The Albert Lea wrestling team turned in three competitive duals Saturday at The Clash in Rochester, but came away with just one victory. But a big victory at that.

After suffering a 36-24 loss to Wausau West to start the day, the Tigers lost 40-27 to Zumbrota-Mazeppa, ranked ninth in Class A by The Guillotine, before getting a 36-35 victory over Minneota, the top-ranked team in Class A.

“It was good for our kids to walk out of there with a win,” said Tigers head coach Larry Goodnature. “It was a big win for us.”

Unable to pick up many bonus points on the first day of the tournament, Albert Lea started to find the falls, especially against Minneota. The Tigers tallied five falls against the Vikings which helped them to victory.

Alex Nielsen at 215 pounds, Garrett Wangsness at 103, Dalton Westerlund at 130, Cory Hansen at 135 and Carter Kortan at 152 all won by fall. Kortan’s victory came with two bouts remaining and gave Albert Lea a 33-31 lead. It was Kortan’s third victory of the day and he finished the tournament 4-1 overall.

Kortan’s brother, Connor, followed with a 6-3 decision victory over Adam Longtin to give the Tigers a 36-31 lead.

Minneota made it close when Blake Abraham got a major decision victor over Mitch Webb at 171, but the four points weren’t enough to close the gap.

Albert Lea finished the tournament with a 1-4 record.

“I just think this team has to figure out you gotta compete every match when you’re at a dual meet,” Goodnature said. “Right now I don’t think we’re getting everyone to compete every match.”

Cory Hansen didn’t lose a match the entire tournament and finished 5-0. Dalton Westerlund finished 3-0 Saturday and 4-1 for the tournament.

The Tigers now have to prepare for second-ranked Owatonna Thursday when the two teams meet in Owatonna.

Wausau West 36, Albert Lea 24

160 — Carter Kortan (AL) pinned Scott Writz 5:56; 171 — Connor Kortan (AL) dec. James Matczynski 8-5; 189 — Aaron Koeller (W) pinned Caleb Gaudian 1:35; 215 — Travis Teske (W) maj. dec. Alex Nielsen 9-0; 285 — Evan Knutson (W) pinned Christian Anderson 0:45; 103 — Joe Umlauf (W) dec. Garrett Wangsness 3-2 2 OT; 112 — Colin Baine (W) dec. Lucas Hansen 5-1; 119 — Nate Hettinga (W) tech. fall Devin Nelson 24-6; 125 — Rickie Pody (W) dec. Trey Hable 3-1; Dalton Westerlund (AL) dec. Mitch Barnetzke 6-0; 135 — Brandon Ranum (AL) dec. Joshua LaFave 5-4; 140 — Cory Hansen (AL) dec. Nathan Kuel 6-0; 145 — Trevor Rasmussen (AL) pinned Derek Epps 3:22; Conner Monk (W) pinned Zach Kozolek 2:17.

Zumbrota-Mazeppa 38, Albert Lea 27

171 — Chad Matthees (ZM) maj. dec. Connor Kortan 12-0; 189 — Ben Dahl (ZM) dec. Mitch Webb 7-4; 215 — Stuart Raasch (ZM) pinned Caleb Gaudian 3:03; 285 — Jordan Arndt (ZM) pinned Alex Nielsen 3:29; 103 — Garrett Wangsness (AL) dec. Hunter Prodzinski 8-7; 112 — Mitchell Watkins (ZM) dec. Lucas Hansen 4-2; 119 — Nick Majerus (ZM) pinned Devin Nelson 1:08; 125 — Trey Hable (AL) dec. Coleton Stier 6-1; 130 — Dalton Westerlund (AL) pinned Keith Highet 1:55; 135 — Brandon Ranum (AL) pinned Nathan Bennett 3:22; 140 — Cory Hansen (AL) dec. Grant Kyllo 3-0; 145 — Brandon Klindworth (ZM) pinned Trevor Rasmussen 1:17; 152 — Carter Kortan (AL) pinned Ryan Anderson 5:15; 160 — Colby Mehrkens (ZM) pinned Zach Kozolek 1:42.

Albert Lea 36, Minneota 35

189 — Josh VanOverbeke (M) maj. dec. Caleb Gaudian 13-2; 215 — Alex Nielsen (AL) pinned Austin Bierschenk 2:47; 285 — Victor Montelongo (M) pinned Christian Anderson 5:53; 103 — Garrett Wangsness (AL) pinned Dillon Guttormsson 4:40; 112 — Lucas Hansen (AL) dec. Alec Engler 5-0; 119 — Christian Skillings (M) pinned Devin Nelson 1:37; 125 — Beau Buysse (M) pinned Trey Hable 3:40; 130 — Dalton Westerlund (AL) pinned T.J. Beutel 3:44; 135 — Cory Hansen (AL) pinned Isaac Josephson 5:31; 140 — Alex Lessman (M) dec. Trevor Rasmussen 3-1 OT; 145 — Sam Derynck (M) pinned Brody Sunblad 2:28; 152 — Carter Kortan (AL) pinned Travis Longtin 4:34; 160 — Connor Kortan (AL) dec. Adam Longtin 6-3; 171 — Blake Abraham (M) maj. dec. Mitch Webb 10-1.