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Lucas Oldenkamp secured his third state medal with a pin over Cash Cole of Highland. Photo courtesy of Lory Groe

Lucas Oldenkamp secured a spot in the third-place match with a 1-0 win over Cael Stricker of Lisbon. Photo courtesy Lory Groe

Steve Brandenburg punched his ticket to the state finals with this late takedown against Dylan Stein of Lenox. Lory Groe/for the Tribune

Steve Brandenburg tries to secure a takedown against Blake Fox of Osage in the state championship match. Lory Groe/for the Tribune

Wyatt Hanna secured a spot in the State Finals when he pinned Henry Lund of AHSTW with this armbar. Lory Groe/for the Tribune

Wyatt Hanna scores a reversal in the State championship match against Trent Warner of Nodaway Valley. Lory Grooe/for the Tribune

After an action-packed four days of wrestling at the Iowa state tournament in Des Moines, two Bulldogs remained in contention for a state championship Saturday night. 

Despite tremendous effort, senior Wyatt Hanna and junior Stephen Brandenburg both came up short in their finals match, each falling to the No. 1 ranked wrestlers in their respective weight classes. 

Brandenburg, who entered the tournament ranked No. 6 in the 144-pound weight class, earned his way into the finals with a tech fall in his first match, followed by two narrow decision victories in the quarter and semifinals. 

In the finals, Brandenburg met No. 1 Blake Fox out of Osage. Fox showed why he was ranked No. 1 in the weight class, going on to beat Brandenburg in a 21-6 technical fall. The loss marked only the third for Brandenburg this season, but the unbeaten Fox proved to be too much in the end. 

Brandenburg ends his season with a 52-3 record and a runner-up finish at 144 pounds. He will be back for redemption next season. 

Hanna, ranked No. 3 at 285 pounds, also cruised to a spot in the finals without much difficulty. In his first match he pinned the No. 9 ranked heavyweight in the first period. He then followed up with a decision win in the quarterfinals and a second-period fall over the No. 6 wrestler in the semifinals. 

However, like Brandenburg, Hanna ran into a buzzsaw in the finals, squaring off with No. 1 Trenton Warner, a senior from Nodaway Valley. Hanna was able to keep the match slightly closer, but came up on the wrong end of a 13-5 major decision. The loss was also Hanna’s third of the season. 

Hanna ends his senior year with a 51-3 record and a second-place finish at 285 pounds, undoubtedly cementing himself as one of the best big men to wrestle for the Bulldogs. 

Also wrestling for top-8 places Saturday were Lake Mills senior and Northwood-Kensett junior Alex Tiedemann. 

Taking place Saturday morning, the consolation rounds saw Oldenkamp wrestle in the third-place match at 113 pounds. Oldenkamp, ranked No. 5 in the weight class entering the tournament, lost a tightly contested 5-4 decision to end the tournament. 

Oldenkamp’s season ends with a fourth-place finish and a 52-3 record. 

Tiedemann wrestled in the seventh-place match and lost in a 10-1 bout to the No. 6-ranked wrestler in the 165-pound class. Tiedemann entered the tournament ranked No. 7. 

His season ends with an eighth-place finish and a 45-4 record. 

About Tyler Julson

Tyler Julson covers sports for the Albert Lea Tribune.

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