Albert Lea wrestling coach Larry Goodnature said it before and he said it again: &uot;We have a great team, but we’re lacking in depth.&uot;

Both points were proven Saturday.

The Tigers started the day missing two regulars and ended it without four, but they still nearly knocked off state power Simley while taking second in the Albert Lea Invitational.

&uot;This team wrestles with so much heart,&uot; said Goodnature. &uot;I was very pleased with our first outing. One thing I definitely saw was we were better conditioned than our opponents.&uot;

The Tigers dominated the opening rounds, defeating Faribault 60-18, topping Blaine 52-18 and downing NRHEG 46-27. They lost 36-29 to Simley, rated No. 2 in the state in Class AAA.

Four Tigers were undefeated for the day. Josh Hansen was 4-0 at 112 pounds, Nate Goodnature 4-0 at 130, Adam Elseth 4-0 at 140 and Cory Frerk 3-0 at 152.

The Tigers’ other varsity records for the day: 103, Zach Hansen, 3-1; 119, Matt Morris, 2-2; 125, Alex Hansen, 3-1; 125, Taylor Ignaszewski, 1-0; 135, Neal Underdahl, 3-1; 145, Jake Levisen, 202; 160, Jared Butler, 1-3; 171, Derek Goodnature, 201; 189, Randy Larson, 103; 215, Derek Lau, 1-1; 275, Chris Hable, 2-2.

&uot;It’s just unfortunate we lost some boys with injuries, especially with Owatonna coming up,&uot; said Coach Goodnature. &uot;When we can put this full squad on the mat, we are going to be a real solid team.&uot;

NRHEG dropped all four of its duals, falling 47-30 to Blaine, 46-27 to Albert Lea, 71-11 to Simley and 44-36 to Faribault.

Albert Lea’s junior varsity won the championship, beating Faribault 51-24, Blaine 60-18, NRHEG 54-18 and Simley 51-27. Records for the Tigers: 103, Beau Hansen, 4-0; 112, Jake Cibert, 3-0; 119, Darrin Honeycutt, 3-0; 125, Ignaszewski, 3-0; 125, Zach McGinnis, 1-0; 130, Eric Elleby, 4-0; 135, Brandon Mellang, 1-3; 140, Tim Frazier, 4-0; 152, Alex Paul, 3-1; 160, Dustin Eggum, 3-1; 171, Ben Berhow, 4-0; 189, Mike Honneycutt, 4-0; 275, Tony Malepsy, 1-3.

The Tigers are on the road Thursday to face perennial Big Nine favorite Owatonna.