The state wrestling tournament will provide Albert Lea High School senior Logan Kortan one more opportunity to leave his mark on prep wrestling.

Kortan became the all-time winningest wrestler in Albert Lea history earlier this season and set a new record for state tournament appearances with five last weekend with his second place finish at the Section 1AAA meet in Rochester.

It has been a trying season for Kortan, who missed the first month and a half because of an ankle injury he suffered in the final game of the football season.

“He showed myself and the team that he can come back from adversity,” said Tigers head coach Larry Goodnature. “He showed me a lot of character coming back from a devastating injury like he did.”

Kortan will begin his fifth appearance at state with the goal of becoming a state champion. If his previous four trips are any indication, his chances look pretty good.

Kortan burst onto the Albert Lea wrestling scene as an eighth-grader, going 35-6 in his first varsity season and finishing third at 103 pounds. His freshman season he came back at 112 pounds and recorded a 40-11 record and a fourth place finish. His sophomore season, he had another 40-11 season and a fourth place finish at 125. Last season at 135 he accumulated 44 wins and just six losses en route to a fifth place finish.

This season Kortan enters the tournament with a 19-2 record, and his second loss just came Saturday at the section championship.

“I think he’s reached a lot of his goals by getting back in the state tournament and getting back on the team and getting that Albert Lea all-time win record,” Goodnature said. “I know he’s not done.”

His run through the individual bracket at 160 pounds begins with the No. 2 ranked wrestler in state, Zak Coates. Kortan is ranked No. 4 in the state at 152 and the matchup will be an exciting one for fans.

“It’s definitely possible,” Kortan said of a state title run. “I just have to go out and wrestle my match. If I do that things will turn out the way they should.”

Goodnature believes Kortan has all the skill sets required to make a run to a state crown.

“He’s very quick,” Goodnature said. “He’s got good balance and of course he’s been in it all his life.”

Kortan has been in wrestling ever since kindergarten, and all it took was a flyer he got from school to get him interested back then.

“I took home one of those youth wrestling sheets, and I’ve been a part of wrestling ever since,” Kortan said. “I said I’ll try it, and ever since it’s been a blast.”

One of the toughest parts about his injury was being unable to wrestle with the team.

“I just wanted to be a part of the team and I felt we were going to go to state and I just wanted to be part of the state tournament team,” Kortan said. “I just wanted to be back, I hate missing out.”

Kortan has been a stalwart of the Albert Lea program and has helped elevate the program to its most recent run of success, which includes a record four-consecutive team appearances in the state tournament.

“He’s always been focused for us,” Goodnature said. “He’s a hard worker in the practice room for us.”