-3, No. 3 in Class 6A) said winning the semifinal matchup will be key to that, assuming he is able to defeat Manhattan High freshman Jameal Agnew first. It would set up a likely semifinal battle with Free State’s Darius Shields.

Earlier in the year, Shields (No. 2 in 6A) caught Honas on his back in their lone meeting during an event at Tonganoxie High.

“It was not a loss that I took lightly, so I’m ready to get a revenge win,” Honas said.

If all goes according to plan, Honas would then get the opportunity to avenge another defeat in a potential championship match against Washburn Rural senior Bishop Murray. Murray is the No. 1 ranked wrestler and has a 26-1 overall clip.

Logan Farrell, senior — 132-pound weight class

In his final season, Farrell hopes to find the podium by placing in the 132-pound bracket.

That would help take away some of the pain that Farrell has had to deal with over the last two years. Farrell, who was one win away from placing as a sophomore, had his junior campaign derailed completely due to an ankle injury.

The ankle still acts up for him this season, though Farrell has labored through it to post a 13-6 overall record.

“Just these past two years have been rough,” Farrell said. “It’s a lot harder because I’m not used to missing out on this much.”

Farrell will face Dodge City junior Damien Mendez (32-0, No. 1 in 6A) in the opening round.

Trey Medina, senior — 145-pound weight class

Medina has as good of a shot to win a state title as anyone, mostly because all he’s done is win on the wrestling mat this year.

Entering the final weekend, Medina is 18-0 and ranked No. 2 in his weight class. Medina, who won a Sunflower League title as a junior, has netted two more postseason crowns during his final campaign.

Over the last two weekends, Medina has been named regional wrestler of the year and the substate’s co-wrestler of the year. So he’s clearly got plenty of confidence entering the final meet of the season.

“I don’t want to get a big head on myself,” Medina said. “I think it definitely does give me that motivation. It really feels good to know all this hard work in here is going somewhere.”

Medina will open with a match against Dodge City junior Rudy Hernandez (17-10) to start things off. Haysville Campus senior Nathan Bowen (36-1, No. 1 in 6A) is on the other side of the bracket, which could lead to an epic title match.

Medina, who has wanted to capture a state title since he first started competing in the sport, admitted that it would mean a lot to emerge victorious this weekend.

“That would mean the world,” Medina said. “The difference between last year and this year is I’m definitely not doing it for myself. I’m more doing it for the people who deserve it — for my family. It would mean the world to them.”

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