PECULIAR, Mo. - Garrett Butel won individual honors Saturday for Jefferson City at the Class 4 District 3 Tournament.
Butel is one of seven qualifiers for the state tournament for the Jays.
"Seven is a pretty good number," Jays coach Phil Cagle said. "The kids all wrestled well the entire tournament."
Butel, who was seeded fourth in the tournament, won the title at 113 pounds with a 7-3 decision against Wyatt Snyder of Ozark.
"Garrett said after that match it was probably the best match he's ever wrestled," Cagle said. "I think I agree with him."
Butel, who won his first three matches by fall, will take a record of 30-10 to the state tournament.
Three Jays finished second in their respective weights.
At 145, Will Kuster dropped a 4-2 decision in overtime in the championship match to Gaven Sax of Waynesville. Kuster was 3-1 in the tournament, sandwiching first-period falls around a victory by technical fall.
Kuster is 34-8 on the season.
At 152, Sam Rackers fell 4-2 to Michael Cassidy of Waynesville in the title match. Rackers won his first two matches by first-period falls, then captured a 3-2 decision in his semifinal.
Rackers is 34-9 this season.
"Will and Sam both wrestled well, they wrestled to their seeds," Cagle said.
At 160, Will Berendzen lost by technical fall to undefeated Andrew Gamble of Belton in the title match. Berendzen was 2-1 in the tournament, winning both of his matches by first-period fall after getting a bye in the opening round.
Berendzen will enter the state tournament with a record of 29-5.
"Will was unseeded and for him to make the finals as a freshman at 160 was impressive because that's a man's class," Cagle said.
Brandon Backues of Jefferson City finished third at 220, winning by fall in 2:17 against Ethan George of Raymore-Peculiar in his last match.
Backues was 3-1 in the tournament, with all three victories coming by fall. He lost a 4-3 tiebreaker to Jaydn Withrow of Joplin in the semifinals.
Backues is 35-5 this season.
Two Jays - Clayton Hurley (27-14) at 132 and Brant Aulber (19-19) at 182 - finished fourth to advance to state.
Hurley was 2-2 in the district tournament. After a bye, he won by fall before falling by a 6-1 decision in the semifinals. Hurley then won in the ultimate tiebreaker in the consolation semifinals before falling 7-2 to Ayden Sheets of Lee's Summit in the third-place match.
Aulber also was 2-2 in the tournament. After an opening bye, he won 13-3 before losing by fall. Aulber then won by fall, then lost by technical fall to Jack Goin of Belton in the third-place match.
Finishing 2-2 for the Jays were Christian Strope at 120, Xavier Adams at 126, Michael Friederich at 138 and Dawson Prenger at 170.
Anakin Gray at 106, Cory Denney at 195 and Mathias Wieberg at 285 were all 1-2 for Jefferson City.
Jefferson City finished third in the 15-team field with 158 points. Raymore-Peculiar was first with 182.5, with Carthage taking second at 166. Lee's Summit West was fourth with 133.
"We had a chance to finish second, it was a battle that came down to Carthage having won one or two more matches than we did," Cagle said.
The three-day Class 4 state tournament begins Thursday at Mizzou Arena.