photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State's Miley Ellis gets her hand raised after a win in a City Showdown wrestling dual at Lawrence on Jan. 21, 2026, in Lawrence.

Free State’s boys and girls wrestling teams spoiled Lawrence’s senior night with two dual wins, but the Lions came away with confidence after pulling off big wins, particularly from the seniors.

The boys wrestling dual ended with the Firebirds winning 45-31. Free State has dominated the matchup in recent years, but the Lawrence team came out with intensity and managed to make it a close dual this time.

“It went as well as it could, maybe better than I hoped,” Lawrence coach Patrick Naughton said. “On paper, it shouldn’t have been close… the boys really answered the call.”

There were only two forfeit wins in the dual, both coming in Lawrence’s favor. Logan Druen was unopposed in the 106-pound weight class, and Jacek Aber had an open match in the 113-pound weight class. The two open bouts gave the Lions six points each.

Free State went 8-4 in the other 12 matches, leading to the City Showdown win. Free State’s Cameron Salb got a technical fall win over Jace Schofield in the 215-pound bout, which was the first of the night. Firebird Cesar Martinez won the heavyweight bout over Malachi Chrismon as the Firebirds took an 11-0 lead.

Free State’s Damian Quick pinned Lawrence’s Galen Dewhirst in the 120-pound weight class, while Lawrence’s Lou Elsten got a senior-night pin over Avett Landis in the 126-pound bout. Elsten said it was “good to go out with a bang.”

“Getting a win for my team against the hometown rival is awesome — it’s a great feeling,” Elsten said. “We lost the first two, but we came in hot. The hard work we put in showed tonight. This should only influence our younger kids to work harder with regionals coming up soon.”

Free State’s Tristan Moore got a technical fall win over Drennen Shorter, while Lawrence senior Dominic Phommaseng pinned Free State’s Hoyt Jeter for his own senior night win. Phommaseng said he felt anxious before the dual, but once he stepped foot on the mat, he was ready to go.

“I was so excited — it’s senior night, my parents are here, all my friends are here,” Phommaseng said. “I was pure excitement. I was pointing out my friends and had a smile on my face the entire time.”

Lawrence’s Blaine Schwada got a 17-7 major decision win over Brogan Hagen in the 144-pound weight class, giving Lawrence a 28-22 lead with five matches left. Schwada’s win was his second of the season over a ranked wrestler.

Free State came back with four big wins in a row. Hudson Andrew beat Ryan Farrell with an 18-3 technical fall in the 150-pound weight class, followed by Justin LaMarche pinning Patrick Stanwix in 44 seconds in the 157-pound bout. Coghlan Odom got a late pin over Hunter Lown in the 165-pound bout, and Ben Lyles pinned Delmon Moorhead in the 175-pound match.

Lawrence finished with a senior win in the 190-pound match. Jadin Harrell pulled off a 4-3 decision win over Zane Shaw for his final home match. Harell faced Shaw several times last year and lost all but once. So to get the win on the home mat on senior night against a longtime competitor was special.

“I put my mind to it, and it felt amazing — that was a big confidence boost,” Harrell said. “When I was 8 years old, I wrestled in a youth tournament on this gym floor. Now it’s my senior year, and I just had my senior night… to be able to leave this gym and say I never lost is pretty special. It means a lot to carry on that LHS pride.”

Confidence is important at this time of the year, as postseason tournaments rapidly approach. A big win like Harrell’s that got the gym on its feet is something that he can carry into the final month, and it’s something he hopes his teammates can get confidence from as well.

“Those victories really picks up the other kids that weren’t successful tonight,” Naughton said. “A lot of those guys (that lost) are brand new guys. They’re first- or second-year guys.”

Free State’s girls wrestling program got its first City Showdown dual win over Lawrence since the teams split, and the Firebirds did it in their rivals’ home. The Firebirds won 42-24, winning six of the nine closed matches.

“I’ve been pushing these girls a lot since the season started, and they’ve been responding,” Free State coach Melle Dye said. “This was a good one to respond to after a tough weekend down in Wichita. They came out and wrestled well.”

Lawrence’s Dorcas Fakunmoju got an open win in the 100-pound weight class to start the dual. Free State’s Miley Ellis pinned Lawrence’s Annabelle Ackerman in the 115-pound match, followed by Free State’s Jessica Berg’s 25-second pin over NeFehna Farve in the 120-pound match. Dye was proud of Ellis’s win, saying it was, “one of her better wins this season, especially against a tough girl like that.”

Free State got a win with Delaney Earl pinning Ivy Ford in 56 seconds in the 125-pound bout. The Firebirds got an open win in the 130-pound weight class from Ester Bigirimana.

Lawrence got one of three wins in the 135-pound match with Juliana Hout pinning Presley White. The Firebirds got an open win in the 140-pound weight class from Brooklynn Parish. Imogen Matter got the Lions their second win in the 145-pound bout with a 31-second pin over Makenzie Browning.

Firebird Ellie Earl pinned Elizabeth Mock in the 155-pound bout, and fellow Firebird Madilyn Pierson got a 28-second pin over Miriam Zimmerman in the 190-pound weight class. Ellie Earl’s win was a revenge match after having lost to Mock earlier in the season.

The Lions got one last win in the 235-pound weight class as senior Goldy Stephens pinned AJ Collins in 43 seconds, which secured her undefeated record in her Lawrence career at home.

When Lawrence coach Carl Springer was hired, he reached out to a few wrestling coaches about how to lead a program. He was told to find a couple of girls to build the program around, and for Springer, that was Stephens.

“She made me a better coach… you can’t ask for a better kid to set the program,” Springer said. “These kids got a bright future ahead of them because they have someone to look up to.”

Next up: both boys wrestling teams will be at Blue Valley Northwest for a weekend tournament, while the girls wrestling teams will be in De Soto for a tournament.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence’s Jadin Harrell stares down Free State’s Zane Shaw in a City Showdown wrestling dual at Lawrence on Jan. 21, 2026, in Lawrence.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State’s Tristan Moore gets on top of Lawrence’s Drennen Shorter in a City Showdown wrestling dual at Lawrence on Jan. 21, 2026, in Lawrence.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence’s Juliana Hout gets on top of Free State’s Presley White in a City Showdown wrestling dual at Lawrence on Jan. 21, 2026, in Lawrence.