It’s the most talked about dual meet of the season for both the Albert Lea and Owatonna wrestling teams and for good reason.

The rivalry is one of the best in the state every year and this year expect another great contest.

The Huskies (28-3, 3-0 Big Nine) are ranked second in the state by The Guillotine and appear the favorite this season going into the dual with the seventh-ranked Tigers (6-7, 4-0 Big Nine) but rankings and records hardly matter when the two rivals hit the mat Thursday at 7 p.m. at Owatonna.

“This is, like, what our whole school talks about,” said Albert Lea senior Trevor Rasmussen. “They’re not unbeatable and that’s how we’re going to come into the match.”

Albert Lea enters the dual as the underdog for the first time in several years because of its inexperienced lineup, which features a pair of ninth-graders and a seventh-grader against senior-laden Owatonna, which features seven seniors in the starting lineup and two juniors. The Tigers have two seniors in the lineup and six juniors.

103 — Lucas Hansen

No. 6

119 — Trey Hable No. 5

125 — Dalton Westerlund

No. 5

130 — Cory Hansen No. 3

140 — Trevor Rasmussen

No. 3

“It’s always a tough dual,” said Albert Lea junior Cory Hansen. “We want it so bad. Both teams want it really bad, that’s always the dual that decides the Big Nine title.”

Owatonna comes into the meet on a roll, knocking off third-ranked Hastings at The Clash last weekend and will welcome back senior Dalton Henderson, who is ranked No. 1 at 189 pounds.

Albert Lea hasn’t found much traction this season but is coming off its first victory over a ranked opponent, No. 1-ranked Minneota in Class A, at The Clash. It’s given the team some momentum coming in, but the Tigers still aren’t anywhere near their peak.

A dual like this can be a chess match on a wrestling mat with each team trying to find the right combinations at each weight for an advantage. Since both teams were at The Clash the coaches and wrestlers got a chance to see each other in action.

103 — Nick Scheffert

No. 3

112 — Evan Green No. 5

125 — Dillin Schultz

No. 6

145 — Jake Fox No. 5

189 — Dalton Henderson No. 1

“We look hard at their lineup they showed at The Clash, our lineup and any moves we might have,” said Albert Lea assistant coach Jon Hansen. “In reality, we’re just going to come at them, straight at them and let things happen.”

Though this is the match that will likely determine the Big Nine title, it’s really a prelude to the a possible rematch in the section championship. The Tigers coaches will use the meet as a chance to scout and test the waters.

“In contrast to previous years, I think they were coming in looking straight at us and looking at us and going with what they had,” Hansen said. “I think the roles are little more reversed this year just because of the amount of experienced guys coming back. They’re coming back with a more loaded team, experience-wise and probably overall talent.”

Owatonna has five ranked wrestlers including Henderson, who finished second at state last season at 171 pounds. Nick Scheffert, a senior at 103, is ranked No. 3, Evan Green, a sophomore at 112, is ranked fifth, Dillin Schultz, a senior is ranked sixth at 125 and senior Jake Fox is ranked fifth at 145.

The Tigers have five ranked wrestlers as well. Freshman Lucas Hansen is ranked sixth at 103, though he has wrestled between 112 and 103 much of the season. Trey Hable is ranked fifth at 119, though he’s been at 125 so far while Dalton Westerlund is fifth at 125. Westerlund has wrestled at 130 and 135. Cory Hansen is third at 130 and has been at 135 and 140 and Trevor Rasmussen is third at 140.

Albert Lea will need a good start in the lower weights, which means bonus points to compete because the Huskies have an edge in the upper weights. The Tigers have struggled to find falls at times, but during the second day of The Clash it appeared the team started to find more pinning combinations.

“That’s one thing that kind of hurts us,” said Cory Hansen about the lack of falls. “So we’ve been trying to work hard to get more of a pinning mindset.”

Still it will come down to matchups and which ever team can find the better matchups.

“When we look at our matchup this first time we’re going to look at whose style of wrestling is going to fit to where we can beat them,” Jon Hansen said. “In a dual like this … you want to look at the best opportunity to score or not get scored on the most.”