Today's semifinals of the Class 4 District 3 Wrestling Tournament will look a lot like a Jefferson City home dual.
"Yeah, a dual against an all-star team," Jays coach Phil Cagle said Friday after 11 Jefferson City wrestlers advanced with quarterfinal wins at Fleming Fieldhouse.
"We've got a bunch of guys who have some battles ahead of them."
Jefferson City, which had nine byes in the first round Friday, leads the team standings with 64 points. Raymore-Peculiar is second with 54, with Lee's Summit West (52.5), Lee's Summit North (38.5) and Waynesville (35) rounding out the top five in the 14-team event.
The 11 Jays are one win away today from clinching a spot in next week's Class 4 state tournament at Mizzou Arena.
"We've put ourselves in a good position," Cagle said. "But we know we have a tough day ahead of us (today)."
Going 2-0 for the Jays on Friday were Peter Kuster at 113 pounds with two first-period falls, Tanner Irwin at 138 with two decisions, and Logan Moriarity with a win by fall and a win by technical fall.
Six other Jays also picked up bonus points in their wins Friday. Jacob Brune at 145, Jalen Martin at 195, Ian Coil at 220 and Logan Coil at 285 all won by fall. Corbin Howard won by technical fall at 120, while Christian Mayberry won a major decision at 126.
"We've had great practices this week, working hard on our fundamentals," Cagle said. "We really didn't get into many bad positions tonight."
The other two Jays to win in the quarterfinals were Dennis Barnes at 132 and Rashaun Woods at 182.
Barnes, a state qualifier at 106 last year, started this season at 120. But with teammates moving down in the lineup, Barnes moved into the lineup at 132 and was a 7-3 winner Friday.
"I really want to see a kid like that, a kid who has done so much for the team, make it to state," Cagle said.
Woods led his quarterfinal 4-1 after one period and 6-3 after two. But the match was tied at 6 with :12 left before Woods was awarded a takedown at the edge of the mat to get an 8-6 victory.
"That's the best match I've seen him wrestle this year," Cagle said. "He had the presence of mind to reach out with his other hand to get those two points."
It was a district day to remember for the Jays.
"To get that many in the semifinals, I don't remember a day like this at districts," Cagle said.
Falling by decision in the quarterfinals for the Jays were Zach Hurley at 152 and Tekoah Sage at 170.
"They both wrestled hard and still have a chance to make it," Cagle said. "They know what they have to do, just take it one match at a time."
Action resumes at 10 a.m. today with the second round of wrestlebacks. The semifinals should start around 11:30 a.m. The third-place and championship matches will begin around 4:30 p.m.
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