In Andale, the last name Eck means wrestling titles. Ethan just added another
In Andale, the last name Eck carries history.
In a town that knows its sports and remembers its champions, it carries a certain kind of weight.
So when Andale senior Ethan Eck walked onto the mat the Class 4A state wrestling tournament in Salina this past Saturday, he wasn’t just chasing another title. He was adding to one of the most decorated legacies of an extended family in Kansas high school wrestling.
And he did it the way he did just about everything this season: quickly, ruthlessly and without fanfare.
Eck pinned Abilene junior Cael Casteel in 79 seconds in the 175-pound championship match at Tony’s Pizza Events Center to win his second straight 4A state title, finishing a dominant 47-1 season and becoming just the ninth multi-time champion in Andale history. He won the 165-pound title a year ago.
“The last name sticks out to a lot of people, so you do feel some pressure to keep it going,” Eck said. “You’ve got to make sure that it stays up there on the list.”
In the postseason, no one in 4A could keep up with him. Eck needed less than eight minutes of total mat time to pin his way through the brackets at regionals and state to defend his crown. His four state matches lasted 67 seconds, 59 seconds, 49 seconds and 79 seconds.
Not only was he machinelike on the mat, he was all business in how he carried himself.
After securing the pin in the final, there was no dramatic celebration. No two fingers pointed to the sky. No chest-thumping. He simply removed his leg band, shook his opponent’s hand, ran over to shake the opposing coach’s hand and shuffled off the mat like he had just finished another day at work.
“What I loved the most as a coach is that he won with 100% grace and class,” Andale coach Doug Eck said. “He’s had his butt handed to him plenty of times in his life, so he knows how to lose and he knows how to win.”
Ethan is the seventh Andale wrestler in program history with the last name Eck to win a state championship. In a small-town family tree, there’s a good chance he’s related — at least distantly — to all of them.
Asked how many state champions are in the extended family, Ethan laughed.
“Oh gosh, there’s a lot of them,” he said. “I’ll just say that it runs in the family.”
The most accomplished wrestling Eck in Andale history is Owen Eck, a four-time state champion who is now wrestling at Oklahoma, a standard of excellence that only adds to the family mythology in Andale.
And yes, Ethan’s head coach is family, too. Doug Eck is related to Eck — Ethan’s dad is first cousins with Doug.
But what makes Ethan different, and what made him so dangerous this season, is how little he lets that pressure speed him up.
He doesn’t wrestle like someone trying to prove he belongs. He wrestles like someone who has already accepted the burden and learned how to carry it.
“There’s pressure, but I’ve been wrestling for my whole life,” Eck said. “I just try to take things one match a time.”
Eck entered the tournament as the top-ranked 175-pound wrestler in Kansas and backed it up with overwhelming dominance. What makes that unusual, at least to his coach, is that he doesn’t necessarily look like the most physically imposing wrestler when he steps on the mat.
He’s tall and lanky and uses that to his advantage, even if it creates some momentary stress for his coach.
“If I had any hair, I’d be pulling it out because he gets himself into a lot of awkward positions,” Doug Eck said. “But he always finds a way to wrestle through them. There’s plenty of times where he’s walked out on the mat against a guy who looks more muscular, but they find out in a hurry that they aren’t going to out-muscle Ethan.”
Ethan’s work ethic shows up long before the whistle blows.
Doug said he used to pride himself on being the first one in the Andale wrestling room in the mornings. Not anymore. More often that not, Ethan is already there.
That shows up with his stamina on the mat.
“The kid has a gas tank,” Doug Eck said. “You can’t wear the guy out. And then he has frying pans for hands. If he gets a hold of you, you just ain’t getting out.”
Ethan’s title run also helped Andale stay in the hunt for the team crown and bring home another state trophy. Andale finished third in the 4A team standings with 134 points, right behind runner-up Rose Hill (137.5) and champion Tonganoxie (152) in a tight three-team race.
Andale also had another champion on top of the podium in sophomore Luke Martin, who completed a 39-9 season by winning the 113-pound title with a 16-8 major decision over Tonganoxie senior Brodie Starcher. Martin had finished runner-up at 106 a year ago, making his jump to champion another major boost for the team.
Still, Eck’s two-time claim was the highlight of the weekend for Andale.
And now, he has something new to bring to the next family gathering.
“It’s always fun when we get together,” Eck said. “It will be fun to tease everyone else that doesn’t have one in the family.”
Rose Hill’s Thunder Page wins second straight 4A wrestling title
Rose Hill sophomore Thunder Page capped a dominant 42-2 season with the Class 4A state championship at 157 pounds, defeating Tonganoxie senior Clayton Crookham by 20-4 technical fall in the final. Page overwhelmed the bracket all weekend. He pinned his first two opponents, then finished with back-to-back technical falls in the semifinals and championship match to claim his second straight state title to open his high school career.
Page also won the 157-pound Class 4A crown as a freshman last season. With the victory, Page became just the fourth wrestler in Rose Hill program history to win multiple state championships.
Smoky Valley’s Parker Gardner wins another 4A title
Smoky Valley senior Parker Gardner finished off another championship run by winning his second straight Class 4A state title at 215 pounds, edging Columbus sophomore Kash Smith in a 2-1 decision in the finals. A second-period reversal provided the winning points for Gardner, who swept through the 215-pound bracket to repeat as state champion after also winning the 4A title last season.
Gardner is now just the third boys wrestler in Smoky Valley program history to win a state championship and the second to become a two-time state champion.
Bluestem’s Axton Vice wins first 3-1A wrestling title
Bluestem junior Axton Vice capped a 44-2 season with a Class 3-1A state championship at 144 pounds, defeating West Franklin senior Logan Courtois 7-4 in the finals. Vice also had a tough test in the semifinals, where he needed an overtime takedown to outlast Norton senior Jatin Weigel before knocking off No. 1-ranked Courtois in the title match.
After finishing as state runner-up at 132 last season and taking fifth at 120 as a freshman, Vice broke through for his first state title. He is just the fifth boys wrestler in Bluestem program history to win a state championship and the first boys state champ since 1997.
Other Wichita-area wrestling state medalists
Class 4A
Andale: Ethan Eck, sr., 47-1, 175, first; Luke Martin, so., 39-9, 113, first; Tristen Cox, sr., 42-4, 150, second; Judd Eck, so., 42-7, 132, second; Levi Schmidt, fr., 42-9, 106, third.
Augusta: Brayden Luinstra, jr., 31-6, 126, second; Gunner Carey, sr., 42-5, 215, third.
Buhler: Sammy Hershberger, sr., 14-2, 138, third; Jacob Burklow, so., 26-10, 190, sixth.
Haven: Tanner Loughrie, sr., 41-5, 132, fifth.
McPherson: Carter Leathers, so., 32-9, 285, third; Dylan Hall, jr., 28-10, 215, fifth.
Mulvane: K.J. Schanz, sr., 35-11, 285, fifth.
Nickerson: Kristopher Monroe, sr., 45-4, 165, third.
Rose Hill: Thunder Page, so., 42-2, 157, first; James Bilby, jr., 36-10, 120, second; Cash McVay, jr., 32-14, 144, second; Remington Merlau, so., 20-3, 285, second; Sebastian Bentley, sr., 37-9, 132, third; Tucker Saferite, jr., 37-14, 126, fifth.
Smoky Valley: Parker Gardner, sr., 39-1, 215, first.
Winfield: Tommy Proctor, jr., 20-13, 106, fifth.
Class 3-1A
Bluestem: Axton Vice, jr., 44-2, 144, first; Karsen Garner, jr., 32-9, 106, sixth.
Garden Plain: Nate Eck, so., 39-6, 106, fifth.
This story was originally published March 3, 2026 at 5:03 AM.
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