COLUMBIA, Mo. - It was just a wrestling thing.
In the opening seconds of Friday night's Class 3 semifinal at 106 pounds, Evan Winder of Helias was forced to medically default after colliding with Brayden Bradley of Belton.
"It wasn't dirty, it wasn't cheap," Helias coach Bryant Gaines said Saturday.
Winder and Bradley had wrestled before and the Helias sophomore remembered what had happened during that match.
"The last time they wrestled, (Bradley) took him down with a low shot," Gaines said. "Evan wanted to keep his head down to try and block the shot and unfortunately, Evan got hit on the head and shook him up.
"He's still not feeling too good. Evan's here to pick up his medal and head back home."
Winder defaulted out of his fourth-round wrestleback and fifth-place match Saturday morning to take sixth. It's the second straight sixth-place finish at state for Winder (46-8).
III
Winder's loss was just part of a tough Friday for the Crusaders at Mizzou Arena.
At 132 pounds, Jackson Careaga dropped a 15-13 decision in overtime in his quarterfinal match.
The freshman then lost a 6-3 decision in the second round of wrestlebacks to be eliminated from the tournament.
At 145 pounds, Nick Gaines won his second-round wrestleback match by fall to advance to Friday night's bubble round to decide of he would earn a medal.
But overtime wasn't Helias' friend again as Gaines fell 4-2 in the extra period.
"We thought we should have won both of those matches," Bryant Gaines said. "We were right there in both of them. We win those, both of those guys medal and the tournament looks a little better for us."
It was a tough match for both father and son.
"If you've been around this sport long enough, you know things like this happen," Bryant Gaines said. "But that doesn't make it any easier to take."
Helias finished tied with Farmington and Battle for 27th in the team standings with 21 points.
The Crusaders had five qualifiers for the state tournament, the most in several years. And four of them - Winder, Randy Salaz (who did not wrestle due to an injury), Careaga and Dustin Luebbert - are either freshman or sophomores.
"Hopefully the kids will keep it going," Gaines said. "The kids need to get stronger, our wrestling is better technically than it's been for some time, we just need to get into the weight room."
Gaines is excited about the future.
"I hope they bring me back," he said with a laugh. "We're a young team that got better throughout the season and I'm excited to see what we can accomplish with more hard work next season.
"The offseason will be big for us."
CLASS 3
Helias
First Round
106 - Evan Winder, soph. (45-6) WBF against Adam Simpson, fr., Smithville (24-28).
120 - Randy Salaz, soph. (28-10) lost by medical forfeit to Dylan Owens, jr., Hillsboro (43-1).
132 - Jackson Careaga, fr. (37-15) WBF against Kyle Cody, sr., Ladue (41-7).
138 - Dustin Luebbert, soph. (29-27) lost 10-1 to Christian Zeik, soph., Liberty: Wentzville (24-1).
145 - Nick Gaines, sr. (36-11) lost 5-2 to Joe Biondo, jr., St. Joseph Benton (31-6).
First-Round Wrestlebacks
120 - Randy Salaz, soph. (28-11) lost by medical forfeit to Gavin Scott, sr., Hannibal (31-10).
138 - Dustin Luebbert, soph. (29-28) LBF to Sourya Mogallapu, sr., Rockwood Summit (42-5).
145 - Nick Gaines, sr. (37-11) WBF against Pierre Snodgrass, jr., Hazelwood East (24-8).
Quarterfinals
106 - Evan Winder, soph. (46-6) WBF against Fedrick Johnson, sr., Hazelwood East (32-5).
132 - Jackson Careaga, fr. (37-16) lost 15-13 in OT to Calvin Obermark, sr., Washington (32-21).
Second-Round Wrestlebacks
132 - Jackson Careaga, fr. (37-17) lost 6-3 to Holden Hughes, soph., Carl Junction (35-14).
145 - Nick Gaines, sr. (38-11) WBF against Tyler Stults, sr., Winnetonka (34-7).
Third-Round Wrestlebacks
145 - Nick Gaines, sr. (38-12) lost 4-2 in OT to Austin Denison, sr., Fort Zumwalt South (35-11).
Semifinals
106 - Evan Winder, soph. (46-7) lost by injury default to Brayden Bradley, soph., Belton (41-6).
Fourth-Round Wrestlebacks
106 - Evan Winder, soph. (46-8) lost by medical forfeit to Ben Bohr, soph., St. Charles West (46-5).
Fifth-Place Match
106 - Evan Winder, soph. (46-9) lost by medical forfeit to Cameron Steinhoff, jr., Liberty: Wentzville (40-9).
Team Scores
1. Neosho, 150; 2. Smithville, 118; 3. Kearney, 115; 4. Grain Valley, 103; 5. Platte County, 92.
6. Belton, 73; 7. Willard, 68; 8. Fort Zumwalt South, 65; 9. Rolla, 56.5; 10. Windsor: Imperial, 48.
11. (tie) Carthage and Warrenton, 45; 13. Washington, 43; 14. Raytown South, 42.5; 15. Warrensburg, 42.
Area Team Score
27. (tie) Helias, 21.
SEE ALSO:
Jays' Kuster finishes second after 4-2 wrestling loss
Eldon's Dillon takes second at state wrestling
Bridges finishes sixth for Blair Oaks wrestling