The Lake Mills wrestling team fell one win short of qualifying for the state duals Tuesday in Manly, according to a press release.

Four teams competed in the regional, and only one advanced to state.

Lake Mills won the semifinal dual against Sumner-Fredericksburg by the narrowest of margins: 36-35. Trailing by 11 points, the meet boiled down to 220-pound Tyler Mary and 285-pound Cory Mathahs. They both needed to pin their opponents for Lake Mills to win. Both showed great resiliency by getting pins when they were behind. The Bulldogs wrestled Sumner-Fredericksburg in the first meet of the year and were been blown out 60-18.

“Our kids wrestled with a lot of fire in the first dual,” said Lake Mills head coach Alex Brandenburg. “They wanted to show how much they’ve come together as a team and how much better they are than the beginning of the season.”

It was the first regional dual win for Lake Mills since the 2000 team that went on to win state duals. In a year Brandenburg viewed as a rebuilding year, his young team continues to surpass his expectations.

“This season has been my most rewarding in my ten years of coaching because our kids continue to achieve things I never even dreamed possible,” Brandenburg said.

The win propelled the Bulldogs into the regional final against perennial power No. 6 Class 1A Don Bosco. The Dons controlled the meet, 61-12 to advance on to the state duals.

“We wrestled hard against Don Bosco, but we just are not at their level,” said Brandenburg. “We hope with most our team coming back and a great group of freshman coming in next year we can get to that level into next couple years.”