photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence wrestling coach Carl Springer, left, instructs Imogen Matter, middle, and Juliana Hout in a wrestling practice on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, at Lawrence High School.

Juliana Hout remembers Lawrence girls wrestling coach Carl Springer telling her this past summer that he found a great new practice partner for her sophomore year.

Hout’s practice partner her freshman year graduated, leaving an opening next to her on the wrestling mat. After a freshman campaign that ended with her being disqualified from the regional tournament, Hout had big goals for her second season with Lawrence and needed a strong partner to push her.

That’s where Imogen Matter came in. Springer had heard of Matter from Lawrence assistant wrestling coach Relle Dye, hearing that Matter was “a hammer.”

“He told me she’s a stud,” Springer said. “That she works hard and is really coachable. And she has. I mean, she’s crushing it.”

Matter wrestled in junior high but chose not to join the Lawrence team her freshman year so she could get acclimated to high school. But her wrestling accomplishments from junior high were known around the Lawrence wrestling community. When she decided to join the team her sophomore year, Springer knew her work ethic would match that of Hout’s.

Now, Hout and Matter are headed to the 6A state wrestling tournament after both placing in the top eight of the 6A East regional tournament.

“We both jumped and hugged each other after we qualified,” Hout said. “It was just relief that we both made it. I had the goal of becoming a state qualifier this year, and I did. I think it’s because of Imogen… She’s really helped me a lot. Just beating each other up, we get a whole lot stronger.”

Hout and Matter’s path to the regional podium didn’t happen overnight. Although Hout has spent four years learning jiu jitsu with Springer, neither Hout or Matter came into the season with a wealth of experience in wrestling. What got them to qualifying was both wrestlers “beating the snot out of each other” day after day in practice.

“You never know who is going to be good partners and who is not,” Springer said. “Sometimes people want to partner with their friend, and then they want to talk and not wrestle… But right away, you could tell (Matter) was motivated.

“Neither of them are malicious about it. They just want to win. They want to be good.”

Springer has five rules that the wrestling team lives by. Rule No. 3 is that the most important person in the wrestling room is your practice partner. If each wrestler focuses on making their partner better, the team collectively reaches its peak.

“If your only goal when you come into this room is to make your partner a state champion, they will make you one,” Springer said.

Springer and the Lawrence coaching staff preached this all year long, but it didn’t take a lot of preaching for Hout and Matter to buy in. Their work ethics immediately clicked, and the two consistently set an example in the wrestling room.

“It’s great to have someone who has a similar work ethic to me,” Matter said. “When we’re drilling, we drill pretty hard.”

“It’s great to have a partner who shows up,” Hout added. “Some people don’t show up because they don’t want to. But I know Imogen will show up.”

The hard work the two wrestlers put into the season manifested when it mattered most. Hout had yet to place in a tournament this season, but she went into the regional tournament with a killer mindset. Matter only got better as the year went on, and she finished with two of her best performances in the Sunflower League tournament and the regional tournament.

Springer says that the blood round of the regional tournament is the most emotional match of the season. A win means you’ve made it to the state tournament, a loss means the season is over.

So when Hout and Matter got their blood round wins, it was a special moment. Hout led 12-0 in her match before getting the pin. It was a thorough and dominant win.

“I couldn’t believe my hand was in the air,” Hout said. “I ran over and jumped into my other coach’s arms. Everyone was in the corner cheering — it was amazing. I’d never felt that feeling before.”

Matter struggled at the start of her blood round match, but the team had her back and gave her the support she needed.

“Coach Jordan (Dempsey) was yelling at me, ‘Find a way to win,'” Matter said. “And then I stacked a girl and made her cry.”

Because Hout and Matter are so close in weight classes, the two are typically wrestling at the same time during tournaments. So while they are each other’s biggest supporters, they rarely get the chance to cheer each other on during tournaments.

The regional tournament was no different — Hout and Matter didn’t get to celebrate winning in the blood round until both were done. But when they did, they made sure to celebrate with each other.

“I don’t know what we would’ve done if one of us made it and the other didn’t,” Matter said.

The wrestlers still have another week to prepare for the state tournament. The wrestling room is a lot smaller now that the season is over for all but five of the wrestlers, but Hout and Matter are still there, beating each other up.

When it comes to the state tournament, both have the goal of placing. Hout enters as the fifth seed in the East, which means she’ll need to pull off an upset at some point to get to the podium. Matter has a challenging path, coming in as the seventh seed in the East. But anything is possible, and Matter is continuing to practice hard with Hout.

But what’s more important for both of them is less about the result and more about the process.

“I don’t care if I lose at all, I just want to go out there, be strong, be aggressive and wrestle good,” Hout.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence’s Imogen Matter gets on top of an opponent in the 6A East regional girls wrestling tournament on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, in Overland Park.

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.