Kansas high school state boys wrestling: Goddard’s four champions spur team title
A spark was lit last weekend when the Goddard boys wrestling team finished second place to Bishop Carroll at the Class 5A West regional tournament.
That was all of the motivation needed for the state tournament, as the Lions rampaged their way to a 10th championship in the last 11 years on Saturday at Park City Arena. All 15 of Goddard’s titles have come in the last 20 years.
All nine state qualifiers ended up on the podium and all four finalists finished off dominant runs to a title, which propelled Goddard to 173 team points — easily clearing the field of Carroll (118), Basehor-Linwood (116) and Blue Valley Southwest (116).
“We knew if everybody did their job, we would win,” Goddard coach Brett Means said. “We knew the state tournament would be a little different, so last week wasn’t a wake-up call, but it kind of was. It lit a fire under our guys and helped them do what they did this week. If you would have told me all nine guys would place last week, I would have told you that you were a nut.”
While the depth certainly helped, Goddard’s repeat title was powered by its four individual champions: sophomore Oscar Gauna (106 pounds), senior Jayden Grijalva (113), senior Jacob Goodwin (157) and senior Preston Hagel (215).
The foursome combined for 12 pins, two technical falls and one major decision on the weekend to rack up 116 points on their own, which was only two points fewer than Carroll’s 13 qualifiers scored as a team.
“The thing about those four is that they don’t just win, they get pins,” said Means of his four champions who combined for a 177-11 record this season. “So they’re getting you almost an extra 32 points every tournament and that’s hard to overcome. It’s basically like we have a couple more guys placing.”
The most accomplished champion was Goodwin, who joined Goddard’s 3-timer club with his third straight gold medal with a 12-3 major decision over Lansing’s Noah Mathis to end his illustrious career. He also won the 150 title last year and 144 title in 2023.
No one was more dominant than Hagel, who needed less than two minutes (1:51) of mat time to reach the finals and then scored a 12-3 major decision over Lansing’s Noah Mathis to win his first title.
Meanwhile, the arrival of Grijalva, a reigning 6A champion last year at Derby, helped Gauna become a first-time champion. Gauna was runner-up last year, but notched a 31-second pin over Blue Valley Southwest’s Vince Maturo in the 106 finals and Grijalva won his second straight title with a 6-1 decision over Basehor-Linwood’s Eric Vielhauer in the 113 finals.
“Jayden helped raise Oscar to another level and Oscar helped raise him to another level,” Means said. “They both had awesome seasons. Great kids, hard workers.”
Goddard’s other state medalists included junior Harrison Glover (126, third), junior Kolton McElwain (132, fifth), senior Eastyn Vieyra (165, sixth), junior Nick Miller (138, sixth) and sophomore Kaston McElwain (120, sixth).
Maize South’s Kerr and Newton’s Kaufman other area 5A winners
Motivated by a loss in last year’s final, Maize South sophomore Josh Kerr completed a dominant 47-2 season with a 17-2 technical fall over Salina Central’s Julian Glover in the 138 final to win his first state title.
Josh’s twin brother, Max, also reached a final and was the silver medalist at 144.
“(Josh) knew he lost to a really good opponent last year, but he also kind of saw, ‘Hey, this is what I want to do,’” said Maize South coach Matt Kerr, Joshua’s father. “All year long, he didn’t just want to win, he wanted to be offensive and keep scoring. His best position was on his feet, so he was just going to keep going until the match was over.”
In a rematch of last year’s 120 final, Newton senior Lucas Kaufman exacted some revenge in a 12-1 major decision over Valley Center senior Aiden Shields. Kaufman (46-1) reached the finals four straight years and finished his career as a 2-time champion (also won 113 in 2022).
Other medalists for Newton included freshman Wade Stubbs (113, third), senior Nate Barron (150, fourth), junior Noah Vela (106, sixth) and sophomore Cason Horton (190, sixth).
Other individual medalists at the 5A tournament included Andover senior Luke Potter (132, second), senior Tate Hutchinson (215, fourth), senior Logan Warkentine (175, fifth), freshman Dresden Beard (165, fifth), senior Tristan Ring (157, sixth) and sophomore John Goodman (113, sixth); Andover Central senior Dawson Rodd (285, second); Arkansas City freshman Teague Munson (106, third), freshman Zackry Mosier (120, third), senior Cameron Bruce (144, fourth), junior Kolby Quint (126, fifth) and senior Owen McAnulty (175, sixth); Goddard Eisenhower junior Malachi Rothenberger (144, fifth); Hutchinson senior Kade Smith (165, third), sophomore Max Harris (157, third) and sophomore Cruz Cannon (113, fifth); Kapaun Mt. Carmel senior Romiz Monaco (144, third); and Valley Center senior Braxton Moody (120, fourth), senior Steel Schomaker (190, fourth), junior Cooper Boone (144, sixth) and junior Beau Young (285, sixth).
Maize features three state champions at 6A state meet
A trio of first-time state champions from Maize highlighted the 6A competition from the area, as sophomore Cooper Smith (106), freshman Antonio Guebara (120) and sophomore Everett Joyce (190) all won their respective titles.
Smith (41-8) scored a takedown and reversal in a 6-4 decision over Garden City’s Pace Plankenhorn in the final. Guebara (26-3) won a rematch against Garden City’s top-ranked Matt Long in the 120 final; a near fall buoyed him to an 8-5 decision. Meanwhile, Joyce (34-1) completed a rampage to his first 190 title after finishing runner-up last season with a 14-2 major decision over Gardner Edgerton’s Ty Hammers in the final.
Maize finished with 168.5 team points, just one point out of third place and less than 21 points off champion Manhattan. Other medalists for the Eagles included junior Zach Siatka (113, second), sophomore Vincent Rosas (132, second), junior Talon Verbeck (138, third), sophomore Tucker Verbeck (126, sixth) and senior Braden Salsbury (165, sixth).
The other 6A individual champion from the area was Derby senior Milan Colvin, who won his first state title at heavyweight and capped a 19-0 season with an 8-6 decision in the final over Mill Valley’s Lamarcus Barber. Other Derby medalists included freshman Alejandro Dieguez (106, third), senior Liam Coultis (138, fourth) and senior Zach Thomas (157, fourth).
The City League featured several medalists in East senior Damarie Martin (113, fourth) and sophomore Donald Jackson (150, sixth); Heights junior Jonovan Wyatt (144, fifth); North junior Thomas Shields (113, sixth); Northwest sophomore Phillip Bowers (150, fifth); and West senior Mencali En (190, fourth).
Douglass sophomore becomes first-time champion at 3-1A meet
After finishing runner-up at 190 last season at the 3-1A tournament, Douglass sophomore Carter Green completed a dominant 39-1 season by climbing to the top of the podium after a 7-0 decision in the 215 final over Council Grove’s Ace Monihen.
Other individual medalists in Hays included Bluestem sophomore Axton Vice (132, second); Garden Plain freshman Nate Eck (106, fourth); Haven senior Jacob Moore (126, third) and junior Tanner Loughrie (132, sixth); and Kingman senior Collin Schreiner (190, fifth).
This story was originally published March 2, 2025 at 10:19 AM.
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