Fittingly on Senior Night, it was a senior who wrapped up the victory.
Cole Czarnecki's win by decision clinched the wrestling dual victory for the Helias Crusaders, who took a 40-31 win against the Battle Spartans at Rackers Fieldhouse.
"Cole did what he had to do to get the win," Helias coach Bryant Gaines said. "That was great for him."
Helias won seven of the first eight matches to vault to a 37-3 lead against Battle. But the Spartans got on track in the upper weights and cut the deficit to just 37-31 with the 285-pound match remaining. If Battle could get a win by fall, that would tie the score at 37 and the Spartans would win by the dual by criteria.
The match was scoreless through two periods. Czarnecki, starting down to start the third, got a quick escape to take a 1-0 lead. He held that slim advantage to the final seconds, when he got a takedown to ice a 3-0 victory.
The exciting final match proved to be a bookend to a good one that started the dual.
At 106, Aleksey Salaz of Helias got an escape midway through the second period and made that single point stand up in a 1-0 victory.
"Aleksey is getting better," Gaines said. "That was a good kid he was wrestling. It was some smart wrestling, that was a pivotal win for us."
Evan Winder at 113 and Randy Salaz at 120 picked up wins by forfeit for the Crusaders.
At 126, Zack Carr dropped a 12-6 decision to Andrew Shea of Battle. Shea is ranked fourth at 126 by MissouriWrestling.com.
Jackson Careaga won by fall at 132 before Dustin Luebbert took a 13-1 decision at 138. Nick Gaines at 145, another senior, and Garrett Schnieders both won by fall to give the Crusaders a 34-point lead.
But in the next five matches, Helias lost three by fall, one by major decision and one by forfeit to cut its lead to six heading into the final bout.
"We had a bit of a rough stretch there, but those kids were working hard," Bryant Gaines said.
It was the last competition for Helias until it opens Class 3 District 3 action next Friday at Camdenton.
"Our confidence should be good going into districts, everybody was part of this win," Gaines said.
Gaines thinks the Crusaders have made great strides during the season.
"Some of the kids are working harder, some have a little more fire, some have gotten more aggressive," he said. "We know we're not as strong as a lot of teams, we know we're not as quick as other teams. But we've spent a lot of time working on our technique and that has gotten us better throughout the season."
Czarnecki and Nick Gaines were two of six senior wrestlers to be honored. The others were Will Farmer, Zane Pezley, Kaden Quinn and Louie Delk.
III
Larry Isenberg, a longtime high school wrestling official, was honored during Friday night's dual.
Isenberg, a Helias graduate, stepped down this year from officiating after 37 seasons, including nearly 30 at the state tournament. He was presented a plaque by the school for his achievements.
Helias 40, Battle 31
Here are the results from Friday night's wrestling dual between the Helias Crusaders and the Battle Spartans at Rackers Fieldhouse. Helias wrestlers are listed first:
106 - Aleksey Salaz won 1-0 against Jackson Shea
113 - Evan Winder won by forfeit
120 - Randy Salaz won by forfeit
126 - Zack Carr lost 12-6 to Andrew Shea
132 - Jackson Careaga WBF in 3:59 against Cody Rachatellelle
138 - Dustin Luebbert won 13-1 against Gabe Familia
145 - Nick Gaines WBF in 2:35 against Hudson Henderson
152 - Garrett Schnieders WBF in 1:38 against Nick Schlude
160 - Colden Imhoff lost 17-6 to Blake Padgett
170 - Louie Delk LBF in 1:05 to Hunter Smith
182 - Noah Wieberg LBF in 3:58 to Joe Magee
195 - Zane Pezley LBF in 3:45 to Devin York
220 - Helias open against Andrew Douglas
285 - Cole Czarnecki won 3-0 against Chris Carter