photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence sophomore Yamirra Woods handfights against Olathe South's Olivia Miller in the 6A East regional tournament at Shawnee Mission Northwest on Saturday, February 15, 2025.

For the last two years, the backs of the state wrestling shirts for Lawrence and Free State were spacious, with only two names printed. The shirts this year will look fuller as nine wrestlers qualified between the two schools.

Six Lawrence girls qualified for state in the 6A East regional at Shawnee Mission Northwest, and three Free State girls qualified in the 6A West regional at Wichita West. The Lions placed 11th in the region with 58.5 points, and the Firebirds finished 13th in their region and scored 33.0 points.

“It is pretty wild, in our three years as a team, (Lawrence) had only qualified one girl, and that was Goldy (Stephens) last year,” coach Carl Springer said. “To come out and qualify all six girls who came out today is unbelievable.”

Freshman Anabella Ackerman started things off by being the first Lion to make the top eight. She ended up placing fourth in the 110-pound weight class with four wins in the tournament, and her wins helped spark the confidence of the rest of the team.

“It was like a wave — every girl was like, ‘I don’t want to be the girl that doesn’t qualify,'” Springer said. “Down the line, you just saw all of them look like, ‘Yep. We’re doing this.'”

Ackerman became the first freshman wrestler to qualify for state since the team started three years ago. She had three pins in under 30 seconds.

Stephens also achieved LHS history as the first Lion to become a regional finalist. She was the runner-up in the 235-pound weight class and had the highest placement on the team. As a junior, Stephens is on track to break 100 wins her senior year, which would be another program record for her.

Sophomore Paige Fishburn qualified for state by finishing eighth in the 120-pound weight class. Her pin in the blood round was her 10th win of the season, which got her to the state tournament.

Reann Rodriguez was one of two seniors who qualified for state. With two wins, Rodriguez placed seventh in the 125-pound weight class. Avery Sutton was the other senior and qualified in the 135-pound weight class.

Both seniors missed the state tournament by one round last year. This time, they punched their tickets.

First-year wrestler and sophomore Yamirra Woods finished sixth in the 130-pound bracket. She had two wins in the consolation bracket to reach the fifth-place bout but lost via a technical fall.

Free State senior Daijah Preston led her team in the 135-pound weight class, finishing fourth. Preston won a 13-11 decision to move to the semifinals, where she lost. She won in a 10-5 decision to reach the consolation finals, which she lost in a second-period pin.

Preston’s victories came against multiple state qualifiers and the sixth-ranked wrestler in the state. Last year, Preston broke her foot late in the season and could not compete in regional or state tournaments. In her final year, she punched her ticket.

Assistant coach Melle Dye said the team rallied hard around Preston. She has long been a leader for the team and has pushed many of the younger wrestlers in practice, and they paid her back with loud, emotional support during her bouts. Free State was warned for getting too far into the mat as a team when Preston was wrestling.

Junior Delaney Earl finished fifth in the 125-pound weight class. She won three bouts to reach the fifth-place match, which she won by a 1-0 decision.

Junior Madilyn Pierson placed eighth in the 190-pound weight class after earning her spot in the first round with a 33-second pin.

The Lions, too, showed emotional support for their teammates, which Springer has worked hard to implement through practices. The team journals and has a text group chat that only includes players. Springer consistently talks about mental health with his team and picks other coaches’ brains about coaching mental health.

“Once a week, we sit around and we journal, and they talk about their mantras,” Springer said. “They rally around each other. This is an individual sport. When you’re losing a match, it’s the loneliest place in the world. (The teammates) have to be mat-side, banging on the ground.”

Both teams must keep the positive energy rolling to make some program history and send multiple wrestlers to the podium at state. They have a week off before the state tournament on Saturday, March 1, at AdventHealth Sports Park at Bluhawk in Overland Park.