photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State wrestlers Justin LaMarche, top, and Devin Nichols grapple during the Green and Black Dual at Free State High School on December 4, 2024.

Free State High School’s wrestling team has placed in the top 10 of the 6A KSHSAA state tournament every year for the past four years. This season, the Firebirds have a chance to do even better.

The Firebirds set a team record in the 2023-24 season, with 12 of 14 varsity wrestlers qualifying for the 6A state tournament. That team scored 80 points, which was ninth in the tournament.

Free State has a large senior class this year. Of the 12 state qualifiers, 11 return to the team. With that, the Firebirds have their eyes set on a top-three placement at the state tournament, a league, and a regional championship.

“I feel confident,” coach Randy Streeter said. “We’re solid the whole way through. We want to place more kids than this school has ever placed. We want to keep breaking those records. We want to place 10 kids at state, 12 kids at state.”

Some teams have a few wrestlers who are above and beyond the rest of the team. Those individuals will likely contend for an individual state championship. Streeter sees his team differently. While the Firebirds have some top-level wrestlers, the team is balanced throughout its lineup.

That balance is how a team can win more duals or perform better at the state tournament. It is what gives the Firebirds their confidence–they can compete in any weight class with a number of different wrestlers.

The Firebirds came into the season with confidence. A summer spent traveling around to different tournaments across the country had a profound impact on the team. The offseason tournaments gave the group a lot of mat time, which has allowed them to start the season in greater shape.

Through the first few tournaments of the season, the Firebirds have shown the dominance that they expected to bring into the year. The team won the Johnson County Wrestling Classic for the third straight year with three first-place winners. Otto Reese (114-pound weight class), Grayson Hagen (165-pound weight class) and Blaine Larkin (215-pound weight class) were the three Firebirds who won their respective brackets.

With a group that has spent a lot of time together, the Firebirds are a close-knit team that understands how to push each other. Streeter said the Firebirds act more like a college team in that they can get practices started independently and push each other. The group has a strong camaraderie, making it easier for the seniors to lead the group.

Reese and Hagen, two of the team’s seniors, said the Firebirds are like a family. They’ve all been wrestling together for a long time, so they know each other well and know how to push each other.

“We have great team chemistry,” Hagen said. “We all want what’s best for each other. We all want to win together. Everyone wants to be great, and we all know that in order to do that, we have to push each other.”

For them, reaching their goals is about control. Their conditioning allows them to control the match’s pace, which can help them take their opponents out of their comfort zone.

Free State competes in the 6A west, with some talented teams consistently at the top. Duals and other later competitions are tough, but the Firebirds have spent a lot of time wrestling against the competition. The Firebirds are a veteran group. They know what they’re up against, and they know what it takes to win. It’s why they can run their practices and get themselves going.

“(The team) runs itself when you have leaders like that,” Streeter said. “They know what’s at stake.”