Eli Homan News Today

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.

Two duals, but just 12 total matches. The Helias Crusaders tried to make the best of a short night Thursday at Rackers Fieldhouse. “Two conference duals out of the way, but you just wish you could get more matches against bigger schools like this,” Helias coach Weston Keleher said after the Crusaders posted big victories against the Battle Spartans and Rock Bridge Bruins in Central Missouri Activities Conference action.

The Helias Crusaders couldn’t carry over the momentum. Neosho has been the king of the Missouri Duals in recent years and Helias thought it had a chance to knock off the Wildcats in pool action Friday night at Rackers Fieldhouse. The Crusaders nearly pulled it off before falling 38-36 to the Wildcats. That loss may have carried over into the Crusaders’ final dual of the night, where Helias lost 41-34 to North Point to finish with a 1-2 record on the opening night of the Duals.

The Helias Crusaders have wrestled three duals this season. They’ve had just two matches in those duals go to decisions. “We’re young right now, it’s part of the growing process,” Helias coach Weston Keleher said Tuesday night after the Crusaders defeated the School of the Osage Indians 48-33 in a dual at Rackers Fieldhouse. “It’s not what we want.”

The Helias Crusaders have wrestled three duals this season. They’ve had just two matches in those duals go to decisions. “We’re young right now, it’s part of the growing process,” Helias coach Weston Keleher said Tuesday night after the Crusaders defeated the School of the Osage Indians 48-33 in a dual at Rackers Fieldhouse. “It’s not what we want.”

Weston Keleher has learned a few things during his time as Helias’ wrestling coach. When he first got to Helias, he said everything was about winning. Now … “It’s about getting better, just improve from what we were a week ago,” Keleher said as the Crusaders prepared to host Hannibal and Warrenton in a tri-dual today at Rackers Fieldhouse. “The goal is to win a state title and you don’t do that in November or December."

Logan Montoya heard a pop. During his quarterfinal match Friday morning in the Class 3 state wrestling championships, the Helias junior thought something went wrong in his knee. “I was a little concerned, nobody likes to think about a tear in their knee,” Montoya said. “We think it might be a torn meniscus. But I knew there were just two matches left in the season, so all I could do was wrap it up and gut it out.”

It wasn’t as if you blinked, you missed them. But it was close, as Carter Prenger of Helias won both of his matches by first-period falls Friday to open the Class 3 state wrestling championships at Mizzou Arena.

Only two matches went the distance as the Helias Crusaders beat the Capital City Cavaliers 53-24 in a Central Missouri Activities Conference dual Tuesday. “Some of those closer matches will really come in clutch,” Helias coach Weston Keleher said. “We were able to come out on top in a couple and we may be able to steal a district seed that way.”

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.”