No. 3 Jays to host No. 4 Cadets in wrestling dual

Jacob Brune of Jefferson City works toward a cradle during his match with Park Hill's Devin Winston in their 160-pound match earlier this month in the Capital City Invitational at Fleming Fieldhouse.
Jacob Brune of Jefferson City works toward a cradle during his match with Park Hill's Devin Winston in their 160-pound match earlier this month in the Capital City Invitational at Fleming Fieldhouse.

The Jefferson City Jays handed the C.B.C. Cadets a 57-22 loss in a wrestling dual last January at Fleming Fieldhouse.

The Cadets are coming back for another shot.

"If you want to see a good dual, you're going to see one (tonight)," Jefferson City coach Phil Cagle said as the Jays prepare to host the Cadets tonight in a clash of Class 4 top 5 teams. "They're well-coached with a lot of great wrestlers."

Jefferson City is No. 3 in the latest edition of the Class 4 state team rankings by MissouriWrestling.com, one spot ahead of C.B.C.

Both teams feature the No. 1-ranked wrestler in their respective weight class - Jalen Martin of Jefferson City at 195 pounds and Malik Johnson of C.B.C. at 113.

Six other Jays are in ranked in their weights - Logan Moriarity (No. 2 at 170), Peter Kuster (No. 4 at 120), Gavin DeWitt (No. 5 at 145), Jacob Brune (No. 5 at 160), Tanner Irwin (No. 6 at 132) and Christian Mayberry (No. 7 at 126).

Other ranked wrestlers for the Cadets are D.J. Shannon (No. 2 at 152), Cevion Severado (No. 3 at 106) and Derek White (No. 3 at 220).

"We have the capability of winning, it's going to come down to who makes the least amount of mistakes," Cagle said.

And who can get wins by fall or technical fall could come into play as well.

"Bonus points are going to be huge," Cagle said. "That's something we are going to preach to our kids."

Jefferson City ran its regular-season dual winning streak to 40 on Tuesday night in a 60-15 victory against Hickman at Fleming Fieldhouse.

It's rare for a team to agree to make road trips two straight seasons.

"They like the atmosphere here, the fans know wrestling and appreciate it," Cagle said.

And ...

"Some of it may be they want to beat us in our own gym," Cagle said with a smile. "I'm not that naive."

Action will begin at 6 p.m. with the JV dual, with varsity action to follow.

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