KEARNEY, Mo. - The Helias Crusaders will have five wrestlers in the semifinals today in the Class 3 District 4 wrestling tournament.
The five - Gavin Adams at 106 pounds, Aleksey Salaz at 126, Evan Winder at 132, Jackson Careaga at 152 and Dustin Luebbert at 160 - would advance to next week's state tournament with a semifinal victory today.
Winder is 2-0 in the tournament, winning both of his matches by first-period falls. Adams, Salaz and Careaga all received first-round byes before winning their quarterfinal matches by fall. Luebbert also had a first-round bye, then won his quarterfinal by a 10-2 decision.
Helias' other four wrestlers - Wyatt Forck at 138 (0-1), Nikolai Careaga at 145 (1-1), Curtis Rockers at 182 (0-1) and Noah Wieberg at 195 (0-1) - are all still alive in the tournament in wrestlebacks.
The Crusaders are fifth in the team standings with 33 points. Smithville leads the 15-team field with 64 points, one better than Grain Valley. Kearney is third with 55.5 and Platte County is fourth with 50.
Action will resume at 10 a.m. today.
The Class 3 state tournament will begin Thursday at Mizzou Arena.