Wrestling: Helias falls to three tough opponents

At Missouri Duals

Helias' Nick Feely battles Grain Valley's Parker McBride in the 182-pound match in the second round of Friday's Missouri Duals at Helias.
Helias' Nick Feely battles Grain Valley's Parker McBride in the 182-pound match in the second round of Friday's Missouri Duals at Helias.

It was a test inside a test.

The Helias Crusaders knew they would have their hands full this weekend in the Missouri Duals at Rackers Fieldhouse. So why not face your potentially toughest opponent first?

"My plan was to get what I consider to be the toughest one out of the way and see how we bounce back," Helias wrestling coach Jacob Wadley said. "This is just like life, you're going to take your lumps and you need to learn how to recover. If you don't, you're going to carry that over to everything you do in life."

Helias dropped an 81-0 decision to Neosho to open the event.

"We knew what we were going up against," Wadley said.

The final margin was elevated due to the fact the Crusaders had four opens in their lineup.

"We're dealing with a lot of injuries and sickness and we had a wrestler lose a family member," Wadley said. "We're dealing with a lot of stuff internally and we're missing a pretty good chunk of our lineup right now."

Helias then squared off against Grain Valley. The Crusaders didn't allow the opening dual to carry over, falling 45-36. Helias wrapped up Friday's action by dropping a 60-17 decision to Waynesville.

"It's all about responding after going through a rough spell," Wadley said. "We have a great group of tight-knit guys who would do anything for each other."

Wrestlers picking up wins on the night for the Crusaders included Zach Carr at 113 pounds, Nick Gaines at 126, Cole Hazelhorst at 152, Logan Distler at 160, Mason Field at 195 and Justin Prenger at 285.

Helias is in sixth place in the Blue Division after the first day with 53 points. Neosho leads with 156, with Waynesville second among the seven division teams with 130 and Grain Valley third with 117.

The Duals will resume at 9 a.m. today with four Division rounds, followed by a trophy round against teams from the Gold Division.

"I look forward to winning a couple of duals even though we're giving up those points," Wadley said. "We're still adapting and changing our lineup."

Helias has a bye in the opening round this morning before meeting Kirkwood, Rock Bridge and Oakville.

See also:

Wrestling: Missouri Duals results

Wrestling: Jays pick up two wins