Helias defeats Borgia, Pacific in wrestling

Nikolai Careaga of Helias gets a grip on Borgia's Grant Straatmann on Wednesday at Rackers Fieldhouse.
Nikolai Careaga of Helias gets a grip on Borgia's Grant Straatmann on Wednesday at Rackers Fieldhouse.

With Borgia and Pacific not having full lineups Wednesday night, the Helias Crusaders were almost assured of picking up a pair of dual victories.

But the Crusaders didn't lose focus against the Knights or the Tigers, dominating from the start in beating Borgia 71-6 and Pacific 45-24.

"How you start a dual is huge in how a dual is going to go," Helias coach Weston Keleher said. "We are gifted to have some talented wrestlers in the lighter weights and we've been able to get off to good starts.

"Winning can often bring about more winning."

Jack Lage was one of nine Crusaders to go 2-0 on Wednesday night, but the only one to win a match at two weight classes.

Lage won by technical fall at 113 pounds against Borgia. But when Pacific was going to be open at 113 in the second dual, Lage moved to 120 to win by a 15-3 decision.

"I asked Jack if he wanted to wrestle and he said yes," Keleher said. "He just loves to compete and it was a chance to get him another match."

Also winning two matches on the mat for the Crusaders were Randy Salaz, Nikolai Careaga and Jackson Careaga,

Salaz won once by fall and once by decision at 138.

Nikolai Careaga won both of his matches by fall at 145.

"At the Missouri Duals, I kept seeing things he could improve on by just doing one or two little things and he did those things tonight to get two wins," Keleher said. "His ability to adapt and be coachable really showed up tonight."

Jackson Careaga won by fall and by decision at 152.

"The Careaga brothers both had very good nights," Keleher said.

Winning once on the mat and once by forfeit were Aleksey Salaz at 126 and Noah Weiberg at 195. Gavin Adams at 106, Tanner Nappier at 220 and Michael Sanner at 285 all won twice by forfeit.

Going 1-1 for Helias were Wyatt Forck at 132, Dustin Luebbert at 160 and Clay Radmacher at 170.

The 170-pound weight class has been a hole in the Helias lineup this sesaon. But Radmacher a freshman, went made his varsity debut after practicing with the other newcomers in a separate practice room this with legendary former Helias head coach Mike Jeffries.

"He came from coach Jeffries room," Keleher said. "He was a middle linebacker on the freshman football team, a tough kid and a physical kid."

Rachmacher won his debut by fall, then lost by fall.

"He probably needs a few more matches on the JV, but neither Borgia nor Pacific had any JV kids at that weight," Keleher said. "So we just rolled him out on varsity and he got a big win and battled in his other match. He's got a bright future."

Curtis Rockers lost his only match at 182 for the Crusaders.

Helias is back in action Saturday at the Harrisonville Tournament. The Crusaders will square off with many of the future district opponents.

"It's a big tournament for us," Keleher said. "We're going to be without a couple of guys, but it's going to be good to see a lot of good teams and we'll go up there to compete and see what happens."