Lake Mills wrestling finishes season as a team; 6 individuals still to compete

The Lake Mills wrestling team took part in the first session of the state dual tournament Wednesday morning.

The Bulldogs won their first dual against Missouri Valley 36-27, to move onto the semifinal matchup against the No. 1-seed Don Bosco.

In the first dual, Lake Mills picked up pinfalls from Drake Harnish, Jack Ramaker and Tyler Helgeson. Gabe Irons grabbed a technical fall, and Casey Hanson won his match by major decision. Also picking up wins by decision were Elijah Wagner, Caiden Jones and Alex Martinson.

Lake Mills was less fortunate in the semifinal round against Don Bosco. The Bulldogs fell to the Dons, 42-22.

The Bulldogs came out strong, taking an early lead with back-to-back pinfalls from Harnish and Cole Bergo, followed by an 11-0 major decision from Irons. After going up 16-4, the Bulldogs lost their next nine matches, falling into a 42-16 hole. The Bulldogs ended the dual on a positive note with Alex Albert getting a win via pinfall in the first period.

Lake Mills took on the No. 2-seed Lisbon in the consolation dual Wednesday night.

The Bulldogs knew they had a tall task in front of them and met that challenge head on, beating the Lions 46-29.

Harnish notched his second pinfall of the day, beating his opponent in just over one minute. He was followed by Irons winning in an 11-1 major decision — his third bonus point win of the night.

After a pinfall loss at 220, the Bulldogs went on a pinning streak of their own.

Senior Brett Tyler grabbed a pinfall in an impressive 20 seconds, followed by falls from Ramaker and Jones.

In perhaps one of the most impressive wins of the day, Alex Martinson pinned his No. 2-ranked opponent in just 30 seconds.

Already up 34-19, Lake Mills has victory in sight. Kyle Beery and Drae Love each picked up two more pinfalls for the Bulldogs en route to their second consecutive third-place dual finish.

In a dual where all of the matches ended with bonus points, the Bulldogs notched seven pinfall victories.

For most of the team, the season ends with the third-place victory.

However, for Irons, Jones, Wagner, Helgeson, Ramaker and Hanson, the win marks only the beginning of their state journey. The group will start the individual state tournament at 6 p.m. Thursday with the first round of the Class 1A tournament. Check back with the Tribune for more results as they become available.