The senior class of wrestlers for the Jefferson City Jays has left its mark on the program.
The group has been a key component to three straight district team championships as well as putting together a winning streak of 42 consecutive regular-season duals.
One thing missing from its resume? A team trophy at the Class 4 state tournament. The Jays look to take care of that starting today at Mizzou Arena.
"These seniors had a good group help them when they started and they've done the same thing with the group that has come behind them," Jays coach Phil Cagle said. "The tradition of Jays wrestling means something to them."
The group certainly has the talent to bring home some hardware.
"We hope this is the year," Cagle said. "That's the goal, we want to finish strong."
Three-time defending champion Park Hill and Holt figure to be in the team title mix.
"Park Hill is just a solid program and Holt could have as many as six kids in the finals," Cagle said. "It's going to be a tough challenge for any one to win it."
Cagle believes Jefferson City's first-round matches are as challenging a group as he has seen the team face at state.
"We have some difficult matchups, we know that," he said. "But we think the guys we're facing have some pretty tough ones as well.
"It's never easy, but it's a good lesson. There's always something standing in your way, trying to trip you up and you have to be prepared to work hard to get past that."
That's why today's opening round, which begins at 5 p.m., will play a pivotal role in Jefferson City's trophy hopes.
"We just have to go into the tournament giving it everything we've got right from the start," Cagle said.
III
The Jays advanced 11 wrestlers out of last weekend's district tournament.
Five Jays - Tanner Irwin at 132 pounds, Jacob Brune at 160, Logan Moriarity at 170, Rashaun Woods at 182 and Jalen Martin at 195 - captured individual district titles for the Jays. Irwin, Brune, Moriarity and Martin are all seniors, while Woods is a junior.
• Martin enters the tournament undefeated at 42-0 and ranked No. 1 all season in his weight class.
Pressure? What pressure?
"Those things might bother some kids, but not Jalen," Cagle said. "He's the type of athlete that enjoys that."
Martin, who finished second at 195 last season, opens against Caden Crase (33-14), a freshman from Seckman.
"Jalen knows what it takes to get to the championship match," Cagle said.
• Moriarity is bidding to become just the third wrestler in program history to medal four times at state, joining Austin Hile (2005-09) and Cole Baumgartner (2009-12). Moriarity, who is third in Jays history with 176 career victories, was fourth at 120 as a freshman and third at 145 as a sophomore and at 160 as a junior.
"Logan has been the model of consistency for his four years," Cagle said.
Moriarity (42-3), ranked No. 2, opens against John Joe Sanchez (25-17), a junior from North Kansas City.
• Brune is a three-time qualifier, having finished fifth at 132 as a sophomore and advancing at 145 last season.
"Jacob is a steady, quality wrestler," Cagle said.
Brune (40-8), ranked No. 3 at 160, opens against Vez Jordan (19-18), a senior from McCluer North.
• Irwin is back at the state tournament at 132 for the second straight season.
"Tanner has worked very hard the past couple of years to become the wrestler he's turned into," Cagle said.
Irwin (42-5), ranked No. 5, will start against Carter Goslee (25-23), a freshman from Park Hill.
• Woods, who was sixth at 182 last year, returns at that weight this season.
Despite winning the district title, Woods has one of the tougher opening-round draws for Jefferson City. He faces Trey Storey (48-5), a senior from Blue Springs South.
Storey, who was second in the state at 182 last season, injury-defaulted in his third-place match at districts to fall into the fourth spot.
"We know (Storey) is very good, but we're not quite sure what's going to happen there with the injury," Cagle said. "It's pretty rare for two returning medalists to meet in the first round."
Woods and Storey did not meet at state last year.
Four Jays - Peter Kuster at 120, Christian Mayberry at 126, Gavin DeWitt at 145 and Dennis Barnes at 152 - finished second in their respective weights at districts.
• Kuster, a sophomore who qualified for state at 113 last year, is ranked No. 4. Kuster (39-6) opens against Klayton Anderson (29-9), a sophomore from Battle.
"I know Peter was disappointed he didn't win districts, but there are bigger goals ahead of him," Cagle said.
• Mayberry, a junior, was fourth at 126 last season and was a state qualifier at the weight as a freshman.
Ranked No. 7, Mayberry (37-9) opens with Jordan Carson (38-15), a senior from Lafayette.
"Christian knows what it takes to be a state medalist," Cagle said.
• DeWitt, a senior, was third at 126 last year and third at 113 as a sophomore when he wrestled at Ozark High School.
DeWitt, ranked No. 5, will face Eric White (12-5), a senior from Liberty North, in the opening round.
"Gavin has fit in very well with the team," Cagle said. "He's really embraced what this program is all about."
• Barnes, a junior, is a three-time qualifier for state as well. He advanced at 106 as a freshman and 132 in 2015.
"Dennis has done everything we've asked of him this season," Cagle said.
Barnes (29-15) will face Ben Stahlman (44-8), a senior from Northwest: Cedar Hill. Stahlman was fifth at 138 last season.
Tekoah Sage and Zach Hurley round out Jefferson City's qualifiers. Sage was third at districts at 220, while Hurley finished fourth at 138.
• Sage, a senior, has wrestled up at 220 this season.
"Tekoah has been giving up a lot of weight in his matches all season, but he's kept battling and done a great job," Cagle said.
Sage (29-9) will open against Derek White (31-10), a senior from C.B.C. White is ranked No. 3.
• Hurley, a senior, pens against Sam Hampton (11-2), a senior from Blue Springs South who was sixth at 132 last season. Hampton is ranked No. 4 this season.
"I'm so happy for Zach to make it to state, he's worked hard this season to make it to state," Cagle said.
The 11 qualifiers are tied for the second-most in school history, trailing the 1997 state championship team's total of 12. That also was the last time Jefferson City received a team trophy at state.
Action begins at 5 p.m. today with opening round and first-round wrestleback matches. The tournament continues Friday and Saturday.