The Lake Mills wrestling team traveled to Emmetsburg on Saturday to take part in its first tournament of the season, according to a press release.

The Bulldogs and host Emmetsburg swapped the lead all day, but in the end Emmetsburg won by the narrowest of margins, 239.5 to 239. The 13-team field produced a lot of great wrestling.

“This tournament was a good learning experience for our team,” head coach Alex Brandenburg said. “A lot of our weaknesses got exposed today, but we look forward to fixing those and getting better.”

Lake Mills was wrestling for the third consecutive day, and it seemed to show at times on Saturday.

“We had several highs and lows today,” Brandenburg said. “I was proud of how our kids competed today despite looking pretty worn down.”

Several Lake Mills wrestlers had excellent days and three in a row won titles: Tyler Helgeson (126), Kyle Beery (132) and Caiden Jones (138). Three others also made it to the finals but were defeated: Jack Ramaker (113), Ashten Love (152) and Elijah Wagner (160).

“Despite not wrestling our best overall as a team, we did have some kids wrestle the best I have ever seen them wrestle,” Brandenburg said.

Other Lake Mills finishes included third: Casey Hanson (145), Zack Wagner (170) and Max Johnson (220); fourth: Jimmy Gallardo (120) and AJ Carter (152); fifth: Isaac Bergo (126), Dalton Thorson (132) and Brett Peterson (145); seventh: Drake Harnish (195); eighth: Trae Butler (120) and Nate Lorenson (285).