Free State High School senior Matthew Marcum has earned a national championship title, becoming the first Lawrence wrestler to do so, according to his coach.
Three Firebirds traveled to Virginia Beach to compete in the National High School Coaches Association Nationals this weekend.
“Marcum DOMINATED his championship finals match on Sunday afternoon at the Virginia Beach Events Center, routing 3X North Carolina state champion Caleb Beaty by a score of 6-2,” Coach Randy Streeter wrote in a post on the team website. “At no time during the match was Marcum in any danger of falling behind.”
This victory is the icing on the cake for Marcum, who in February earned his second straight state title.
Marcum’s fellow state champion, senior Eric Streeter, “dropped a tough decision to his opponent from Indiana in the round of 64” on Friday, the coach wrote. Sophomore Grayson Hagen lost 7-1 in the opening round, but had recorded two wins in overtime as of Saturday morning, the coach wrote.
Marcum “finished a perfect 6-0 on the weekend, bringing his senior record to a flawless 54-0,” the coach wrote.
Marcum wrestled in the 220-pound weight class. Lawrence High wrestler Alan Clothier made it to the NHSCA semifinals in 2013, but Marcum is the city’s first champion, the coach wrote.
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