The Jefferson City Jays and Helias Crusaders wrestling teams will be heading south for the remainder of their holidays.
The Jays will be taking part in the Evangel Holiday Classic in Shreveport, La., while the Crusaders will be in the Kinloch Classic in Springfield.
"The kids are only in high school for four years and this is a chance for them to make memories for the rest of their lives," Jays coach Phil Cagle said. "That's part of our job as educators.
"Road trips like this can be a blast."
It's the first time Jefferson City will be in Shreveport after wrestling the past couple of years in a tournament in Baton Rouge.
"This will be a tougher tournament because there are some better Oklahoma and some better Texas schools that we've been seeing," Cagle said.
Previous holiday tournaments have been dual events. But this event, hosted by Evangel Christian Academy, will be a pool tournament similar to the Capital City Invitational.
"For this year, it's probably a better tournament for us with the makeup of our team," Cagle said.
Jefferson City figures to see different styles in the tournament.
"It will help us to work on somethings that we haven't had to yet, not only for this tournament, but down the road," Cagle said.
Helias is one of 24 teams in the 50th edition of Kinloch Classic, hosted by Parkview High School.
"I'm looking forward to it, I think if we wrestle to our capabilities, I think a top-10 finish is a good possibility," Helias coach Bryant Gaines said.
Helias, 13th in the Classic last year, will take 12 wrestlers to the two-day tournament.
The Kinloch Classic also features pool action before going to brackets.
"We have a couple of guys in the lower weights who aren't in shape, but other than that, we've got guys working hard at the other weights," Gaines said.
The Crusaders will see several district opponents in the tournament, which places added importance to the event.
"There are teams we will never see unless we go down there," Gaines said. "We want to get some things set for districts."
The Crusaders believe competing during the holiday break is almost a necessity in wrestling these days.
"If you stop at this time of the year, you're going to be behind," Gaines said. "We're going to have a break in January, but right now, we've got to keep going and working."
Both tournaments will be held today and Saturday.