photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence's Juliana Hout grabs her opponent in the 6A East regional girls wrestling tournament on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, in Overland Park.

The Sunflower League’s girls wrestling tournament switched to a dual-style tournament this year, with wrestlers competing against other lineups, rather than by weight class.

However, coaches at Free State and Lawrence said it was too soon for a dual-style tournament, as too many teams lack full rosters to compete in five duals per tournament.

“I sent emails to our league, all the coaches and ADs, saying this was the worst idea ever,” Lawrence coach Carl Springer said. “A bunch of coaches agree with me. I think we’re going to change it.”

Girls wrestling is in its fourth year since it became a sanctioned sport under the Kansas State High School Activities Association, and teams have grown exponentially in size. But for some teams, especially in the eastern portion of the state, teams aren’t big enough. Free State coach Melle Dye said team-dual tournaments take place in states like Iowa, and that they could lead to dual-style state tournaments.

Free State wrestled in four duals in the league tournament. In the first dual, 10 of the 14 weight classes didn’t have a full match. There were seven in the second match and nine in the fourth. Against Gardner Edgerton, the team that won the league tournament, there were only five forfeits, four of which were on Free State’s side.

Forfeits still happen in the traditional weight-bracket tournaments, but those open matches get weeded out in the first two rounds. The rest of the bracket consists of available wrestlers. With the dual system, some wrestlers get unlucky draws depending on the teams they face and may only get a couple of matches total.

“For us, it’s easy to go out there and get our hand raised,” Dye said. “We have somewhat of a full lineup. But I look at it, and some of my girls aren’t getting matches… If teams have full lineups and have, like, 10 girls, then yeah, I’m all for it.”

Take Free State’s Delany Earl, for example. Despite wrestling in the 125-pound weight class — a competitive and mostly full weight class — Earl only had two matches in the league tournament.

Lawrence didn’t have it any better. There were 10 forfeits in the Lions’ first dual, nine in the second, 10 in the third dual and nine in the fourth.

Not every league tournament featured this style. For the Frontier League, the 4A league that includes Douglas County teams Eudora, Baldwin and Tonganoxie, the girls wrestling league tournament still follows the traditional tournament style with weight-class brackets.

The dual style isn’t as much of an issue on the boys side, as teams have fuller varsity and junior-varsity rosters. Lawrence had four duals, none of which had more than five weight classes that had a forfeit from either team. Free State had two of its five duals include five open bouts at the most.

Dye said the dual system might work better in leagues in the western half of the state, where girls wrestling is more established and has bigger teams. But the sport is still in early stages of growth on the eastern side and just isn’t big enough to support that style of tournament.

“On this side of the state, I just don’t think it’s big enough yet,” Dye said. “Especially in our league. It’s a Kansas City league… Girls wrestling is still growing in Kansas.”

Tonganoxie takes fifth in 4A East girls wrestling regional tournament; 14 local wrestlers advanced to 4A state tournament

Baldwin, Eudora, Perry-Lecompton and Tonganoxie all wrestled in the 4A East regional girls wrestling tournament on Saturday, with the Chieftains leading the group by placing fifth as a team.

Tonganoxie scored 120.5 points, while Baldwin and Eudora tied for 16th with 59.0 points. Perry-Lecompton finished 21st with 39.0 points.

Six Tonganoxie wrestlers reached the podium and will compete in the state tournament. Autumn Wilson won the 120-pound weight class by going 3-0. After two byes, Wilson got three pins, including a 53-second pin in the quarterfinal. A second-period pin in the semifinal put her in the first-place match, which she won with another second-period pin.

Kaylee Pankey finished as the runner-up in the 115-pound bracket. After a bye, she got a 30-second pin in the second round. Pankey got a pin in the quarterfinal before a 10-4 decision win in the semifinal put her in the first-place match. There, Pankey lost in a 10-4 decision.

Riley Crookham at 100 pounds and Emerson Maslak at 125 pounds each placed third in their respective weight classes. Crookham went 4-1, with all four wins coming within a minute. Maslak went 6-1, starting with a pin and a tiebreaker win to get to the quarterfinal. After a loss there, Maslak finished 4-0 with two pins, a 6-4 decision win and an 18-2 technical fall.

Katy Duncan placed seventh in the 190-pound weight class, going 3-2 with three pins. Olivia Butler took eighth at 145 pounds with a pin and an 11-1 major decision win in the second and third consolation rounds, respectively.

Baldwin had three wrestlers reach the podium, with Finnley Kellerman taking the top spot in the 235-pound weight class with a 3-0 record. After a first-round bye, Kellerman had a 51-second pin in the quarterfinal. A 24-second pin in the semifinal put her in the first-place match, which she won with a 21-second pin.

ElliAnna Lisher placed seventh at 170 pounds, going 3-2 with a four-minute pin in the seventh-place match. Haylee King at 110 pounds took eighth while going 2-3 with two pins.

The Cardinals had two wrestlers place on the podium. Abby Fager was the runner-up in the 140-pound weight class going 3-1. Fager got two pins in her first two matches, which put her in the semifinal. A 7-3 decision win put her in the first-place match, which she lost by a major decision. Clara Peterson at 170 pounds placed third, going 4-1. After two pins, Peterson was pinned in the semifinal. She rebounded with a 9-1 major decision in the consolation semifinal and a 47-second pin in the third-place match.

Three Kaws reached the podium, including Jolie Corcoran, who placed third in the 115-pound weight class. Corcoran started with two pins before losing in the semifinal. She bounced back with two wins in the following two rounds, including a 58-second pin in the third-place match.

Samantha Hutton placed seventh in the 105-pound weight class, going 2-2 with two pins, and Taylee Williams placed eighth in the 235-pound weight class with an 0-3 record.