COLUMBIA - The strategy couldn't have been much simpler for Brant Aulbur.
"All that mattered was the next match," the Jefferson City junior said Saturday after he claimed third place at 220 pounds in the Class 4 state championships at Mizzou Arena. "Just win that one. I was never thinking ahead."
It obviously worked.
"Brant came here with a great attitude, he had no fear," Jays coach Phil Cagle said. "He told me his plan in every match, he was going to do what he wanted to do and it paid off for him.
"What a great job."
After winning his first-round match Thursday night, Aulbur lost by fall in the quarterfinals to fall into the wrestlebacks.
But instead of giving up, Aulbur accepted the challenge.
"I am happily overwhelmed and proud," Aulbur said. "I told myself before every match 'Pride in what you've done, faith in what you can do.'"
Aulbur won by fall in his next match, then by fall again in Friday night's bubble round.
"Whenever pins came my way, I took them," he said.
After getting a win by injury default, Aulbur faced Callum Trester of Liberty in the third-place match Saturday afternoon.
After a scoreless first period, Aulbur trailed 2-1 going to the third against Trester. Aulbur got an escape midway through the third to send the match to overtime tied at 2.
In overtime, Aulbur was able to take down Tester with :21 remaining to get a 4-2 victory.
"If you would have told me this was going to happen at the beginning of the year, I'd have said 'no way.'" Cagle said. "But he's worked really hard and gotten motivated.
"He has no fear, none."
This was the second state appearance for Aulbur. The first didn't end quite as well as he lost twice by fall.
But that experience last year paid off this year.
"It definitely calmed down my nerves," Aulbur said. "I felt like the ability to stay calm, make jokes, have fun with it made it a lot easier."
Aulbur, who ends the season at 31-12, isn't going to change things as a senior next season.
"Match by match, we'll see how I do," Aulbur said.
Aulbur is one of two medalists for Jefferson City.
"We were close to having some more," Cagle said. "A point or two here or there, we could have had four or five."
Brandon Backues finished sixth at 285 after being injured in his semifinal match Friday night. It was the second state medal for Backues, who was fifth at 220 as a junior.
Backues ends his senior season at 41-4.
He wasn't the only Jay to have his tournament cut short by injury Friday as senior Will Kuster suffered a broken ankle during a wrestleback match at 152.
"(Friday) was a brutal day for us," Cagle said.
Jefferson City finished ninth in the final team standings with 52.5 points. Liberty was first with 241, far ahead of runner-up Park Hill's total of 146.5. Staley (121) and C.B.C. (106.5) rounded out the trophy winners.
Aulbur will be one of five returning state qualifiers for the Jays.
"They know now they can't come here and be nervous, they just need to go out and wrestle," Cagle said.