COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Jefferson City Jays entered Friday with four wrestlers still alive in the Class 4 state tournament.
The four will leave the tournament tonight with medals around their necks.
Corbin Howard at 120 pounds, Jacob Brune at 132, Logan Moriarity at 145 and Jalen Martin at 170 all advanced to the fourth round of wrestlebacks in action Friday at Mizzou Arena.
Martin, who posted a 3-1 quarterfinal win against Alexander Carpenter of Park Hill South on Friday afternoon, took on Dustin Gray of Timberland in his semifinal.
Gray, a junior who was second at 160 last season, used a pair of takedowns and a set of near fall points to take a 6-1 lead after the period on his way to an 11-2 major decision.
Martin (45-3) will face Jackson McCord of Jackson in the fourth round of wrestlebacks.
The other three Jays dropped their quarterfinal matches, but came back to win in the wrestlebacks.
Howard, who lost by fall to Devan Richter of Timberland, answered with a 5-4 victory against Mike Brown of Holt and a 7-4 win against Timothy Bogar of Lafayette: Wildwood.
Howard (41-7) will face Isaiha Johnson of Waynesville in his first match this morning.
Brune fell by decision to Luke Weiland of Seckman in the quarterfinals. The sophomore then defeated Benjamin Stahlman of Northwest: Cedar Hill (10-4) and John Spires of Timberland (5-0) to advance.
Brune (45-6) will take on Quinn Smith of Rock Bridge in the wrestlebacks.
Moriarity lost 4-0 in the quarterfinals to two-time defending state champion Brock Wingbermuehle of Seckman. The sophomore beat Dylan Rush of Jackson by a 5-2 score before picking up an escape in the final :15 in a 1-0 victory agianst Adam Bogar of Lafayette: Wildwood.
Moriarity (42-4), who was fourth at 120 last year, will meet Carson McCord of Jackson in the wrestlebacks.
Jefferson City is tied for 15th in the team standings with Francis Howell with 29.5 points. Park Hill leads at 108, with Rock Bridge second at 105 at Timberland third at 101.
Wrestlebacks start at 10 a.m, with the third- and fifth-place matches set for noon. The four Jays will receive their medals during the finals, which start at 4:30 p.m.
Follow @tjrackers on Twitter for updates during state wrestling matches.