The Jefferson City Jays will have a bit of revenge on their minds this morning at the Missouri Duals.
The Jays will square off against the Ozark Tigers in their final Gold Division dual in the event at Helias. In last year's meeting at the Duals, well ...
"They destroyed us," Jays coach Phil Cagle said. "We want to go out and do better against them this time. No matter what the score is, we want to wrestle better."
The Jays opened action Friday night at the Duals by going 2-1. Jefferson City sandwiched wins over Eureka and Hickman around a tough loss to Waynesville.
The dual against Waynesville was tied going into the final match before the Tigers pulled out a 36-31 victory.
"We learned a lot, we're Jeff City and we've got a target on our back," Cagle said. "But we'll get better."
But it wasn't just the last match that brought about the loss.
"There were a lot of one- or two-point matches that made the difference," Cagle said. "We're going to correct those things so we're on the winning side next time."
Four Jays went 3-0 on Friday night. J.J. Johnson led the way, winning all of his matches by first-period falls at 285 pounds.
"He spent a lot of time in the spring and summer working and getting better," Cagle said.
Also going 3-0 for Jefferson City were Hunter Neighbors at 112, Cole Baumgartner at 119 and Jared Johnson, who split time between 189 and 215.
The Jays had five wrestlers drop to a lighter weight for the dual and the results were mixed.
"It went OK," Cagle said. "It could have gone better, it could have gone worse."
Going 2-1 for the Jays were Spencer Roberts at 125, Cameron Cotten at 152 and Adrian Walton at 171.
Action begins at 9 a.m. today. The Jays will open against C.B.C., then take on Ozark. A pair of championship-round matches will follow in the afternoon.