The Albert Lea Tigers wrestling team placed third Saturday at the Kiffmeyer Dual at St. Cloud Tech High School.

Tigers head coach Larry Goodnature called the tournament a total team effort with only one wrestler finishing the day 3-0.

“Everybody contributed at a different times and had a hand in our team winning duals,” Goodnature said.

The No.6-ranked Tigers were seeded fourth in the eight-team tournament and sandwiched a loss to No. 2 St. Michael-Albertville with wins over No. 7 Cambridge-Isanti and Foley, the No. 3-ranked team in Class AA.

“I was very pleased,” Goodnature said, of the third-place finish. “We left the tournament feeling pretty good.”

In their first dual against Cambridge-Isanti, the Tigers trailed 30-25 going into the final match at heavyweight. The Tigers’ Alex Nielsen faced Jon Knowlton, a wrestler he beat 4-0 earlier this season, and attacked his physically looking for a fall. As a result, Knowlton was called for stalling too many times and disqualified, giving the Tigers six points and a 31-30 win.

In the semifinals against St. Michael-Albertville, the Tigers trailed 24-0 through 140 pounds but gave up just five decisions and a fall. Trey Hable, Cory Hansen and Carter Kortan each notched wins for the Tigers as they lost 34-11.

In their final match against Foley, the Tigers’ Garrett Wangsness and Devin Nelson each picked up falls but Albert Lea fell behind 24-12 through 145 pounds. The Tigers won the duals final six matches behind Dalton Westerlund’s fall at 152 pounds and Albert Lea won 37-24.

Goodnature credited the Tigers’ upperclassman for impressive performances at the Kiffmeyer Duals, Thursday against Owatonna and in the previous three tournaments.

“They’ve been carry this team and wrestling great,” Goodnature said. “They have confidence they can compete with anybody in the state and they have.”

Senior 160-pounder Cory Hansen was the Tigers’ lone wrestler to finish the tournament undefeated.

The Tigers junior varsity finished in fifth place with a 69-6 win over Sauk Rapids.

The Tigers wrestle again at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Faribault.

Albert Lea 31, Cambridge-Isanti 30

103 Dakota Wangsness (AL) fall Tommy Guy (CI) :41

112 Garrett Wangsness (AL) fall Nate Medin (CI) 3:02

119 Lucas Hanson (AL) dec. Tanner Torgerson (CI) 5-4

125 Tyler Tischer (CI) fall Devin Nelson (AL) 1:17

130 Landon Chumley (CI) dec. Tristan westerlund (AL) 4-2

135 Ty Torgerson (CI) fall Stephen Samudio (AL) :29

140 Caleb Kolodge (AL) fall Travis Holt (CI) 5:40

145 Cody Skog (CI) dec. Trey Hable (AL) 8-5

152 Dalton Westerlund (AL) maj. dec. Adam Kellling (CI) 10-0

160 Cory Hanson (AL) dec. Mark Volker (CI) 7-0

171 Clayton Jennissen (CI) dec. Carter Kortan (AL) 6-3

189 Connor Kortan (AL) dec. Cody Glines (CI) 9-3

215 Derek Swanson (CI) dec. Caleb Gaudian (AL) 7-2

285 Alex Nielsen (AL) DQ Jon Knowlton (CI)

St. Michael-Albertville 34, Albert Lea 11

103 Tom Thorn (STMA) dec. Dakota Wangsness (AL) 6-2

112 Cole Sladek (STMA) dec. Garrett Wangsness (AL) 6-4

119 Mark Voss (STMA) dec. Lucas Hanson (AL) 5-2

125 Lincoln Mallinger (STMA) dec. Devin Nelson (AL) 5-3

130 Wayne Voss (STMA) dec. Tristan Westerlund (AL) 5-1

135 Mike Lindquist (STMA) fall Stephen Samudio (AL) :56

140 Mike Nerdahl (STMA) dec. Caleb Kolodge (AL) 9-6

145 Trey Hable (Al) dec. Lucas Martin (STMA) 6-4

152 Jake Lillie (STMA) dec. Dalton Westerlund (AL) 5-4

160 Cory Hanson (AL) tech. fall Ricky Briggs (STMA) 3:31

171 Carter Kortan (AL) dec. Ryan Stott (STMA) 3-1

189 Shaun Little (STMA) dec. Connor Kortan (AL) 3-2

215 double forfeit

285 Parker Betts (STMA) maj. dec. Alex Nielsen (AL) 13-1

Albert Lea 37, Foley 24

103 Tristan Manderfield (FOL) dec. Dakota Wangsness (AL) 3-0

112 Garrett Wangsness (AL) fall Tyler Jenson (FOL) 2:54

119 Keith Thell (FOL) dec. Lucas Hansen (AL) 6-2

125 Mitch Dunlap (FOL) dec. Spencer Carstens (AL) 7-3

130 Devin Nelson (AL) fall Taylor Rothfork (FOL) 1:04

135 Sam Keeler (FOL) fall Tristan Westerlund (AL) 3:09

140 Tyler Bemboom (FOL) fall Bany Chan (AL) 1:59

145 Chevy Goble (FOL) dec. Trey Hable (AL) 3-2 3OT

152 Dalton Westerlund (AL) fall Terren Kampa (FOL) 3:02

160 Cory Hanson (AL) maj. dec. Taylor Lewandowski (FOL) 9-1

171 Carter Hortan (AL) dec. Nick Lefebvre (FOL) 6-3

189 Conner Kortan (AL) fall Mitch Keeler (FOL) 1:42

215 Caleb Gaudian (AL) dec. Tony Kipka (FOL) 6-3

285 Alex Nielsen (AL) dec. Sam Olson (FOL) 4-0