photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence's Annabelle Ackerman lifts her hand after victory in a home dual on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Lawrence.

Lawrence’s boys and girls wrestling teams hosted their first dual of the season against Baldwin on Wednesday, where both Lawrence teams lost.

The boys lost 53-30 and won three of nine matches. After a strong showing at several wrestling tournaments over the weekend, Lawrence coach Patrick Naughton said the team looked flat on Wednesday.

“Maybe the guys are tired, but we came out and looked flat and tired against these guys,” Naughton said. “That’s something we’ve got to fix, especially now in the second part of the season.”

The Lions sport a young team, so growing pains with respect to the mental focus necessary every day is to be expected. That’s where seniors like Lou Elsten and Jadin Harrell have come in handy, as they can be vocal and demonstrative leaders.

“We used to call it the white-line fever — it looks great up in the room but all the sudden you forget everything when you step across into the circle,” Naughton said. “We’re going to have to get it fixed if we want to compete against Free State next week.”

Lawrence’s Logan Druen and Jacek Aber both picked up a free six points with open matches, but the Bulldogs got three open matches at the 120, 165 and 285-pound weight classes.

For the Lawrence wins, Elsten won his 132-pound match against Tyce Engemann with a pin in 1 minute, 1 second. Drennen Shorter pinned his 138-pound opponent Lucas Johnson in 1:09, and Dominic Phommaseng won the 144-pound bout in 1:47 with a pin.

Baldwin won six matches beyond the open matches, starting with Gable Steadham in the 126-pound bout over Lawrence’s Samuel George. Ethan Williams beat Ryan Farrell with a pin in the 150-pound match, and Zevian Prather pinned Kayden Hernandez in the 157-pound bout.

In the 175-pound weight class, Max Harvey got a technical fall win over Delmon Moorhead. Keldyn Cox pinned Saylor Jackson in the 190-pound bout, and Brenden O’Connor pinned Jace Schofield for the 215-pound match.

The Lawrence girls lost 45-24, losing six out of eight matches. Lawrence coach Carl Springer said the team wrestled tough but ultimately came up short in a few too many matches.

“We wrestle Baldwin every year, and we know they’re going to come tough,” Springer said. “We drilled a lot of defense for what they tend to do, and the girls wrestled. We didn’t get snaked, we didn’t get headlocked.”

Five wrestlers picked up a free win with an open match. Lawrence’s Dorcas Fakunmoju at the 100-pound weight, Baldwin’s Haylee King at 110, Baldwin’s Ivy Holloman at 130, Baldwin’s Keziah Moses at 140 and Lawrence’s Imogen Matter at 145 all picked up a free six points for not having an opponent to wrestle.

One of Lawrence’s two wins came in the first complete match, with Annabelle Ackerman pinning Lydia Payne in the 115-pound weight class. Baldwin’s Lillian Crites pinned NeFehna Farve in 47 seconds in the 120-pound bout.

Baldwin’s Brynn Drummond and Lawrence’s Ivy Ford had a tough, close match that ended in an 11-10 decision win for Drummond. The match came down to the final seconds, when Ford didn’t break contact enough to earn an escape point that would’ve tied it up.

“She started to separate and reshot, which means she didn’t get the escape,” Springer said. “But that’s something we teach. We teach to not to just separate and circle around. We teach to turn and shoot right away. Unfortunately, that doesn’t give her an escape point… but she wrestled her heart out.”

Baldwin’s Gwendalyn Troth pinned Lawrence’s Juliana Hout late in the third period of the 135-pound match, as did Baldwin’s Charlee Crites in her 155-pound bout with Elizabeth Mock. Both Hout and Mock led or competed in a close match for well over five minutes but fell short with a late error that led to a pin.

“Ultimately, the goals they have aren’t to win the Baldwin dual,” Springer said. “These matches will show them learning things… If you get taken down, you can’t feel sorry for yourself. You have to keep wrestling, because that other girl is still wrestling.”

Baldwin’s ElliAnna Lisher pinned Lawrence’s Miriam Zimmerman in 43 seconds in the 170-pound match. Lawrence’s second win came in the 235-pound match, with Goldy Stephens beating Maddy Cooper with a pin in 1:36, which was the final match of the night.

Lawrence will be back at home next week as the Lions host Free State for a City Showdown that doubles as Lawrence’s senior night on Wednesday. It’ll be the first dual since the split between Lawrence and Free State’s girls wrestling programs.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence’s Goldy Stephens smiles after a takedown of Baldwin’s Maddy Cooper in a home dual on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Lawrence.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Baldwin’s Charlee Crites gets on top of Lawrence’s Elizabeth Mock in a home dual on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Lawrence.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence’s Elizabeth Mock works for a takedown in a home dual on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Lawrence.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence’s Saylor Jackson gets wrapped up by Baldwin’s Keldyn Cox in a home dual on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Lawrence.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence’s Juliana Hout fights with Baldwin’s Gwendalyn Troth in a home dual on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Lawrence.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence’s Kayden Hernandez and Baldwin’s Zevian Prather circle each other in a home dual on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Lawrence.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence’s Ryan Farrell looks to shoot in a home dual on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Lawrence.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence’s Ivy Ford works to get an escape in a home dual on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Lawrence.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence’s Drennen Shorter pins his opponent in a home dual on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Lawrence.