Deegan Mitchell News Today

The Jefferson City Jays will send seven wrestlers to the Class 3 state wrestling championships, which begin with first-round matches at 8:15 a.m. today at Mizzou Arena. The Jays entered the season with their sights set on finishing top 10 as a team at state, but they are entering with loftier goals.

The extra points added up to a victory. The Helias Crusaders scored bonus points in seven of their wins Wednesday night on their way to a 41-27 victory against the Jefferson City Jays in Central Missouri Activities Conference wrestling action at Rackers Fieldhouse.

It was just the start to the Central Missouri Activities Conference schedule the Jefferson City Jays wanted. Coming off a CMAC title last year, the Jays picked up their first conference dual victory of the season Thursday with a 59-21 victory against the Sedalia Smith-Cotton Tigers at Fleming Fieldhouse.

It was a strong opening weekend of wrestling for the Jefferson City Jays. Jefferson City took second place in its six-team pool at the Missouri Duals, then the Jays dropped both matchups in bracket play to finish fourth out of 12 teams Saturday at Rackers Fieldhouse.

It was a strong start to the season for the Jefferson City Jays. The Jays opened the first campaign of Darrell Luebbert’s tenure as the head coach with a 2-1 record on Day 1 of the Missouri Duals at Helias Gym on Friday. The Jays opened their season with a 48-27 win against Marshall, then dropped a 42-32 decision against Father Tolton before rebounding with a 35-30 win against Hannibal.

The Jefferson City Jays took a chance. It paid off win a winning way. “We had a plan and the kids executed the plan,” Jays coach Nathan Redcay said Wednesday night after Jefferson City defeated the Helias Crusaders 42-21 in a Central Missouri Activities Conference dual at Fleming Fieldhouse. “They really wanted this win and it showed.”