He could barely stand. The Goddard wrestler still became two-time state champion
Kolton McElwain had done it before.
Two years ago, the Goddard senior proved he could become a state champion while wrestling through a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. So when pain shot through his left ankle in the Class 5A state tournament quarterfinals this past Saturday at Heartland Credit Union Arena, McElwain didn’t panic.
He made a decision.
If he could win a state title with one arm, he believed he could win another one on one leg.
That mindset carried McElwain through the most painful match of his career — and to the top of the podium once again. McElwain capped a 33-10 senior season by winning the 5A state championship in the 157-pound division with a 12-9 decision over Kapaun Mt. Carmel junior Eli Koster in Saturday’s final.
“I knew I could still do it if I wanted it bad enough,” McElwain said. “I just had to suck it up and get out there and do what I do.”
That has become the defining trait of McElwain’s storied career: talent, yes, but also a willingness to wrestle through pain.
McElwain opened his state tournament run with a second-period pin, then suffered the ankle injury during an 11-3 major decision over Bishop Carroll’s Campbell Denton in the quarterfinals. He said he could hardly put weight on it and had to adjust his approach for the rest of the tournament.
It still wasn’t enough to derail him.
“You’ve got to be pretty tough to wrestle through a completely torn UCL in your elbow,” Goddard coach Brett Means said. “So yeah, he knows how to wrestle through the pain.”
McElwain followed with another second-period pin, this one over Maize South junior Gavin Axtell in the semifinals, to set up a championship showdown with Koster. By then, the ankle was a real problem. The day after the tournament, McElwain was in a walking boot and learned from doctors that he had torn ligaments and tendons that will take months to heal.
But on Saturday night, none of that mattered to him.
“The way I saw it, the state title was mine the second that I walked into the arena, and everybody in the whole place knew it,” McElwain said. “They knew I was coming and no one was going to stop me. And if they thought they had a chance after I hurt my ankle, then I just wanted to let them know, ‘No, you didn’t. I’m still coming to take it.’”
In the final, McElwain consulted with the Goddard wrestling coaches to prepare a strategy. They talked about wrestling more conservatively because of the ankle, letting Koster come to him, limiting risk and managing the match. McElwain said he agreed with the strategy — until the whistle blew.
“Then I stepped on the mat and I was like, ‘Screw that,’” McElwain said. “’I’m going to take it. I want it, so I’m going to go take it.’”
That’s exactly what he did.
McElwain came out on the attack and scored three straight takedowns to build a commanding 9-1 lead, seizing control of the match with the same aggressive style he had used all season. Koster, to his credit, didn’t go away. He rallied with a reversal, then added another reversal in the third period and a takedown to cut the deficit to 11-9 and make the closing seconds tense.
But McElwain still had enough left in the tank. He scored an escape with 17 seconds remaining, pushed the lead back to three points and wrestled out the clock to secure his second career state title.
There were moments during the final where McElwain felt like the pain was threatening to overwhelm him. Then, during a brief stoppage, he heard Goddard assistant coach Doug Hoover yelling at him from the corner.
“This is as bad as it’s going to hurt,” Hoover yelled. “If you can take it right now, then you can take it the rest of the match.”
McElwain said the words flipped a switch.
“So I was like, ‘All right, let’s go,’” McElwain said. “‘We’re going to finish this thing.’”
The title was more than just another championship medal to McElwain. It was validation.
As a sophomore, he won the 5A state title at 126 pounds while wrestling the entire season with a torn UCL in his elbow, an injury serious enough that he had surgery the day after the state tournament. He spent most of 2025 rehabbing, then wrestled his junior season in a brace and with practice limitations.
He placed fifth at 132 at last year’s 5A state tournament, a result that felt disappointing after already reaching the top of the podium.
Means believes the physical recovery was only part of that challenge.
“I’m not sure he ever fully trusted the injury had fully healed,” the coach said. “Sometimes it takes a while for you to mentally get over the injury. I think wrestling with that brace his junior year definitely hindered his performance.”
So once postseason arrived for his senior season, McElwain wrestled like he had something to prove.
“I felt like I had some eyes on me, saying I was a fluke when I won,” McElwain said. “So now coming out and winning two times, it’s really set in stone and now everyone knows I’m one of the top guys in Kansas and I’m where I’m supposed to be.”
That confidence helped give Goddard a bright spot in a weekend that ended with the Lions just short of another team championship. Goddard entered having won 10 of the previous 11 state titles in 5A, but settled for runner-up with 131 points to champion Basehor-Linwood with 169.5 points.
Still, McElwain’s run stood as a reminder of the kind of wrestler Goddard so routinely builds: skilled, relentless and, most of all, tough. McElwain and teammate Oscar Gauna became the 16th and 17th multi-time state champions in program history.
He’ll spend the coming months in a walking boot, waiting for the injuries to heal. But ask McElwain whether the pain was worth and there’s no hesitation.
He has the answer — and another state title — to prove it.
Here are the other Wichita-area state champions from the 5A boys wrestling state tournament:
Goddard’s Oscar Gauna wins second straight 5A state title
Goddard junior Oscar Gauna capped a standout 31-2 season with the 5A state title at 113 pounds, finishing off Salina South sophomore Heero Franco with a second-period pin in the finals. Gauna’s run was dominant from start to finish: a 51-second pin, a 17-2 technical fall in the first period, an 80-second pin over Blue Valley Southwest junior Caden Magdefrau in the semifinals, then a pin in under four minutes in the championship match while leading Franco 22-8.
It was Gauna’s second straight 5A state title after winning at 106 pounds last season and the third straight year he reached the state finals after finishing runner-up as a freshman in 2024.
“Oscar basically pinned his way through regionals and pinned his way through the state tournament,” Means said. “He’s a special wrestler. He’s definitely blessed athletically with speed and quickness, but he’s also listened to everything we’ve asked of him and because of that, he’s gotten a lot better.”
Bishop Carroll’s Parker Landers claims first 5A title
Carroll freshman Parker Landers put the finishing touch on a dominant debut season by winning the Class 5A state title at 106 pounds, closing at 37-3 overall.
Landers needed only three matches and less than seven total minutes of mat time to claim his first championship, using a string of pins to power through the bracket. He pinned Pittsburg freshman Brodie Spencer in the semifinals, then finished off Hutchinson sophomore Dion Brown with a second-period pin in the title match.
Newton’s Wade Stubbs prevails for first 5A championship
Newton sophomore Wade Stubbs finished a 33-4 season with a 5A state championship at 120 pounds, beating Maize South senior Gavin Munoz 12-9 in a dramatic final. Stubbs reached the title match with two first-period pins and a 15-3 major decision over Basehor-Linwood’s Grant Taylor in the semifinals.
In the championship bout, Stubbs and Munoz traded takedowns early, and after Stubbs built a lead with a reversal and nearfall in the second period, Munoz battled back to tie it 9-9 early in the third. Stubbs delivered the deciding takedown with five seconds left to secure the title. After placing third at 113 pounds in Class 5A last season, Stubbs took the next step with a state championship this year.
Arkansas City’s Zackry Mosier wins first 5A title
Arkansas City sophomore Zackry Mosier capped a 38-8 season with the 5A state title at 126 pounds, beating Hutchinson junior Cruz Cannon 12-4 by major decision in the finals.
Mosier put together one of the bracket’s most impressive runs, starting with an 8-0 major decision over Goddard senior Harrison Glover in the quarterfinals, then a 10-1 major over Basehor-Linwood senior Eric Vielhauer — the top-ranked wrestler entering state and 5A East regional champion — in the semifinals. He finished with a third straight major in the title match, pulling away from Cannon with two takedowns and a nearfall in the third period.
After losses to Cannon at regionals and at Newton’s Tournament of Champions, Mosier flipped the trilogy in the biggest match. A year after placing third at 120 in Class 5A, Mosier rose to the top of the podium.
Other Wichita-area Class 5A boys wrestling state medalists
Andover: Dresden Beard, so., 47-3, 175, second.
Arkansas City: Zackry Mosier, so., 38-8, 126, first.
Bishop Carroll: Parker Landers, fr., 37-3, 106, first; Connor Landers, jr., 30-4, 138, third; Campbell Denton, sr., 30-8, 157, fifth; Jackson Hermann, jr., 30-12, 126, fifth; Turner Gilman, sr., 24-8, 190, sixth.
Goddard: Kolton McElwain, sr., 33-10, 157, first; Oscar Gauna, jr., 31-2, 113, first; Nick Miller, sr., 37-16, 138, second; Matthew Martinez, fr., 23-11, 132, second; Harrison Glover, sr., 25-6, 126, third; Thomas Walter, fr., 35-20, 150, fourth.
Hutchinson: Cruz Cannon, jr., 49-4, 126, second; Dion Brown, so., 29-7, 106, second; Max Harris, jr., 49-8, 175, third; Jackson Anderson, sr., 46-10, 190, fourth; James Hill, so., 44-12, 215, fifth.
Kapaun Mt. Carmel: Eli Koster, jr., 36-9, 157, second; Adrian Monaco, jr., 37-3, 165, second; Bennet Lerch, jr., 34-14, 144, fourth.
Maize South: Joshua Kerr, jr., 52-0, 144, first; Gavin Munoz, sr., 40-13, 120, second; Maxwell Kerr, jr., 21-3, 150, second; Canon Husen, so., 35-12, 113, third; Gavin Axtell, jr., 24-19, 157, sixth.
Newton: Wade Stubbs, so., 33-4, 120, first; Exavier Torres, so., 33-14, 132, third; Noah Vela, sr., 33-18, 106, fourth; Nikko Hinojos, so., 43-14, 165, fourth; Emrik Torres, sr., 40-17, 190, fifth.
This story was originally published March 3, 2026 at 6:03 AM.
.jpg)