Coming off a tough two days at The Clash XIV in Rochester, Minn., Phil Cagle was a bit concerned.
The Jefferson City Jays were hosting the Rolla Bulldogs in a wrestling dual Wednesday night and he wasn't quite sure of how things would turn out.
"Rolla has wrestled really well this season, we were coming off a big tournament and we were going up in some weight classes," Cagle said. "You're always worried about things like that."
But the Jays eased the worries of their head coach, jumping out to a 34-0 lead on their way to a 50-16 victory against the Bulldogs at Fleming Fieldhouse.
"The kids wrestled really well," Cagle said.
The Jays had four wrestlers - Peter Kuster, Christian Mayberry, Tanner Irwin and Gavin DeWitt - move up in weight Wednesday.
"You're going to face stronger guys when you move up, it's just a fact," Cagle said. "But we want our kids to feel good until we need to get back down to weight."
The foursome finished 3-1, with Kuster dropping a 3-2 decision to Tristan Barr at 126 pounds. Barr was the Class 3 runner-up in the state tournament at 126 last season.
After a scoreless first period, Barr used an escape and a takedown to take a 3-0 lead. Kuster got an escape and a penalty point on Barr for stalling in the final period.
"It was a good match for Peter," Cagle said. "A one-point match against (Barr) is a good result. I told Peter not to worry about it, he wrestled well and it will make him better down the road."
At 132, Mayberry won by fall in 1:48.
"Christian had a tough weekend in Minnesota, but he told me he knew he had to get better and he showed that tonight," Cagle said.
Irwin wrestled at 138 and got an 18-5 major decision, while DeWitt won 14-1 at 152.
It was the latest win in what has been a fine senior season for Irwin.
"He has a great work ethic, he's put in his time," Cagle said. "Now's the time to get that dividends."
The dual started at 145 where Dennis Barnes of the Jays was an 8-7 winner. Barnes led 6-3 after one period and 7-5 after two.
"He didn't lose his cool, he kept calm and just kept wrestling," Cagle said.
At 160, Jacob Brune picked up a win by fall in 1:49 for the Jays. Logan Moriarity won by forfeit at 170 before Rashaun Woods won by fall in 1:52 at 182.
"Rashaun hit some moves tonight that we've seen in practice, but not in a match before," Cagle said.
Jalen Martin won by forfeit at 195. Ian Coil then posted a 10-3 win at 220 in his season debut.
"He wrestled like it was his first match of the year," Cagle said. "But he kept going and got a win."
The Jays then dropped the next three matches. But Cagle was pleased with what he saw from Garrett Butel at 106 and Sam Martin at 113.
"Their goal this week is to go the full six minutes," Cagle said. "It's time for them to learn how to do that. Did they win? No. But they're first-year wrestlers who are still learning and this is part of that process."
Addison Canale got Jefferson City's other win, that coming by fall in 1:33 at 120.
"He stepped up and did a great job," Cagle said. "He went out there with some fire in his belly."
The dual win was the 36th straight in the regular season for the Jays.
Jefferson City will be back in action Friday in a quad with Helias, Ozark and Nixa at Fleming Fieldhouse. Jefferson City and Helias will each wrestle duals against Ozark and Nixa, with action scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.
III
On Wednesday, Kuster was named the Missouri Wrestler of the Week by MissouriWrestling.com.
The sophomore finished 6-0 at The Clash XIV, winning all six by fall. None of Kuster's matches went to the third period and he was named to the All-Tournament Team.