Thad Metcalfe

There is no doubt that the 2020-21 wrestling season has been different than years past and with the new COVID protocols you had to truly be elite to be able to make punch your ticket to the state tournament which will feature just eight wrestlers in each weight class.

For Perry Lecompton’s Thad Metcalfe he persevered through the tough road and now finds himself at the state meet after a sub-state championship this past weekend at 160 pounds in Chanute with a 3-0 day.

Metcalfe opened his day as one of the top seeds and picked up a pin in his first match in 4:51 and then followed that up with a 17-9 major decision victory in the semifinals.

He then went up against a wrestler from Burlington who had a 31-6 record entering the tournament and after a tough battle Metcalfe racked up a 6-3 victory to claim the sub-state championship.

That puts him back at state for the first time since the 2019 season where he went 1-2 at 138 pounds before missing out on state a year ago.

Metcalfe now enters this year’s state meet with a 29-4 record and will face a wrestler from Colby who is 34-10 in Saturday’s first round with state set to be held at Salina beginning at 12-noon.