Jays wrestling finishes second in Steve Johnson Duals

Will Berendzen of Jefferson City tries to get Jayden Ashlock of Seckman on the mat during their 170-pound match Saturday in the Steve Johnson Duals at Fleming Fieldhouse.
Will Berendzen of Jefferson City tries to get Jayden Ashlock of Seckman on the mat during their 170-pound match Saturday in the Steve Johnson Duals at Fleming Fieldhouse.

Make no mistake, the Jefferson City Jays always want to win.

But at this point of the wrestling season, improving is just as important.

"Our kids wrestled really well all day," Jays coach Phil Cagle said after Jefferson City finished 4-1 to take second Saturday in the Steve Johnson Duals at Fleming Fieldhouse. "We beat some good teams, I'm proud of our kids."

Team honors were decided in the final dual of the day, where Jefferson City fell 36-32 to eventual champion Lebanon. Both were 4-0 on the day leading into the dual.

"Lebanon is a quality program, a quality team, and it went down to the last match," Cagle said. "We made a couple of mistakes against Lebanon, but those are things we can talk about and work on. We have to improve."

Jefferson City had four wrestlers finish 5-0 in the tournament.

Joe Kuster won four times by fall and once by technical fall at 138 pounds.

"He did a really good job, he's such a strong competitor," Cagle said.

Michael Friederich had three wins by fall and two by forfeit at 182.

"His wrestling IQ is getting better," Cagle said. "He had a match today where he smartly got a takedown with just a couple of seconds left in his match, that was impressive to see."

Jakeil Hayes won twice by fall, twice by forfeit and by a 6-3 decision at 195. That final win came against Lebanon, where he controlled the match by more than the final score might indicate.

"He was steady," Cagle said.

Brant Aulbur won three times by fall and twice by forfeit at 195.

"He's just himself," Cagle said.

Will Berendzen at 170 and Isaac Enloe at 285 were both 4-1. Going 3-2 were Dujuan Wallace at 106, Hunter Walling at 132 and Tanner Quick at 160.

Jefferson City posted dual wins against Fatima (70-9), Seckman (45-36), Hickman (54-23) and Whitfield (49-19).

"This was some of the best competition we've faced this season," Cagle said. "We lost one, but a move here or there, we could have won that one."

The tournament is normally a two-day, bracketed event. But due to COVID-19 restrictions, it was converted into a one-day duals tournament this year.

"I think you're going to see more people going to one-day tournaments like this," Cagle said. "It's less expensive for schools, you can get five matches in a day, it's a good thing."

Jefferson City (25-2) is back in action Wednesday night when it hosts Helias in the annual crosstown showdown. At 3-0, the Jays and Crusaders are the only undefeated teams remaining in Central Missouri Activities Conference duals this season.

The JV dual will begin at 6 p.m., followed by the varsity.