The Helias Crusaders are looking to ride the postseason wave for three more days.
Coming off their top district tournament in several years, the Crusaders will have five wrestlers at the Class 3 state tournament beginning today at Mizzou Arena.
"We're ready, we're on a high," Helias coach Bryant Gaines said.
Helias finished with three district champions and two third-place finishers at the the district tournament in Carthage. There was a tunnel leading out to the mats in an attempt to simulate conditions at the state tournament. Gaines used the pre-match minutes for a final motivational message before the five Crusaders headed out for the final matches last Saturday.
"The last thing I told them was 'We're odd, we're finishing odd,'" Gaines said. "That means we're finishing first or third and that's what we did. That almost never happens, but we did it. It was pretty neat."
The Crusaders want to continue those winning ways and improve on last year's 27th-place finish.
"They want to be top 10 as a team," Gaines said. "Anything can happen, but I don't know if we have enough guys to do that.
"I would be upset if we didn't finish in the top 20 this weekend. But we don't need to be concerned about that until Saturday. This is about the individuals right now."
Evan Winder, a junior, is looking for his third state medal after finishing sixth at 106 the last two seasons. Winder (22-8) will meet Hillsboro sophomore James Short (36-11), a state qualifier at 106 last year, in his first match at 120 pounds.
Winder claimed the district title at 120 despite not being seeded in the top four. Half of his losses this season came when he was wrestling at 126.
"Evan wasn't wrestling up to his capabilities early in the season, you can see that in his record," Gaines said. "But he's turned it around in the past few weeks.
"He beat a couple of good guys at district, they were studs. Evan controlled the whole match, he was in charge and not worried. He has a pretty good chance of going deep."
Jackson Careaga (39-11), a sophomore, won the district title at 152 for the Crusaders. A state qualifier at 152 as a freshman, Careaga will square off against Festus senior Cole Bennett (37-13) in the opening round. Bennett is a first-time state qualifier.
"Jackson just surprises you all the time, he has the best head on the team," Gaines said. "He's in a really tough weight class, but I really think he can place."
Nick Schnieders (45-11), a senior, win the district title at 160. Schnieders, a first-time qualifier, will open against Warrensburg junior Josh Tomich (22-18).
"He's always been knocking at the door and it's great to see him break through because of his hard work," Gaines said. "If Nick hits a big move like he's always trying to do, he's going to win."
At 126, junior Randy Salaz (31-10) will meet Pacific junior Noah Patton (41-5) in the opening round. Patton was a qualifier at 120 in 2017. Salaz qualified at 120 last season, but did not wrestle due to a broken toe.
"It depends on what kind of wrestler Randy is (today)," Gaines said. "He's a heck of a wrestler, he has a chance to medal if he's ready to wrestle this weekend."
At 132, senior Zack Carr (40-13) will meet Platte County senior Austin Kincaid (31-17) in his opener. Kincaid was a state qualifier at 126 in 2017 and sixth at 120 in 2016. Carr advanced to state for the first time.
"Zack has a tough first round match," Gaines said. "But he believes he can beat anybody and that's important."
Gaines believes all five Crusaders have a chance to finish in the top six and be on the medal stand Saturday night.
"It all starts (tonight) and I think it has the potential to be a very good first round for us," he said.
Action begins at 5 p.m. today. The tournament runs through Saturday.