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After qualifying nine wrestlers for the Minnesota state wrestling tournament, the Albert Lea program came away with three top-five place winners to show for it. 

The highest finisher was senior Logan Davis, who came in second place at 127 pounds, followed by senior Nick Korman, who worked his way through the consolation bracket at 160 pounds, and sophomore Maggie Olson, who also won the consolation side of the girls 112-pounds bracket. 

Davis, the No. 2-ranked 127-pounder coming into the tournament, started out strong with a 19-4 technical fall and second-period pinfall in the opening round and quarterfinals, respectively. Neither of Davis’s opponents in his first two matches were ranked in the top-10 of the weight class. 

In the semifinals, Davis took on Gabriel Morin of Bemidji, who is ranked No. 6 in the state. Morin gave Davis more of a fight, taking the match all three periods. However, Davis was able to come away with the victory in the end, winning a 4-1 decision and placing him in the championship final. 

As with most finals, this battle was between the two best in their class, as Davis squared off with the No. 1-ranked Brett Swenson. It was a low-scoring contest, but in the end Davis came up just short, falling in a 4-2 decision. Davis ends his season with a 48-4 record and a runner-up finish at the state tournament. 

Korman, ranked No. 6 at 160 pounds, squeaked by in his first-round match, winning a 4-3 decision before falling to the No. 5-ranked 160-pounder in the quarterfinals in a 10-8 decision. 

Once in the consolation, Korman went on a tear, winning four straight to take home a third-place finish. His wins included a second period pinfall over the No. 7-ranked wrestler, a 9-3 decision over the No.8-ranked wrestler, a 10-3 decision over the No. 3-ranked wrestler and it all culminated with him getting revenge on the opponent who beat him in the quarterfinals. After a narrow loss earlier in the tournament, Korman won in an ultimate tie-breaker over No. 5 Zane Engles of Northfield. 

Korman ends his season with a 29-5 record and a third-place finish. 

Olson, ranked No. 2 at 112 pounds, won her first-round match easily in a 17-0 technical fall over the No. 8 Olivia Browen from LPGE Browerville. Olson then lost a 6-3 decision to No. 4 Luverne junior Brenie Rock. 

However, Olson bounced back in a big way in the consolation final by defeating No. 3 Wabasha-Kellog’s Hayden Hawkins in a 7-2 decision. 

Olson ends her season with a 22-3 record and a third-place finish. 

Also wrestling for the Tigers but missing out on a top-six finish were seniors Brody Ignaszewski and Evan Schroeder and sophomores Devon Groess, Dylan Groess, Ryan Collins and Brecken Wachholz. 

Dylan Groess and Wachholz were the only two from that group who won their first-round matches. 

Dylan Groess followed up his opening round with a tight 4-0 loss to the No. 10-ranked wrestler at 121 pounds, before ultimately losing to Shakopee’s Anthony Heim in a 13-2 major decision. Heim was ranked No. 2 in the weight class. He ends his season with a 37-15 record. 

Wacholz, ranked No. 8 at 172 pounds, lost his quarterfinal match in a first-period fall to the No. 1-ranked wrestler in St. Michael-Albertville’s Jarrett Wadsen. Wacholz won his first match in the consolation bracket, a 4-0 decision win, before falling in the next round in a second-period fall to the No. 4-ranked 172-pounder. 

Wacholz ends his season with a 34-13 record. 

Devon Groess, Collins, Ignaszewski and Schroeder all lost their first round matchups and after their first-round opponents all went on to lose their quarterfinal matches, none were granted the opportunity for a wrestleback.