EudoraNews.com

The Eudora High wrestling squad had to stay until the very last match of the Class 4A state wrestling tournament Saturday at the Wichita Coliseum, but no one complained.

Senior heavyweight Robert Collins took the gold medal and led his team to a 10th place finish. Junior Brian Harris finished fourth, while Brett Becker, another junior, finished fifth.

Eudora took eight grapplers to the state tourney. Here is a look at how each fared in Wichita:

o Brian Harris, junior,

130 pounds, fourth place

Harris battled back from an ear injury that sidelined him for three tournaments to make his third trip to the state tournament.

"It was discouraging, I wanted to practice," Harris said. "I ran out of gas at regionals but worked real hard the next week."

He won his first two matches at state before dropping into the consolation bracket.

It was in his next match that he came through with his biggest win of the year a 4-2 victory over Steven Kern of Wamego that guaranteed the fourth-place finish. He was then edged 3-2 in the consolation finals.

o Brett Becker, junior,

140 pounds, fifth place

Becker recorded three pins in Wichita to his school single-season record of 27. He finished the season with an impressive record of 33-5.

On the season, he took five tourney championships including regionals, and finished second once and third once. As a sophomore, Becker was 28-11 and won two matches at the state tournament.

"It's a lot easier the second time," he said. "I was nervous last year but this time it was just another tournament except you get to see the best in the state and go against them."

o Craig Harris, senior, 145 pounds

He claimed two victories at state, but came up short of the medal rounds. Ended his high school wrestling career with an impressive 26-7 record this year.

o Aaron Rose, senior, 171 pounds

Rose began wrestling as a freshman at EHS and lettered all four years. He made his first trip to state this year and drew the eventual winner from Augusta in the opening round. He came close in his second match, but was knocked out of competition with a 3-1 loss that dropped his season record to 28-12.

o Josh Abel, senior, 112 pounds

The newphew of the coach has been around wrestling all his life.

"I enjoyed it as a kid and I knew my dad would like it," Abel said. "State was a great experience and I'm real proud of our team."

He also drew the eventual champ in the opening round and then lost his second match to finish the season at 19-19.

o Dustin Crowe, junior, 119 pounds

Crowe finished first in four tournaments this season, including league and regionals. In his third trip to the state tournament, Crowe lost his only two matches, but finished the season at 26-6.

o Jason Lister, sophomore, 215 pounds

Lister earned his first trip to Wichita with a third-place finish at regionals. He was the only sophomore in his weight class at the state tourney. He lost his only two matches, but finished the year at 24-12.