photo by: Contributed photo

Free State junior Blaine Larkin stands tall after defeating Derby's Mason Hopper in route to the first-place match at the 6A state wrestling championships in Park City.

Free State and Lawrence High completed their runs at the boys and girls state wrestling championships on Saturday in Park City. Five total wrestlers walked away with hardware, including a runner-up title by junior Blaine Larkin in the 215-pound bracket.

Free State juniors Larkin (215 pounds, second), Grayson Hagen (150 pounds third) and Gabe Swoyer (157 pounds, fifth) each finished the third day with strong performances. On the LHS side, senior Andrew Honas (132 pounds) and sophomore Lou Elsten (113 pounds) added two third-place medals to the two schools’ state resumes.

Larkin (36-17) opened the tournament in a big way, clearing the first and quarterfinal rounds before claiming a come-from-behind win over Derby’s Mason Hopper (25-9) to advance to the championship match with Shawnee-Mill Valley’s Christopher Wash Jr. (41-8).

Wash ended Larkin’s run in the title match, pinning the junior Firebird to end Free State’s campaign Saturday evening.

Hagen (46-10) won his first-round and quarterfinal matches over Shawnee Mission South’s Xander Hale (30-20) and Maize’s Braden Salsbury (34-20) before falling short in the semifinal round to Shawnee-Mill Valley’s Brady Mason (46-10). The junior redeemed his loss in the third-place championship by defeating Olathe North’s Braiden Frey (35-18) by fall.

Swoyer (36-20) split his first two rounds, falling to Manhattan High’s Ben Uher (31-17) in his quarterfinal match. Swoyer went 2-0 in the consolation round but was upended by Olathe North’s Vance Provost (47-11) in the semifinal match, going on to defeat Wichita Southeast’s Caphers Orangi (29-12) by fall in the fifth-place championship.

Honas (39-5) cleared the first two rounds of the tournament by forfeit and a 7-1 decision over Olathe Northwest’s Leo Blanding (35-24). The senior dropped his semifinal match with Maize’s Vincent Rosas (43-9), but bounced back in the consolation bracket with a 40-5 decision over Olathe North’s Blake Samuelson in the third-place championship.

Elsten (38-4) opened the tournament with a first-round victory over Derby High’s Tanner Heincker (19-11), winning the match by fall, but lost his quarterfinal match with Olathe North’s Jaxson Scott (43-13). But Elsten had the final say, later besting Scott in the third-place championship match with a 7-3 sudden victory.

LHS’ Stephens makes history

Lawrence High sophomore Goldy Stephens (190 pounds) entered the girls state wrestling championships as the school’s first qualifier in its history. Stephens was joined by Free State sophomore Delaney Earl (140 pounds) at the state tournament in Park City.

In the opening round, Stephens (31-12) fell to Olathe Northwest’s Val Galligan (8-2). The LHS team captain then paired up with Wichita-Kapaun Mt. Carmel’s Gianna Redcorn (26-7) in the first round of the consolation bracket, falling by a 4-2 decision.

Earl (11-21) also struggled out of the gate, falling to Hays’ Lexi Burton (32-1) in the opening round but bounced back against Olathe North’s Makenzie Sharp (29-13) in the first round of the consolation bracket. Dodge City’s Dayanara Garcia (21-12) defeated Earl by fall in the second round.

A celebration for Stephens, Honas and Elsten is scheduled for halftime at Tuesday’s home substate basketball game at LHS.

Substate hoops tip off next week

Area hoops teams wrapped their regular-season schedules on Friday night, followed by the release of substate seedings on Saturday morning. Here’s next week’s playoff picture for Lawrence High, Free State, Bishop Seabury, Baldwin High and Eudora High.

• 6A East girls: No. 8 LHS (12-8) hosts No. 9 Olathe North (11-9) at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. The winner meets either No. 1 Shawnee Mission South (19-1) or No. 16 Kansas City-Wyandotte (6-12) in the substate championship on Friday.

• 6A East boys: No. 14 LHS (8-12) travels to No. 3 Olathe North (16-4) on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. matchup. The winner meets either No. 6 Olathe West (14-6) or No. 11 Olathe East (11-9) in the substate championship on Saturday.

• 6A West girls: No. 15 Free State (1-19) travels to No. 2 Derby High (17-3) at 6 p.m. Tuesday. The winner meets either No. 7 Wichita East (10-10) or No. 10 Maize (7-13) in the substate championship on Friday.

• 6A West boys: No. 14 Free State (6-14) travels to No. 3 Wichita Northwest (15-5) at 6 p.m. on Wednesday. The winner meets either No. 6 Maize (12-8) and No. 11 Wichita West (9-11) in the substate championship on Saturday.

• 4A East girls: No. 7 Eudora (13-7) hosts No. 10 Parsons (10-10) ay 6 p.m. on Tuesday. The winner meets either No. 2 Shawnee Mission-Bishop Miege (17-3) or No. 15 St. George-Rock Creek (4-16) in the substate championship on Friday. No. 6 Baldwin (13-7) hosts No. 11 Coffeyville-Field Kindley (9-10) at 6 p.m. on Tuesday. The winner meets either No. 3 Ottawa (15-5) or No. 14 Louisburg (6-14) in the substate championship on Friday.

• 4A East boys: No. 8 Eudora (12-8) hosts No. 9 Parsons (9-11) at 6 p.m. on Wednesday. The winner meets either No. 1 Atchison High (18-2) or No. 16 El Dorado (2-18) in the substate championship on Saturday. No. 2 Baldwin (17-3) hosts No. 15 Independence (4-16) at 6 p.m. on Wednesday. The winner meets either No. 7 Coffeyville-Field Kindley (13-7) or No. 10 Louisburg (8-12) in the substate championship on Saturday.

• 1A DI boys: No. 2 Bishop Seabury (15-4) advanced to the substate semifinal with No. 3 Burlingame (14-6) set for 6 p.m. Thursday. The winner meets either No. 1 Centralia (16-4) or No. 4 Troy (11-8) in the substate championship at 5 p.m. Saturday.