PARK CITY — Olathe East junior Brett Carroll has spent the last 12 months thinking about the final seconds of his state finals match in last year’s Class 6A state tournament.

But Carroll has spent more than a decade envisioning the moment that he would win his first state championship.

That life-long passion is more than enough to explain the emotionally-charged response that Carroll had when he avenged his loss from last year to Garden City’s Sebastien Lopez by pinning the reigning 285-pound champion in this year’s state finals. 

Carroll immediately jumped up from the mat and never seemed to stop jumping until his coach eventually launched the heavyweight over his shoulder and walked him off the mat in celebration.

Part of the excitement was that Carroll became the first Olathe East wrestler to win a state title after many, including himself, have come so very close in the past. In fact, Carroll credits another Olathe East state runner-up for getting him serious about wrestling a decade ago in club wrestling.

One of Carroll’s neighbors, Jacob Woten, took runner-up at 215 as a junior in 2009. Woten reached the semifinals the next year, but lost in an upset, a word that also describes Woten's post-match response. He never got the chance to work his way through the backside of the bracket as his outburst got him disqualified.

“It’s been several years now and it still gets him,” Carroll said. “I remember talking to him last year and we were kind of relating in that area of regret of not winning and how the program for Olathe East has had a lot of unlucky years.”

Coaches and wrestlers around the Olathe East program often share close-but-no-cigar stories, such as a senior wrestler taking state runner-up losing to an elite Stanford commit, only to see an underclassman he beat three times win the same weight class the next year. Carroll has heard many of the stories and has wanted to be the Hawk who got over the hump.

“It meant a ton being the first because as much as being a state champion meant to me individually, my parents and my family … seeing my coach, it was exciting because he was ecstatic," Carroll said.

But all of that is not why Carroll leapt for joy following his championship-securing pin. The truth is Carroll had planned a more low-key response. That’s because of what he experienced last year.

After having Lopez on the ropes during their state championship bout, one misstep left Carroll lying defeated on the mat. Lopez popped right up after securing the pin, the heavyweight looking as light as a feather as he ran with glee to his coaches’ corner, tackling Garden City head coach Carlos Prieto.

Carroll remembers every second of that celebration.

“I just remember feeling so down and so beaten up emotionally by that,” Carroll said, recalling that sounds of Garden City fans chanting added insult to injury. “It hurt a lot.”

So Carroll wanted to avenge that loss this year, but he didn’t want to put on a similar celebration.

“I knew I was going to win, but I wanted to be a graceful winner,” Carroll said.

Carroll wanted to get the win, shake the hand of his opponent and the other team's coaches before returning to his corner. He said that remained his plan until the final moments of the match. But his plan changed because of the way the match played out.

Lopez found himself in another hole against Carroll, so the accomplished Greco Roman style competitor went back to the same move that secured him the pin last year: a lateral drop.

But Carroll had an entire offseason where he planned to counter everything that Lopez had, especially that move. 

“I was waiting for him to try that exact move and he did, but I was able to capitalize,” Carroll said.

Carroll used that advantage to flip the script from last year and take Lopez down to the mat for a pin. The poetic nature of the sticking Lopez after blocking the same move that was his downfall last year, Carroll’s plan to have a business-like celebration went out the window.

“I was still planning to do that, but the reason I lost control for a second was because it was literally the same move,” Carroll said. “For some reason that just shut me off and I just kind of went black for a little bit.”

Carroll’s emotions took over as he shot up from the mat and leaped for joy over and over again. 

Carroll never ended up tackling his coach, but he did take a defensive posture to avoid one of his coaches, Matthew Bright, from taking him down. Instead, Bright just threw Carroll over his shoulder and walked him off the mat.

“I was a little shocked, but it made for a great photo,” Carroll said.

Carroll enjoyed the moment, but he also knows what that type of celebration can do for the losing party. Both wrestlers will be seniors next year trying to end their high school careers as the best 285-pound wrestler in Class 6A. Now Lopez has some offseason ammunition to drive his progress toward returning the favor.

Carroll said the key for him avoiding that result and repeating what happened this year is just understanding that motivation Lopez will have over this next calendar year.

“All the drive that I had this year, because I was in a place where I just didn’t want to be a loser again,” Carroll said. “And understanding that all the gain I’ve gotten from that, just being in that mindset where I’m driving so hard, understanding that he knows that (now)

“I need to focus on that to make sure that I’m still getting better, because I don’t want to come back and lose as a senior. I kind of gifted him the ability to have that motivation.”

Carroll said there’s going to be practices in the middle of the season where it doesn’t seem like it really means much if you work hard or not.

“It means everything because those hard practices where you don’t really have to work hard, but once you start working hard they add up,” Carroll said. “I think understanding that and continuing to go after it is the most important thing.”

Carroll wants to be ready to be victorious in a possible third state title match, and fourth installment after Lopez won their third-place battle as freshmen, of this Clash of the Titans.
 

TWO OUT OF THREE AIN’T BAD: FREE STATE’S ‘THICK AS THIEVES’ SENIOR TRIO ALMOST COMPLETES PERFECT END TO HIGH SCHOOL CAREERS

Eric Streeter did not think he’d get a chance to join his two closest friends in the exclusive club of state champions.

His teammates and childhood friends Matthew Marcum and Nolan Bradley reached the top of the podium last year. Eric looked to join them as he started this year 17-1 with his only loss against Andover junior Adam Maki, who would go on to win the 5A 138-pound state title.

Then Eric suffered a high-ankle sprain that put him on the shelf for the next six weeks.

Randy Streeter, his dad and coach, did not know if Eric would be able to return for the postseason at all.

“We were just kind of waiting to see what would happen,” Randy said.

What ended up happening was Eric navigated his way through to the state finals, where he earned a 6-1 decision over Derby senior Troy Allen to win the 144-pound state title.

"That felt great," Eric said. "You work your whole life to get there, so to win your last match ever, it's a good feeling.

Eric was not sure how that match-up would play out after missing out on the chance to face off in the regional final. Allen forfeited the match to preserve his shoulder. He also sat out most of this season as he had a torn labrum, only returning in time for the postseason.

Although both wrestlers were still shaking off mat rust, they didn’t need that regional final match to get acquainted. This match is thirteen years in the making.

Eric recalls the first time he faced Allen when both were in the 6U state tournament final. He also remembers losing, that match and the next half dozen they’d have over the next few years before Allen moved up some weight classes at the start of high school.

“He was a lot better than me back then,” Streeter said. “I would have to get to the finals just to wrestle him.”

Eric was glad that his final high school match and state championship win was against Allen.

He took his first shot with a single-leg takedown, which ended up in a waterfall scramble. That sequence is eerily similar to one from a video that Randy has from the two wrestling back in 2014.

This time around, Eric caught Allen flat and initiated a crossface. Allen tried to crawl up to pop his hips, but Eric put Allen in a cradle that looked like it might be the end of the match. The referee ended up calling a stoppage as Allen was bleeding from his nose.

“The official had to stop it, but I’m not sure that we’d have seen a second or third period had it not been stopped,” Randy said. “I’m not the official, but (Eric) had it pretty tight.”

When Eric returned to the coaches’ corner during the blood time, Randy had to settle his son down.

“He was pretty jacked,” Randy said. “I’m like, ‘Dude, you need to calm down a little bit.’ He’s never had Troy on his back.”

After seeing the literal blood on the mat and the proverbial blood in the water, Eric felt fully in control with a 6-0 lead.

“From there, it was just be smart, don’t get thrown to your back, don’t get turned or anything,” Eric said. “Just wrestling smart. Cautious.”

His coach was happy to see Eric follow through on that strategy.

“The end of the match wasn’t that pretty, but he knew how to manage it,” Randy said. “And with an injury like that, you do what you can to get through the match, especially with that cushion.”

Randy said that of all the state champions he's coached in his 10 years as an assistant at Lawrence High and three years at Free State, this one stood out as a special moment watching his son win it.

“On a personal level, it was very rewarding,” Randy said. “That was quite a match-up.”

For Eric, he's never known anything different than having his dad in his corner for those big moments on the mat.

"He's been coaching me forever, so him in my corner, it's just a natural thing," Eric said. "But it's pretty awesome. He told me I did a good job and it was a good way to end my high school career."
 

Marcum, who finished 48-0 to win his second straight state title, said he was more happy for Eric than he was for himself.

“I really wanted him to win because I think he's been wrestling for 14 years and I've been wrestling for 12, 13 years,” Marcum said. “I'm just really happy he was able to get that. Now we've both got titles and then our good friend Nolan (Bradley) also got one last year, so that was perfect.”

Marcum was also happy Eric beat Allen after recalling some less than fruitful outcomes for himself against Allen back in the day.

“I used to be the same way as Eric," Marcum said. "We all wrestled each other. I wrestled Eric, he wrestled me, I wrestled Troy, he wrestled me and vice versa.

"Troy ended up always winning. It's nice, Eric got to get revenge for us.”

For Marcum, there was no revenge necessary on his path to a state title as he defeated every challenger in his way this season. Still Marcum said he did have some pre-match jitters.

“I was pretty nervous heading into my final match, but I just realized if I wrestled like myself, how I've been doing all year, then I'll win the match,” Marcum said. “That’s what I did and I got it done.”

Marcum looked like the nerves left him by match time, producing a 7-1 decision win over Olathe Northwest senior Lucas Conover in the finals.

Randy said he’s not surprised by the finish, although he’s been pleasantly surprised with the way Marcum transformed over his final two years of high school.

Marcum went 6-10 during his freshman year, followed by a 17-8 sophomore season, ending with no wins at state after Olathe South's Blake Jouret beat him in the quarterfinals to knock him to the backside of the bracket.

By the start of his junior year, Marcum had done a complete 180°.

“It was just a complete flip,” Randy said. “His body flipped, obviously. But his mind flipped in a huge way. He doesn’t think anybody can beat him at anything. Nothing. ‘You can’t beat me at practice. You can’t be me.’

“He’ll tell you that the kids on the Free State High School basketball team can’t beat him in basketball. He’s that guy, and just watching it all come together for him has been an incredible thing.”

Randy said that Marcum went from getting tossed around his first couple of years wrestling to becoming the one doing the tossing. That includes when he beat Jouret of Olathe South in the state final last year, ending Jouret’s nearly two-year undefeated streak.

“Then he rolls everybody this year,” Randy said. “It was pretty special to see him finish up that way.”

The one thing missing was fellow senior Nolan Bradley winning another state title. Bradley settled for third place after meeting eventual state champion Easton Broxterman of Washburn Rural in the semifinals.

“There hasn’t been anyone who has worked harder than Nolan in the wrestling room,” Randy said. “You saw on the mat, Broxterman is a different level. We were hoping that we could get on the same side as (Junction City’s) Witt and end up in the finals.”

Randy said that Bradley was still satisfied with his career, becoming the first Firebird to place at state four times.

“He’s obviously had an unbelievable career,” Randy said.

Marcum said he was proud of Bradley for the way he handled his semifinals loss.

“Losing on the front half of the bracket and then coming back to find your way through the back half, it tells you a lot about somebody,” Marcum said. “They don’t give up, keep pushing through and taking one for the team.

“There’s nothing bad with third place. Some really good wrestlers can’t even take third, so I’m really proud of him.”

Marcum said he enjoyed finishing out his high school career alongside Bradley and Streeter.

“I'm really happy for us all, it is really well deserved,” Marcum said. “We each work hard in practice more than anybody else does, and I think it’s about time we’ve all won one. We peaked at the right moment.”

KLEYSTEUBER WINS STATE TITLE AS BUFFS’ TEAM TITLES HOPES ARE DASHED

Although Garden City junior Sebastien Lopez (285) and senior Alan Chairez (190) had to settle for second-place finishes that matched the team’s final place in the team standings, one Buffalo did walk away with a state title.

Senior Colin Kleysteuber battled through an injured-plagued high school wrestling career to finish his last match with a state championship victory, earning a 6-2 decision over Olathe North junior Jacob Vasquez in the 165-pound state final.

“It feels pretty good, the hard work paid off,” Kleysteuber said. “I’ve been dreaming about this day for a long time.”

Kleysteuber missed out on state as sophomore when the Covid-19 altered postseason had a sub-state pitstop between regionals and state. With only the top four advancing, Kleysteuber took fifth as he got pinned in the final 10 seconds of his last match.

As a junior, Kleysteuber advanced to the regional final only for his foot to break during the match. The Regional runner-up tried to compete at state, but failed to place as he went 1-2.

This year, Kleysteuber had a couple scares when he tweaked his knee and hyperextended his elbow at one point, but otherwise avoided any injury setbacks this season. He won his regional championship heading into state.

Kleysteuber dominated his way through the 165 bracket as he went pin, 18-3 tech fall and 11-1 major decision to secure his place in the state final. 

Kleysteuber said Vasquez surprised him with the quick takedown, but the match turned right after that.

“I think I was just getting warmed up and got those little jitters out of the way,” he said.

Kleysteuber kept overcoming Vasquez's shots and turning them into points for himself on the way to the 6-2 decision. 

Kleysteuber said he got a little emotional after the (almost) storybook ending.

“I kind of teared up,” he said. “I’ve been wrestling for a long time and that was my last match, last time taking off my shoes. But it’s been a good run and it’s a good way to end it. … Well, I wanted a team state championship, but you can’t get everything, so I’ll be happy with this.”

 

 

MILL VALLEY, MANHATTAN FINISH STRONG WITH 2 STATE CHAMPS EACH, BUT JAGUARS TAKE HOME 3RD-PLACE TEAM TROPHY

With Derby and Garden City well ahead of the field, it became a battle for third place for all the other teams.

By the time finals rolled around, it was Mill Valley and Manhattan jockeying for the final team trophy.

Manhattan’s finals duo took care of business, but Mill Valley matched them to hold on for the three-point advantage to take third.

Juniors Dillon Cooper and Collin McAlister won state championships for the Jaguars while senior Eddie Hughart settled for second-place in a match that ceded Manhattan one of their individual state titles.

Cooper picked up three pins to earn his spot in the 132-pound state final. There he matched up with Braden Tatum, a Derby senior who already had two state finalist experiences under his belt. Tatum was once again turned away from a state title as Cooper earned an 8-2 decision.

Cooper finished his junior season with a 48-3 record. 

Collin McAlister earned two pinfall victories to reach the semifinals, where he defeated Kaden Garvalena of Dodge City by 4-0 decision.

McAllister matched up with a reigning state champion, Derby senior Tate Rusher. Both wrestlers remained tied in the latter stages of the match, only for McAlister to secure a reversal in the finals seconds to earn a 5-3 decision.

McAlister and Cooper both credited Mill Valley head coach Joey Lazor with their development into state champions. Lazor, an All-American for the University of Northern Iowa and an Olympian, took over as head coach this season after previously serving as an assistant coach for the Jaguars.

“It’s great having a coach who can go like that on the mat,” Cooper said. “He’s been where I want to be.”

The Jaguars duo also pointed to the benefit of having each other as training partners.

“Me and Dylan have been training together since we were in seventh grade and we’ve been really close, all of us on the team have,”
McAlister said. “When he won, it got me ready for my match and got me going, got me pumped up.

“He played a huge part in my championship and I did in his as well, so it felt great.”
 

Manhattan’s duo had a similar response, albeit still a little disappointing in missing out on the team hardware.

Junior Jameal Agnew hopes his victory over Hughart would give his team enough to close the gap.

“It was kinda irritating and disappointing because there were a lot of points that were to be had if it weren't for certain situations,” Agnew said.

But his state championship finish at 132, along with freshman teammate Caeleb Hutchinson bringing home the gold at 106, helped Agnew feel a little better about the team result.

“It feels so good,” Agnew said. “I've wanted to become a state champion since I could remember. I started when I was four.

“Everybody wants to be a state champion, I finally became one.”

In his finals match, both wrestlers started out slow until Agnew turned things up in the second period.

“I was on go from there,” Agnew said. “I got my first takedown and then it was just more after that. I got the takedown and then back points, which was super clutch. I definitely needed that.”

Agnew said getting those back points to stretch out his lead was a turning point in the match.

“After that, he really didn’t want no smoke,” Agnew said. “He wasn’t trying to step in the middle with me. I controlled the match and then at the end got my final take down. Then It just kicked in, I’m a state champ.”

In addition to Agnew, Caeleb Hutchinson won the state title at 106. Hutchinson picked up a pin and a 16-1 tech fall to advance to the semifinals where he outlasted Derby’s Jayden Grijalva for a 4-2 decision win. Hutchinson found a little more breathing room in the finals, pulling out to a 5-0 lead that he held through to the finish.

Hutchinson had already defeated Pacheco in the regional final, building up a double-digit lead in points before ultimately securing the pin in the closing seconds of the second period. 

This time Hutchinson worked a little slower, earning just one penalty point in the first period before pushing the pace in the second period. Hutchinson started that period with an escape, followed by a quick takedown. He took a couple more shots late, but mostly just maintained the distance he had already created.

“I knew he was going to be going for cradles and throws, just big moves to try and put the match away,” Hutchinson said. “But I needed to go out there and just wrestle smart, finishing my shots quicker and moving on bottom.”

Even with his impressive performance as freshman, Hutchinson still feels like he had a couple of matches this season that he wished had gone better.

Hutchinson will look to clean up just few areas of his wrestling game as he looks to lead his team to its ultimate goal, coming back next year to win a state title as a team after narrowly missing out on a team trophy this season.

“We had a few matches that we should have won, which kind of set us back,” Hutchinson said. “But we'll make sure to come back. We're still going to have a pretty young team, so we can just continue to grow on that.”
 

WASHBURN RURAL DUO PUSH EACH OTHER TO STATE TITLES

Washburn Rural finished outside the top five in the team race for the first time since 2017, but the Junior Blues still had a lot to celebrate.

Easton Broxterman avenged his state finals loss from a season ago. In a rematch with Junction City junior Ezekiel Witt, Broxterman controlled the action throughout to earn a 12-4 major decision. 

“It’s nice to not get second,” Broxterman said. “Last year sucked real bad. It felt good to right a wrong from last year.”

To reach the final, Broxterman picked up a 15-0 tech fall and a pin to reach the semifinals, where he faced another reigning state champion. Broxterman earned a 10-0 major decision against Lawrence Free State’s Nolan Bradley, who won the 113-pound state title last season.

“It’s definitely nice to show everyone that I’ve been putting in the work and last year really motivated me and it made me a whole lot better,” Broxterman said.

Broxterman credited his great support system, including his family, coaches and training partner in freshman Landen Kocher-Munoz. Broxterman was happy to see Kocher-Munoz avoid the pitfall he faced as a freshman last year and join him as a state champion.

After a pin in his opening match at state, Kocher-Munoz had a couple tough challenges on his path to the finals. He held off Kasen Smith of Gardner-Edgerton with a 6-4 decision in the quarterfinals. Things got even closer in the semifinals when Kocher-Munoz needed to pull off an 8-6 sudden victory. 

Kocher-Munoz had much less trouble in the finals, quickly pulling away from Olathe East sophomore Aiden Stuart for the 11-4 decision.

“Unlike yesterday,” Kocher-Munoz said. “I wasn’t really sticking to my stuff, but today I felt confident on my feet, took him down early in the first.”

Kocher-Munoz said he rode his top game to the victory, along with just being smart at the end to not give up any back points or leave an opportunity to possibly be pinned.

“It feels good, all the hard work paid off,” Kocher-Munoz said. “I’m happy to be here a champion with my teammate and practice partner.”

But both individual state champs still have their eyes on getting Washburn Rural back into the thick of the team title hunt next year.

“We got everyone that came to state this year coming back,” Broxterman said. “We didn't have any seniors and I know a lot of the teams that beat us had a lot of seniors like Derby, for instance.”

Kocher-Munoz agreed, maybe with an even bigger goal attached.

“Yeah, definitely hunting that team trophy next year,” Kocher-Munoz said. “Our whole team we brought here to state, none of them are seniors. They're all coming back. They're all gonna make the podium, all gonna get first in my opinion. So we're just waiting until next year.”
 

DODGE CITY’S BARKER DEDICATES 3RD STATE TITLE TO LATE FRIEND, TEAMMATE MENDEZ

Luke Barker made it look all too easy this year, even if it was far from it for the Dodge City senior.

Barker racked up point after point across his three state matches this year leading into his fourth appearance in the state finals.

He earned two tech falls before a pinfall over Olathe North’s Vance Provost in the semifinals.

Then Barker took control early in his final high school wrestling match on his way to a 20-4 tech fall, securing his third state title. 

He may have worked his way through matches like an android programmed to secure points, pins and podium finishes, but Barker got emotional following his championship victory.

Barker dedicated this state championship to Damian Mendez, his former teammate who died last summer.

“I truly feel that he was here with me tonight,” Barker said. “I know we all knew what he was capable of and how far he would’ve gone. So I’m proud that I got to spend the memories and the moments with him that I did.”

Barker’s path to winning three state titles with a sophomore-year state runner-up finish mirrors that of Mendez. Barker even finished with a 45-0 record to finish his career with a perfect mark the way Mendez did. If not for a single loss for Barker last year, he would have duplicated the back-to-back perfect seasons.

The symmetry was close enough for Barker.

“It was amazing, it was a dream come true,” Barker said.

Barker said it was difficult to continue wrestling at all after losing Mendez. He actually stepped away from wrestling for a brief period before this season.

“I was going through a lot of emotional things this year, including his loss last year,” Barker said. “But the time I took away from wrestling really allowed me to set new goals when I came back into it.”

His rejuvenated outlook helped Barker appreciate his final high school wrestling season that much more.

“All the hard work and dedication behind the scenes, it all goes into it,” Barker said. “It feels amazing to get to share that with the people around me and I’m so blessed for that.”
 

LIBERAL’S JUAREZ FLEXES HIS STRENGTH IN DOMINANT RUN TO 190 STATE TITLE

Liberal senior Trystian Juarez came up one win shy of a state championship last year. This year, he powered his way through the entire tournament, pinning each of his opponents to secure the Class 6A 190-pound state title.

Juarez said it felt amazing to have such a dominating performance in his final trip to state.

“I feel like I’m on top of the world,” Juarez said.

Juarez said that his state runner-up finish last year pushed him to work even harder over the summer to change that result this year.

Once he got himself a spot in the finals this year, Juarez said his nerves started to kick in a bit. But by the time he stepped onto the mat, a switch flipped for him.

“I felt confident and all that nervousness just went away,” Juarez said.

Juarez said he felt confident that he could get a shot to work on Garden City senior Alan Chairez based on how their previous matches have gone.

“I just had to make sure to not to rush anything and set all that stuff up,” Juarez said. “As soon as the match started, I wanted to set it up. I got an ankle pick and started titling a little bit.”

Juarez almost had a pin in the first period, but Chairez avoided it with a roll to his stomach. Without the quick finish, Juarez altered his strategy in the second period to focus on expanding his lead. He decided to start down and was able to escape, pushing the score to 7-0.

“As soon as we were back on our feet, I took him down again where he landed on his back and I caught him from there,” Juarez said.

His pin of Chairez at the 4:29 mark made that his longest match of the tournament. Juarez pinned his first two opponents in a combined 1 minute, 27 seconds before needing three and half minutes to pin Olathe Northwest’s Trystan Duckworth in the semifinals.

Juarez said it was his goal from the beginning to pin his way to the state title.

“That was the plan, to go in there and dominate,” Juarez said.

Juarez said some of the other wrestlers in his weight class ended up complimenting him on how well he dictated the action through the tournament.

“It just felt good for my opponents to tell me that I was dominating and to know you pinned the last four at state.”

Another area where Juarez dominated was with his post-match celebrations. Even before the finals, Juarez displayed a magnetic presence when he’d secure a pin and fire back up to his feet for multiple poses and flexes toward the crowd.

Despite already showing a knack for the celebrations, Juarez said he did not really have a thorough plan for what he would do if, or when, he won in the finals.

“Before the match we were just talking and I'd make jokes about throwing my coach, things like that,” Juarez said. 

Juarez said he generally goes for the bicep flex when he’s amped up after a match, but he remembered there was one part of the celebration he had to do.

“After the win, I just remember my mom telling me to point at her (in the crowd),” Juarez said.

He followed up the required point by blowing a kiss to his mom, to thank her for supporting him in wrestling and in life.

“I would always tell my parents I was going to be a state champion one day,” Juarez said.

Juarez said he’d put this state title as one of the greatest moments of his life, a few notches above when his 12-and-under baseball team, the Liberal Rattlers, reached the Cal Ripken World Series in 2017.

Juarez knows that he wants to major in nursing, but is still undecided on which school and which sport he will play. His heart is leaning toward wrestling.

“I have to say wrestling,” Juarez said. “I just have more control of what ends up happening at the end.”