2025-26 BOYS WRESTLING PREVIEW
 

CLASS 6A
 
2024-25 State champion: Manhattan
 
2024-25 State runner-up: Garden City
 
2024-25 Season review: It took some work on the final day of the season, but Manhattan coupled a strong team performance in the consolation rounds with Caeleb Hutchinson’s third individual state championship to become back-to-back Class 6A team champions. Hutchinson capped a 46-1 season with the 132-pound title, and Brecken Crist-Funk (144 pounds) and Landon Dobson (215) added runner-up finishes as the Indians, who sat 29 points out of the lead after the state tournament’s opening day, rallied to win with 189 points, 13 ahead of second-place Garden City. All 12 Manhattan qualifiers scored in the tournament, and seven of the nine who wrestled on the backside won Day 2 matches. Garden City went 2-2 in the championship round, with Braydon Pacheco winning at 113 and David Holguin taking the 215-pound title. Washburn Rural used a pin in the final by 157-pound champion Kristjan Marshall to slip past Maize by one point for third. The Junior Blues also got individual titles from Landen Kocher-Munoz (138), who won state for the second time in three years, and Easton Broxterman (144), who closed his career as a three-time champion. Maize matched Rural’s trio of champions with Cooper Smith (106), Antonio Guebara (120) and Everett Joyce (190) all winning. Olathe North completed the top five in the team race behind four runner-up finishers.
 
2025-26 Contenders: Led by senior and three-time state champion Caeleb Hutchinson, Manhattan returns six state qualifiers from a team that won the Indians’ sixth Class 6A title and went back-to-back for the first time. Hutchinson, No. 1 in the Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association’s preseason rankings at 150, will try to become Manhattan’s first four-time state winner after claiming titles at 106, 120 and 132. The Indians will start the season with eight other ranked wrestlers, including 165-pound senior Brecken Crist-Funk, last year’s runner-up at 144. Manhattan will open the season No. 2 in the 6A rankings behind Maize, which took fourth a year ago. New coach Tyler Gonzales has five wrestlers ranked at the top of their respective weight classes, including returning champions Cooper Smith, No. 1 at 113 after winning at 106, reigning 120-pound champ Antonio Guebara at 126, and junior Everett Joyce, who tops the list at 190 after finishing 34-1 as a sophomore. Top-ranked Zachary Siatka (106) and Vincent Rosas (138) were runners-up in different weight classes last season. The Eagles will also start No. 1 in the KWCA’s all-class rankings. Washburn Rural opens the season ranked third in 6A after finishing there at state last March. The Junior Blues graduated three-time champion Easton Broxterman and two-time 157-pound winner Kristjan Marshall. But senior Landen Kocher-Munoz is back for a run at a third state title after winning at 138 last season. He’ll start the season No. 1 at 144, while sophomore Kaiden Marshall tops the KWCA preseason list at 215. Seniors Blake Samuelson (157) and Ashton Keith (175) are ranked No. 1 in their respective classes for Olathe North. Both were among a group of four Eagles who reached the finals last season and finished second. Shawnee Mission Northwest graduated unbeaten 175-pound champion Adam Hageman, but the Cougars return senior Steven Brown, who took fourth at 285. Senior Traimyre Woodruff (175) and junior Kole Johnson (157) are ranked in the top three of their respective classes. Junior Pace Plankenhorn, preseason No. 1 at 120, is back for Garden City, which graduated individual champs Braydon Pacheco and David Holguin, and a runner-up in Matthew Long. The Buffaloes start with three ranked wrestlers in 6A after finishing second last season at state. Blue Valley West returns last year’s unbeaten 126-pound champion Henry White, who won 34 of his 49 matches by pin. White opens the season No. 1 at 132 for the Jaguars, who were 11^th at state last season. Sophomore Zack Olsen is also coming off a big debut season, finishing fourth at 106. Derby tied for seventh at state with 285-pound champion Milan Colvin leading the way. Colvin graduated, but Alejandro Dieguez returns after finishing third at 106 as a freshman. Free State graduated three of its four state placers from a sixth-place team. The Firebirds return senior Zane Shaw, who is ranked third at 190 after taking fifth in the division last March. Olathe South returns an individual champion in senior Jovani Caudill, who won 51 matches last season, the last of which gave him the 6A 165-pound title.
 

CLASS 5A
 
2024-25 State champion: Goddard
 
2024-25 State runner-up: Bishop Carroll
 
2024-25 Season review: Perennial power Goddard put a unique twist on its 10^th Class 5A team championship in 11 years, sending all nine state qualifiers to the medal stand. The group ranged from 157-pound champion Jacob Goodwin, who won his third individual state title, to fellow senior Eastyn Vieyra, who took sixth at 165 after finishing seventh a week earlier at the Newton regional. The Lions, who finished second to Bishop Carroll at regionals, reversed the outcome at state, finishing with 173 points. Preston Hagel started a parade of Goddard individual champions at 215, followed by Oscar Gauna (106), two-time state champ Jayden Grijalva (113) and Goodwin, who made it 4 for 4 for the Lions in the championship round. Carroll, led by senior Brady Duling’s title at 150, had six state placers and finished with 118 points. The Golden Eagles avoided a logjam for third between Basehor-Linwood and Blue Valley Southwest, which tied at 116. Trevor Christenson won at 120 pounds for his second state title and Cael Puderbaugh added 132-pound gold for Basehor-Linwood, while Southwest’s titles came in the upper weights from Tad Forsyth (175) and Benjamin Thaw (285). Salina Central took fifth on the strength of Cooper Reves’ second individual state title – this time at 190 – and Abram Owings’ victory at 165.
 
2025-26 Contenders: While discounting Goddard in the Class 5A title chase is a fool’s errand most years, the Lions will have some massive holes to fill in their quest for a third consecutive crown and 11^th in 12 seasons. Three-time individual champion Jacob Goodwin and Jayden Grijalva, a 6A champ at Derby who finished his career with a 5A 113-pound title for the Lions, have graduated. So has Preston Hagel, who won at 215. Of Goddard’s 2025 title-winning quartet, only junior Oscar Gauna is back and will start the season No. 1 at 113 after going 45-1 at 106. Senior Harrison Glover will test the waters at 132 after finishing third at 126. Senior Kolton McElwain (150) and junior Kaston McElwain (120) open the season in the top three of their respective classes. The lower weight classes likely hold the key to success for Basehor-Linwood, which resumes the chase for its first state title after finishing third last season. Junior Trevor Christenson is preseason No. 1 at 132 after winning 5A titles at 106 as a freshman and 120 as a sophomore. Another Bobcat, Cael Puderbaugh, won the title last season at 132 and starts No. 1 at 138. Senior Eric Veilhauer, the state runner-up at 113, tops the KWCA preseason list at 126. Bishop Carroll graduated a state champion in Brady Duling, but the Golden Eagles return junior Connor Landers, who was third at 132. He’s one of six ranked 5A wrestlers for Carroll, which finished second at state after winning the Newton regional. Lansing put three wrestlers in the 5A championship round last season and two return. Junior Caden Garcia defeated a past state champion in Valley Center’s Braxton Moody on his way to a second-place finish at 120, while junior Noah Mathis took an unbeaten record all the way to the state final, where he lost to Goddard’s Hagel at 215. Blue Valley Southwest enters the season with three ranked wrestlers in 5A, all at No. 1. Seniors Tad Forsyth and Ben Traw are coming off championship seasons at 175 and 285 respectively, while sophomore Vince Maturo nabbed the top spot at 106 after finishing second to Goddard’s Gauna in his state debut. Juniors Max Harris and Cruz Cannon are back after solid 2024-25 seasons for Hutchinson. Harris, who took third at 157, opens the season No. 1 at 165. Cannon reached the 113-pound semifinals and finished fifth last season. Football duties will delay the start of wrestling practice for Salina Central’s returning individual champions Abram Owings and Cooper Reves. Owings earned a sudden-victory state title at 165 last March, while Reves, a standout running back for the Mustangs, took the 190-pound title for his second state crown. Maize South returns the brotherly duo of Josh and Max Kerr. Josh, wrestling in his second state final, won the 138-pound title last season while Max took second at 144 to St. Thomas Aquinas standout Kaden Allen. The Kerrs were ranked No. 1 at 144 and 150 respectively in the KWCA’s first preseason rankings. Arkansas City figures to be strong in the lower weights with sophomore Teague Munson (ranked No. 2 at 106), sophomore Zackry Mosier (No. 1 at 120) and senior Kolby Quint (No. 2 at 126). Mosier and Munson each took third in their state debuts, while Quint was fifth at 126. Newton graduated a standout in two-time champion Lucas Kaufman, but returns state placers in junior Noah Vela, sophomore Wade Stubbs and junior Cason Horton. Despite dropping from second as a sophomore to fifth last season at 285, Stephen Carroll will have a chance to contend for a title for St. Thomas Aquinas. Carroll, a KSHSAA Covered Top 11 pick at lineman last season, is No. 2 in the 5A preseason heavyweight rankings.
 

CLASS 4A
 
2024-25 State champion: Rose Hill
 
2024-25 State runner-up: Paola
 
2024-25 Season review: After capturing an elusive state team championship for the first time in 2024, Rose Hill showed it had incredible staying power with an impressive title defense. The Rockets set a Class 4A tournament scoring record with 215.5 points, producing four individual champions and 11 medalists. All 12 Rose Hill qualifiers won their opening matches to set the tone. Despite a couple semifinal upsets, the Rockets sent six to the championship round, with senior Johnny Leck leading off and winning the 144-pound title for his third career championship. Samson Whitted (106) and Damon Ingram (150) repeated as a state champions, and Thunder Page added a title at 157 in his state debut for the Rockets. A good battle for the runner-up spot went to Paola, which pushed in front of Andale with Bryson Rockers’ title at 126 and Brock Johnson winning his third state final in as many tries to claim the crown at 138. That gave the Panthers 142.5 points. Andale’s 137.5 total was anchored by titles from Ethan Eck (165), Isaiah Wilson (190) and Judd Eck (120). Abilene finished fourth and had one champion, Noah Wuthnow, who capped his freshman season with a victory at 132. Fort Scott had a pair of state runners-up in Trace Metcalf (150) and Brody Gomez (165) and finished fifth.
 
2025-26 Contenders: After a two-year run atop Class 4A, Rose Hill still has good firepower with sophomore Thunder Page returning as the 157-pound champion and senior Sebastian Bentley, a runner-up at 126 last March, starting the season No. 1 at 138. The Rockets also return state placers Tucker Saferite and Leven Jones. But any team would be challenged to overcome the graduation losses of three-time champion Johnny Leck, two-time champ Damon Ingram, who went undefeated last season, and grinder Samson Whitted, who patiently waited for his varsity spot and turned it into two straight 4A titles at 106 pounds. If the Rockets fall from their 4A perch, it could be at the hands of Paola, which won its only state title 25 seasons ago in 5A. The Panthers will open the season with seven ranked wrestlers, including reigning 126-pound champion Bryson Rockers and junior Brock Johnson, who punctuated a 45-0 season with the 138-pound title, his second state crown. Senior Trace Metcalf (150), a Fort Scott transfer, and sophomore Bodhi Shay (165) were also No. 1 in the preseason rankings. Abilene will open the season No. 2 behind Paola in the KWCA’s 4A rankings. The Cowboys, who took fourth last March, had six state medalists, including 132-pound champion Noah Wuthnow, who won 38 matches in an impressive freshman season. Sophomore Keyen Taplin (106) and senior Pierce Casteel (190) join Wuthnow as preseason No. 1s for Abilene. Andale finished third at state last season, and opens the season with that ranking. The Indians return a pair of individual champions in senior Ethan Eck and sophomore Judd Eck. Sophomore Luke Martin, last season’s 106 runner-up, is ranked No. 1 at 113. All four of Tonganoxie’s state placers return, including senior Brady Martin, who finished second at 157. Sophomore Rowdy Starcher was ranked No. 2 at 106 in the preseason. After thrilling state-title match victories at 113 each of the last two seasons, Colby senior Ryder Dempewolf opens the season No. 1 at 120. Dempewolf helped the Eagles finish eighth at state.  Junior Mason Obanion returns for Columbus after finishing second last season to Pratt’s unbeaten Taye Wilson at 175. Santa Fe Trail has a pair of lower-weight contenders in sophomore Tanner Bolt (113) and senior Tanner Sleichter (120). Both are ranked No. 2 in their respective classes. Smoky Valley senior Parker Gardner finished 33-2 last season and won the 215-pound title. He returns ranked No. 1 in 4A at that weight. Augusta graduated an unbeaten champion at 285 in Willy Jon Morales, but junior Brayden Luinstra was second at 120 and was ranked preseason No. 1 at 126. With Morales gone, Jefferson West senior Osiris Unruh becomes a favorite in the heavyweight division. Unruh lost an ultimate tiebreaker to the Oriole in the 4A championship match last season and finished 36-1.

 

 
CLASS 3-2-1A
 
2024-25 State champion: Hoxie
 
2024-25 State runner-up: Norton
 
2024-25 Season review: The transition to a new head coach produced familiar results for Hoxie, which won its fifth consecutive Class 3-2-1A championship to complete former assistant Ryan Etherton’s first season at the helm. Half of the Indians’ eight state placers won individual titles to match Hoxie’s 2024 state gold-medal haul, including senior Sam Watkins, who capped a 42-1 season with a 25-second pin in the final to defend his 190-pound title. Hoxie’s other state champions – Etson Moreno (150), Duncan Bell (165) and Easton Nickelson (175) – won close decisions in the championship round to help the Indians finish with 192 points, 46 ahead of second-place Norton. Kaleb Keiswetter (106) and Derek Clydesdale (126) produced individual titles for the Bluejays, runners-up for the third straight year. Blake Buresh’s title at 157 boosted Phillipsburg to a third-place finish with 106 points. Buresh took a 4-1 sudden victory in the final from Easton Schletzbaum, one of two individual runners-up along with Max Bottorff (165) for Atchison County, which finished fourth. After winning its first regional team title in 21 years, Russell claimed a spot in the top five at state and produced 113-pound champion Xzephren Donner.
 
2025-26 Contenders: Much like Goddard in Class 5A and Rose Hill in 4A, Hoxie moves on after saying goodbye to a talented, successful group of seniors. The Indians graduated all four of their 2025 individual champions – Etson Moreno, Duncan Bell, Easton Nickelson and Sam Watkins. There will be motivation for returnees like senior Ian Giancola, a two-time state champion who finished second at 120 last season. Junior Chase Meyer was third at 132 and sophomore Bradyn Wilson was fourth at 113. All are ranked in the preseason along with junior Matt Bretz at 215. A familiar foe poses a threat to Hoxie’s bid for six straight titles as Norton, second-place finishers each of the last three years, returns state champions in junior Kaleb Keiswetter, a two-time winner at 106, and senior Derek Clydesdale, who took the title at 126. Senior Jatin Weigel, a third-place finisher at 138, gives the Bluejays a third preseason, top-ranked wrestler in 3-2-1A. Not only is Norton ranked ahead of Hoxie in the KWCA’s preseason rankings, but so is Atchison County. The Tigers, fourth at state last season, graduated three-time runner-up Easton Schletzbaum. But senior Max Bottorff is back after finishing second to Hoxie’s Bell at 165 last March. Bottorff opens the season ranked No. 1 at 165. Regional champion Caney Valley has six wrestlers in the 3-2-1A rankings, including sophomore Austin Freisberg (165), Radyn Martin (190) and Boone White (215), all No. 3 in their respective classes. Southeast of Saline has two of the top wrestlers in all classes in sophomore Roman Tuttle, who spoiled Giancola’s three-peat bid and won the 120-pound title with a 43-1 record, and senior Brody Chambers, a football standout who won a thrilling 285-pound final against Smith Center’s Karson Montgomery last season. Both are back and ranked Nos. 1 and 2 in 3-2-1A. Montgomery’s teammates, senior Parker Hutchinson (157) and sophomore Dominick Kattenberg (215), are also ranked No. 2 in their respective classes.  Ellsworth features a strong senior duo in Micah Galvan (175) and Keegan Urbanek (190). Galvan was fifth in his weight class last winter, while Urbanek finished second to Hoxie’s Watkins. Both Bearcats are ranked No. 1 in 3-2-1A. Russell produced its first boys wrestling champion since 1969 last season when Xzephren Donner won the 113-pound title. Donner, a senior, heads the preseason rankings at 113 while his brother, Xzander, a sophomore, is No. 3 at 106. Another set of brothers are coming off big seasons for West Franklin. Senior Logan Courtois finished 45-0 to win the 144-pound title, while junior Chase Courtois took third at 113. Jayhawk-Linn returns three state placers, including 106-pound finalist Landon Higgins, who went 35-2 after a loss to Norton’s Keiswetter. Beloit’s Brogan Monty enters his senior season with a chance to join the state’s elite list of four-time champions after winning the 3-2-1A title last season at 132 pounds. Monty went 41-0 as a freshman to win the 106-pound title, then followed with the 113-pound crown as a sophomore.  His top challenger, 2025 runner-up Axton Vice of Bluestem, also returns. Lyons junior Jace Grizzle (150), Phillipsburg senior Blake Buresh (157) and Douglass junior Carter Green (215) were all No. 1 in the KWCA’s initial preseason rankings. Grizzle was second to Hoxie’s Moreno last season, while Buresh helped the Panthers take third in the team race with his first state title. Green, a junior, capped a 39-1 season with a victory in the 215 final over Council Grove’s Ace Monihen.