It probably wouldn’t seem like a state wrestling tournament without a Hansen in the medal round in the individual tournament and two continued the string of appearances for the family Friday at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

Fourth-ranked junior Cory Hansen (40-5) at 135 and his younger brother Lucas, ranked eighth at 103, both will place at the state tournament, along with two other Albert Lea wrestlers after the Tigers found a way to get to the medal stage.

Albert Lea will match its total of placewinners from last season and three are underclassmen this year.

“It definitely feels good to know you’re placing and you’re in the top six in your weight,” said Cory Hansen, who wrestle for third place Saturday at noon.

Hansen led 7-0 against Maple Grove’s Zach Quam when Quam suffered an ankle injury and had to retire from the match. Hansen then beat Elk River’s Tyler Stevens to advance to the third place match. Hansen will face Bemidji’s Dale Norton.

Lucas Hansen (26-20) won his second wrestleback match against Northfield’s Carson Canedy 7-4, but lost his second match 4-1 to Apple Valley’s Jordan Kingsley and will face St. Michael-Albertville’s Cole Sladek for fifth place.

“It’s pretty cool to see him experience state and not get knocked out and place as a ninth-grader,” said Cory Hansen about Lucas.

All four wrestlers looked determined to place at the state tournament in their second wrestleback matches. Seventh-ranked senior Trevor Rasmussen (34-11) said it was likely his biggest match of the tournament.

“I wanted to get in here and place and that’s what my goal was,” said Rasmussen, who defeated Irondale’s Derek Weinmann 9-4 to guarantee his spot at the podium. “It feels good after last year going one and done. It feels good to get back up on the podium again.”

Tigers head coach Larry Goodnature echoed Rasmussen feelings about reaching the medal stage.

“That first round was a great round,” Goodnature said. “Getting all four guys through for a guaranteed medal was pretty fun for everybody and a lot of smiles on their faces. We’re pretty happy about that.”

Sixth-ranked sophomore Dalton Westerlund (33-11) will also place at state for a second consecutive season after he beat Chaska/Chanhassen’s Gavin Larsen 2-0 in his second wrestleback match.

The next round of wrestlebacks didn’t go as well for Albert Lea as only Cory Hansen won his match. Rasmussen, Westerlund and Lucas Hansen will contend for fifth place after suffering losses.

Rasmussen faced second-ranked Chad Mack from Coon Rapids for a spot in the third place match, but lost 3-0 to Mack at 140 pounds.

Westerlund lost 4-3 to St. Cloud Apollo’s Nam Nguyen, ranked fifth at 130 pounds.

“I got them all together and I said, ‘Now, let’s not just be satisfied with getting a medal here, let’s try to get into that third and fourth.’” Goodnature said. “They left it all out on the mat and it just didn’t work out for them to get into that third and fourth so now we have to get that fifth over sixth tomorrow.”

Goodnature said he hoped that the wrestlers learned something from their matches for a spot in the third place matches.

“If you’re going to be a solid wrestler you’ve got to be able to push yourself for six minutes,” Goodnature said. “We learned stuff like that and that’s what it’s all about up here.”