It’s never easy to lose in March, especially at the state tournament.

But when New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva wrestling coach Paul Cyr thinks back to November, he can’t help but be pleased with the 2002-03 season.

Though the Panthers lost both their dual meets in the team portion of the state tournament, they have only three seniors, and their medalist isn’t among them.

&uot;I wish we would have done a little better at the state tournament, but at the same time, the fact we got there as team and had an individual medal makes it a pretty good season,&uot; said Cyr. &uot;If you had told me in November that we’d get the whole team there and three individual entrants, it’s not a bad deal.&uot;

The Panthers had a tough draw in the tourney, falling 48-19 to top-rated Frazee in the opening round and 43-27 to Pierz in the consolation semifinals, but Cyr feels it will only make them tougher next year.

&uot;The fact that we got a little taste of this, and knowing that if we get a little better we can compete at this level, will help down the road,&uot; said Cyr.

The Panthers dropped the first four matches while falling behind Frazee 29-0. Anders Mattson got them on the board with a fall at 140 pounds. They also got a major decision from Kaleb Jacobson at 171, a 10-3 decision by Bill Root at 189 and a fall by Matt Holland at 215.

Pierz jumped to a 43-0 lead on the Panthers. Patrick Petsinger won 7-3 at 160, the first of five straight NRHEG wins. The final four were by fall, with Jacobson at 171, Root 189, Holland 215 and James Petsinger 275.

Also wrestling for the Panthers were Krey Cory, 103; Cody Christensen, 112; Brian Bos, 119; Carl Pederson, 125; Tim Rysavy, 130; Brandon Bartness, 135; Curt Pederson, 145; and Nick Christensen, 152.

&uot;Against Pierz, if we had won the coin toss it would have changed a match around and gotten us a little closer,&uot; said Cyr.

Jacobson finished sixth individually at 171, though Cyr said he had hoped to do better in his final match, a 14-2 loss to Levi Bullerman of Adrian.

Mattson and James Petsinger also qualified for state as individuals but did not place.

The lone seniors are James Petsinger, Patrick Petsinger and Root.

&uot;All in all, it was not a bad tournament for us,&uot; said Cyr. &uot;We’ll have a large nucleus of the team back, and I’m optimistic about the potential for next year.&uot;