In the second and third outings of the 1999-2000 season, the Albert Lea Youth Wrestling Club competed in one of the toughest and one of the largest tournaments of the year.

Wednesday, December 29, 1999

In the second and third outings of the 1999-2000 season, the Albert Lea Youth Wrestling Club competed in one of the toughest and one of the largest tournaments of the year.

The locals again came up big.

All seven Albert Lea wrestlers at the Northfield Open made the finals while 27 reached the championship match at the Owatonna Kids Classic.

Placing first at Northfield, which drew many metro area participants, were Logan Kortan, Cody Hansen, Lucas Hansen and Cory Hansen.

Connor Kortan, Carter Kortan and Trey Hable were narrowly defeated in the finals.

According to coaches Jack Kortan, Jon Hansen and Brian Paul, the opposition was formidable.

&uot;Our wrestlers were paired up with some tough competition,&uot; said Coach Hansen. &uot;The three championship matches we lost were by a combined total of five points. Trey Hable lost 3-2, Connor Kortan lost 10-8 and Carter Kortan lost 7-5.&uot;

Thirty-seven local boys traveled to Owatonna for a tournament that drew more than 640 participants from Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin and South Dakota.

Albert Lea came away with 15 champions, 12 runners-up, eight third-place finishes and two fourths. The locals combined for a win-loss record of 50-22.

Winning championships were Connor Kortan, Logan Kortan, Cory Hansen, Cody Hansen, Beau Hansen, Hable, Alex Paul, Isaac Johnson, Nick Flores, Ben Berhow, Trevor Friday, Jared Talamantes, Cole Sorenson, Ethan Reed and Michael Wubbena.

Second-place finishers were Lucas Hansen, Carter Kortan, Zach Hansen, Logan Hansen, Alex Hansen, Eric Johnson, Jacob Cibert, Taylor Ignaszewski, Dylan Register, Mike Olson, Jace Talamantes and Levi Hacker.

Placing third were Brandon Mellang, Eric Ellerby, Trevor Shane, Cory Frerk, Michael Truesdell, Tommy Tiegs, Matt Tiegs and Jacob Bonsack. Allan Olson and Nate Goodnature were fourth.

&uot;The coaches were very pleased with the turnout of Albert Lea wrestlers at this event,&uot; said Coach Hansen. &uot;For most of the wrestlers it was their first competition of the year and they wrestled very well. From the results of these first few tournaments it appears the program will continue to the success it’s had in previous years. All the coaches are excited about the upcoming season due to the enthusiasm of the young wrestlers.&uot;