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Wichita — Tanner McCleary hopped to his feet, looked to his coaches and then to the referee.

What was the call? McCleary had no idea.

He thought he’d pinned Marcus Tapia of Winfield, but he wasn’t sure. In wrestling’s equivalent of a photo finish, McCleary wasn’t sure if the pin had been awarded before the buzzer sounded on what was to be the first of two 30-second overtimes.

BSHS wrestling coach Dan Burns wasn’t sure of the outcome, either.

“I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t see the hand come up,” Burns said. “I just heard the whistle, and I looked at the clock and saw there’s one second, and he squeezed enough (to get the pin). When they get them on their back, I’m always yelling ‘squeeze him, squeeze him.’ If you get them on their back, finish them. A lot of people have problems doing that. If you finish it and squeeze them, you don’t have to worry about the next period.”

Finally, McCleary got the answer he wanted. He didn’t have to worry about another overtime period. He beat the clock. He had won. The Bonner Springs senior wrestler was the third-place medalist at 285 pounds at the Class 5A state tournament.

He let out a giant fist pump and ran to hug Burns. One of the biggest Cinderella stories in BSHS wrestling history was complete.

McCleary never wrestled prior to his sophomore year of high school, and here he was, a state medalist.

“He came from nowhere,” Burns said, his voice growing soft. “He worked his butt off, and it’s paid off for him. The guy’s on top of the world right now.”

When Burns said “nowhere,” he wasn’t kidding. McCleary said he didn’t win a single match as a sophomore.

He didn’t grow discouraged, however. Instead, he worked harder and missed going to state as a junior by one point.

The near miss added fuel to McCleary’s fire. He went to weights during the offseason, worked out in the wrestling room, ran in his spare time and also played football for BSHS.

He had one goal as a senior: earn that extra point and go to state.

McCleary was a force throughout his senior season. He won Kaw Valley League and Class 5A regional championships. He earned a state ranking for the last month of the season. He rolled into state with momentum on his side.

Still, he found out quickly on Friday that state would be no cakewalk. He needed overtime to earn a 6-4 decision against Dakota Smith of Hays in the first round. He pinned Isaiah Bowers of Shawnee Heights in the second round and advanced to the state semifinals.

After a tough battle with Tony Marquez of Bishop Carroll, McCleary lost a 3-2 decision, narrowly missing a shot at a state championship.

McCleary wasn’t discouraged by the loss. He returned Saturday to face two more overtime matches. First, he needed extra time before putting away Michael Starnes of Andover Central, 7-2. That propelled him into the consolation championship match where he ultimately pinned Tapia in overtime.

“Everything that I’ve been learning over the past three years I put into these two days,” McCleary said. “I was just trying everything I knew.”

Later Saturday , McCleary participated in the Parade of Champions and accepted his medal.

“Going from not winning a single match my sophomore year, to missing state by a point, to missing nationals by a point, it’s just great,” McCleary said of his whirlwind wrestling career. “It was good improvement.”

Burns said he saw all sorts of maturity in McCleary that came along with his commitment to wrestling.

“He’s a great example of what a human being can do if you put your mind to something,” Burns said. “It’s high school wrestling, but I’ll tell you what, he’s changing himself, and he’s pulling himself into a man, too.”

One of McCleary’s top supporters at state also brought home a state medal. Sophomore 112-pounder Caleb Seaton finished fourth at state for the second year in a row.

Seaton said he was happy to medal, but he had hoped for more. He lost to Tim Prescott of McPherson in the semifinals in overtime, 5-3.

“I’m a little disappointed in how it came out, but it doesn’t matter. I’ve still got two more years,” he said.

Seaton was impressive throughout the tournament. He pinned Pablo Llamas of Newton in the first round and then earned an 11-7 decision against Logan Arhnold of Hays to advance to the semifinals where he lost to Prescott.

Seaton returned Saturday and pinned Brock Stewart of Hutchinson before falling to Adrian Salas of Liberal, 9-4.

Burns said Seaton wrestled better Saturday than Friday, and he said that was particularly impressive after a difficult loss in the semifinals.

“It’s hard to bounce back. I don’t’ think people understand how tough it is to be that close to the state finals. It’s crushing,” Burns said. “And I tell you what, he handed it extremely well. He handled it with class. He does things the way you want them to.”

BSHS had five other wrestlers advance to state and return home without a medal. Junior 125-pounder Brooks Ballou and sophomore 152-pounder Brian Callahan went 1-2 at state. Junior 140-pounder Ryan Demato, senior 145-pounder Adam Shirley and senior 171-pounder Anthony Ellingsworth went 0-2.

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