The Jefferson City Jays went 5-2 and took third place in the Missouri Duals. That's good.
The fact they did it against tough competition is better.
"There are some high-caliber teams here and they test you every period and in every match," Jefferson City assistant coach David Ganey said. "This early in the season, it's not all about wins and losses, it's about improvement and it was good to see us make improvement."
After a 2-1 start Friday night, Jefferson City went 2-0 on Saturday to finish second behind Lebanon in the Gold Division and a berth in the semifinals.
Jefferson City then fell 45-27 to eventual champion Neosho before defeating Helias 47-22 to take third.
The Jays won nine of the 14 matches against the Crusaders.
Winning by fall were Clayton Hurley at 132 pounds, Sam Rackers at 145, Ian Cote at 195 and Mathias Wieberg at 285. Brandt Aulbur won by technical fall at 182. Christian Strope won by decision at 120, as did Will Kuster at 152. Corey Denny at 170 and Brandon Backues at 220 both won by forfeit.
"Coach (Weston) Keleher has got Helias on the right track," Ganey said. "There are athletes on that team that work hard on the mat and we knew we had to step up because it was going to be a battle.
"It just turned out the best for us today."
The Jays and Crusaders will meet again Jan. 16 at Fleming Fieldhouse.
"It will be very different, everybody will have time to make adjustments and get guys back from injuries," Ganey said. "It could be very different, but as always, that will be a barn-burner."
Rackers went 7-0 to lead the Jays in the Duals, winning four times by fall and once by technical fall. Backues was 6-1 with a pair of wins by fall, while Garrett Butel at 113 and Kuster were both 5-2.
Cote was 4-1 at 195. He missed two duals Saturday morning due to taking the ACT, then arrived just as his weight class was coming up in the semifinal against Neosho.
With time just to get into his wrestling gear, Cote won the match by fall.
"I was sweating bullets, I figured he would have been here before then," Ganey said. "He goes through all that and goes out there and gets the pin.
"Will Kuster told me Ian shouldn't go through warm-ups ever again. We're going to continue to warm-up."
Ganey was impressed by freshman Michael Friederich, who was 2-5, but dropped several close decisions at 138.
"As a freshman battling upperclassmen, it was two days of tests for him," Ganey said. "He was pushing everybody he wrestled to the edge with overtime and his performance this weekend was a good place to start for him because now he knows he can hang with some of the best wrestlers in the state.
"Now, it's the next step to figuring out how to win those matches."
Ganey believes the Jays grew as a team during the Duals.
"It gives the kids the opportunity to build that camaraderie," he said. "In competition in front of their family and friends, they bond and they get closer together.
"I think that helped us have a lot of guys wrestle above their expectations."
The Jays will have a more than a full week of practice before returning to action Tuesday, Dec. 18, in a dual at Sedalia Smith-Cotton.