The Capital City Cavaliers came into the Missouri Duals with a couple of goals in mind. “We were focused on attitude and effort,” Capital City coach Mitch Werdehausen said. “We wanted to fight battles and maybe win the war.” The Cavaliers opened the Duals by going 1-2 on Friday night in action at Rackers Fieldhouse.
The Capital City Cavaliers started the season in dominant fashion.m The Cavaliers beat St. James 70-12 with only one match going the distance in a season-opening match Tuesday night at Capital City High School. The Lady Cavaliers earned pins in both their matches for a 12-0 win Tuesday.
Last year, Jacinda Espinosa became the first Capital City wrestler to win a state medal. This season the Cavaliers and Lady Cavaliers are bringing home twice the hardware. Espinosa became Capital City’s first two-time medalist with a fourth-place finish at 140 pounds, while Reyce Turner earned a spot on the podium in his first state tournament, taking fourth at 285. With his effort, Turner became the first Cavalier boy to bring home a state wrestling medal.
It was a perfect start to the Class 2 girls state wrestling tournament for Capital City’s Jacinda Espinosa. The 140-pounder opened her second state tournament with a matchup against Parkway South’s Taya Stanford, using five takedowns, a three-point near fall, a two-point near fall and three escapes to build an 18-6 major decision and move on to the quarterfinals 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.”