photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State senior Otto Reese pulls away from an opponent in a match at the second day of the 6A state boys wrestling tournament in Overland Park on Saturday, March 1, 2025.

Overland Park — Free State placed four of the 12 wrestlers the team brought to the 6A state boys wrestling tournament on Saturday, while Lawrence finished with one placer out of its three qualifiers.

The Firebirds scored 100.0 points, which placed them sixth in the tournament. The Lions scored 25.5 points, which placed them 21st.

Senior Grayson Hagen headlined the team as the runner-up in the 165-pound weight class. He fell behind early in the championship match but came close to tying it up late. Hagen lost in a 7-4 decision.

The second-place medal was Hagen’s fourth state medal in his career, which put him tied for first in school history with Nolan Bradley. This was Hagen’s best finish of his Free State career, and he became the school’s winningest wrestler.

Senior Otto Reese placed fourth in the 144-pound weight class. He reached the third-place match with a 16-4 major decision win. He lost the final bout in an 11-4 decision. Fellow senior Blaine Larkin finished fifth in the 215-pound weight class. Larkin won with a technical fall to reach the consolation semifinals. He lost by a pin in that round but bounced back to win fifth with a pin.

Reese and Larkin set school win records in a season with 49 wins. Reese hit his in the consolation semifinal and finished with a 49-9 record, while Larkin hit the record in the fifth-place match. His season record ended at 49-10. The previous record holder was Matthew Marcum, who had 48 wins in 2023.

Junior Zane Shaw started the tournament with two wins to reach the semifinal round, which he lost by a pin. He lost the consolation semifinal in a 3-2 decision before winning the fifth-place match with a 13-3 major decision.

“I definitely did more than what others expected,” Shaw said of his season and state tournament run. “I wasn’t ranked going into state, but I made it to the semis, had a decent draw and did well on the backside. I beat a guy I had never beaten before, so I’m definitely happy with how I wrestled.”

Shaw is the only Firebird placer returning to the team next year. He’ll be a senior whom the younger wrestlers can look to in practices.

“We’ve got a lot of young guys that are pretty good,” Shaw said. “Hopefully, they can show something next year. Hopefully, we can do some stuff this offseason to get better. I’m definitely excited for next year.”

Free State hoped to get a few more wrestlers on the podium in the tournament, but five Firebirds lost in the blood round. Senior Quinton Hice, senior Michael Hernandez, senior Drew Streeter, sophomore Coghlan Odom and senior Gabe Swoyer all finished a match short of reaching the podium.

“It was a little disappointing,” coach Randy Streeter said. “That being said, we finished pretty well with the four guys we had.”

The Firebirds are graduating a large class this season, and the team will need new wrestlers to step into leadership roles. That starts with getting people together over the summer for workouts.

The two Lawrence wrestlers who competed on the second day of the tournament were juniors Lou Elsten and Jadin Harrell. After Elsten lost in the semifinal round on the first day, he went 2-0 on Saturday to take third in the 120-pound bracket. He started with an 11-1 major decision to reach the consolation finals, which he won with a 16-0 technical fall.

“I have a few things to work on going into next season, but all around, I feel great,” Elsten said. “When you lose a tough match, you just forget about it, move on and fight your way through the back (of the bracket). That’s what I was thinking — just keep wrestling hard.”

Harrell finished the tournament 2-2, with his two wins coming in the first two consolation rounds. A major decision loss in the third round ended his tournament.

The good news for the Lions is that all three state qualifiers will return to the team next year.

“We did really well,” coach Patrick Naughton said. “The biggest thing for us all year long was we had around 30 kids on the team, and 17 of them were first-year wrestlers. The potential for growth is great, and it really starts next week.”

For a young group, mat time is the most important thing for their development. The more experience they can get, the better their season will be. As a soon-to-be senior, Elsten said he hopes to motivate his teammates to keep working hard and help them continue their development throughout the summer.

“You don’t want to lose everything you built over the year,” Elsten said. “We just have to keep it all fresh going into next season.”

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence junior Lou Elsten gets his hand raised by the referee after winning third in the 120-pound weight class of the 6A state boys wrestling tournament on Saturday, March 1, 2025, in Overland Park.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence junior Jadin Harrell works to escape in a match on the second day of the 6A state boys wrestling tournament in Overland Park on Saturday, March 1, 2025.