It wasn’t all about winning a second state title for Helias senior Jack Lage. “I wanted go out and have fun and help my team try to stay in second,” Lage said after he captured Class 2 individual honors at 126 pounds Saturday night at Mizzou Arena. But adding another first-place medal to the 120-pound one he earned in 2021 has been on his mind for a while.
Helias teammates Carter Prenger and Jack Lage will wrestle for Class 2 state titles tonight at Mizzou Arena. Helias is second in the team standings entering the final day with 106 points. Pleasant Hill leads with 126, while Cameron is third with 81. Kirksville is fourth with 73, while School of the Osage is fifth with 70.5.
The Helias Crusaders started Thursday with 11 Class 2 state qualifiers. They’ll start today with 11. “It was a strong start for us,” Helias coach Weston Keleher said. “The whole group was ready to wrestle.” Helias went 9-2 in first-round matches Thursday morning at Mizzou Arena, with eight of the wins coming by fall. Those bonus points helped the Crusaders to second place in the team standings with 40 points.
With 11 qualifiers, the Helias Crusaders have the numbers to get a high finish. But how high? “We have a chance at scoring a lot of points,” Helias coach Weston Keleher said as the Crusaders prepared for the Class 2 state tournament that begins this morning at Mizzou Arena. “Can we score enough points to win it? I don’t know.”
Senior Night is always special. For Helias wrestling coach Weston Keleher, Tuesday night’s Senior Night had a little something extra special. “This is a special group to me, they’ve been with me for four years,” Keleher said of the eight seniors who were honored between dual victories against Capital City and School of the Osage at Rackers Fieldhouse.