As the second half of its season starts later this week, the Lake Mills wrestling team will not rest on its impressive start to the season.

The Bulldogs are 13-2 on the year and are ranked No. 6 in Class 1A.

“We are excited about how we have done in the first half of the season,” Bulldogs coach Alex Brandenburg said. “Our dual record is better than it was at this time last year, and the rough stretch of our schedule, we feel, is behind us.”

With the Battle of Waterloo and the Minnesota portion of the schedule behind them, Lake Mills looks to build momentum going into the postseason. The squad will wrestle nineteen more duals before the postseason starts.

“The kids need to use these next several weeks to get in the best shape possible for the stretch run,” Brandenburg said. “If we can keep improving and stay healthy, we feel we can compete with any Class1A school.”

After a seventh-place finish at the state dual meet in 2016, the Bulldogs will look to return to the state meet with almost all of their starters back, and hopes for a better finish.

“We may not have as many ranked wrestlers as the top five ranked teams in Class 1A, but I feel we have more depth than of any of them,” Brandenburg said.

Eight wrestlers have at least 10 wins on the year for the Bulldogs. Slade Sifuentes leads the group with a record of 17-0, and he hasn’t lost since February 2015. Caiden Jones, Michael Olsen and Gabe Irons each have 16 wins; Tyler Helgeson 15; Cole Brego 14;  Alex Martinson 11; Kyle Beery 10.

Lake Mills will be in action on Thursday at North Union.