Seven Jays unbeaten at Invitational

Jalen Martin of Jefferson City tangles with Park Hill's Jacob Sobbing during their 195-pound match Friday night in the Capital City Invitational at Fleming Fieldhouse. Martin won the match 10-0.
Jalen Martin of Jefferson City tangles with Park Hill's Jacob Sobbing during their 195-pound match Friday night in the Capital City Invitational at Fleming Fieldhouse. Martin won the match 10-0.

The competition was tough on the opening night of the Capital City Invitational.

It showed in the results for the Jefferson City Jays.

"We had some good things and bad things, but when coaches tell you this is the toughest tournament outside of the state tournament this year, you can expect things like that," Jays coach Phil Cagle said after Jefferson City wrapped up action Friday night at Fleming Fieldhouse.

The tournament features the top four teams in the latest Class 4 state rankings by MissouriWrestling.com. There are a total of 44 state-ranked wrestlers taking part from among the 12 teams.

"It seems like nearly every match is a tough one," Cagle said. "We let some slip away, but better now than a few weeks from now at state."

The Jays, who opened the tournament with seven straight wins, had seven wrestlers go undefeated Friday.

• Peter Kuster was 3-0 at 120 pounds, winning twice by fall.

• Christian Mayberry was 2-0 at 126, winning once by fall.

• Tanner Irwin was 2-0 at 132, with a win by fall.

• Gavin DeWitt was 3-0 at 145, with all three wins coming by fall.

• Logan Moriarity was 2-0 at 170, with both wins by pin.

• Jalen Martin was 1-0 at 195, winning by major decision.

• Tekoah Sage was 2-0 at 220, winning by fall and by major decision.

"They all looked good," Cagle said.

Jacob Brune was 2-1 at 160, while Dennis Barnes at 145 and Rashaun Woods at 182 were both 1-1. Zack Hurley was 1-2 at 138.

"Our pool is tough," Cagle said. "You always want to do better, but there was some tough competition."

The Jays are open at three weights - 106, 113 and 285. There are inexperienced wrestlers in the lower weights, while bigger wrestlers have been sick.

"We didn't want to throw them into a tournament like this if they've been sick," Cagle said.

But missing out on potential points at three weights doesn't mean Jefferson City has given up the idea of winning the team title.

"We just need to overachieve in a few spots," Cagle said. "It's still out there for us."

The Jays are in third place after the opening day with 48 points. Park Hill is first with 56, with Holt sitting in second with 52.5.

"You just wrestle hard and learn from it," Cagle said. "We're just trying to get better for the district tournament."

Action resumes at 9 a.m. today with the final two rounds of pool matches. The top four wrestlers from each of the two pools then advance to the bracketed portion of the tournament.

The championship and third-place matches are slated to begin at 5 p.m.