SALINA, Kan. – McPherson High School Boys & Girls Wrestling closed the 2025-26 season at the State Wrestling Championships in Salina Feb. 27-28, seeing Carter Leathers and Dylan Hall finish the season as medalists.
Leathers built off of a Regional Championship performance to finish 3rd in State in the 285 class. The Bullpup sophomore started Friday strong with a pair of wins, both by fall in 0:30 and 1:48, respectively. The wins punched his ticket to the Semifinals, where he fell to the eventual State Champion Osiris Unruh of Jefferson West. Leathers did not lose another match for the rest of the tournament, winning the Consolation Semifinal (F 4:10) to move on to the Third Place match, where he won (F 1:35) to finish on the podium.
Hall finished 5th in the 215 Class. He had a dominant first round, winning via TF (20-2). The win moved him to the quarterfinals, but he fell to the eventual third-place finisher, Gunner Carey of Augusta, which put him in the Consolation 3rd Round. Hall would win that match on an 8-4 decision, guaranteeing him a medal. Hall fell in the Consolation Semifinal, but turned it around to win the 5th-Place match (F 3:12).
Madison Burkes also participated in the State Championships in the 120 Class, but finished 1-2. Noah Garcia went 0-2 in the 113 Class. Overall, the Boys placed 15th with 39 total points. Tonganoxie won the 4A Title, followed by Rose Hill, Andale, Abilene, and Paola in 2nd-5th, respectively.
Four girls wrestlers represented the program at the state tournament. Amara Dossett (125) won her opening-round match before dropping her next two bouts. Heidi Fairchild (170) rebounded from a first-round loss with a victory in her second match, but her run ended in the consolation third round. Lily Vance (110) and Kara McQueen (115) each went 0-2 in the tournament.
Despite the early exits, the experience gained could pay dividends next season. McQueen qualified for state as a freshman, while Dossett, Fairchild, and Vance are juniors who will enter their senior campaigns next year with valuable state tournament experience.
The McPherson Girls finished 46th in the 4A Championships. Wellsville won the title, just barely ahead of runners-up Colby and third-place Abilene.
