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The Lake Mills wrestling team opened their season Thursday night in Garner and came away with two Top of Iowa Conference dual wins. 

The Bulldogs took on host Garner-Hayfield/Ventura and fell into a big hole early, trailing 27-6. Lake Mills battled back to win the next five bouts en route to a 39-31 comeback victory. 

“The dual against GHV started in the weight classes where they were heavily favored,” said coach Alex Brandenburg. “I was proud of our kids keeping their composure and coming back to win the dual.” 

Up next for the team was Newman Catholic. Once again, the Bulldogs fell behind early but dominated the tail end of the dual to put away the Knights, 48-28. 

“We wrestled pretty well in the second dual,” Brandenburg said. “It was nice to come away with another win tonight, despite missing some starters.” 

The nightcap ended up being a rough one for Lake Mills, as they were easily handled by Nashua-Plainfield, 56-19. 

In the dual, only four wrestlers were able to pick up wins against the Huskies. 

“We faced one of the best dual teams in the state tonight, as N-P is ranked second in one preseason poll,” Brandenburg said. “Our team is very young and will take some lumps this year, but we have to stay positive and keep working to get better every day.” 

Three Bulldogs finished the night with three wins: Lucas Oldenkamp, Steve Brandenburg and Wyatt Hanna.

Lake Mills 39, Garner-Hayfield/Ventura 31

152- Lucas Kral (G) pinned Austin Stene, 1:45. 160- Garrett Ham (L) pinned Parker Stearns, :51. 170- Michael Ohotto (G) dec. Beau Kaufman, 6-0. 182- Parker Moritz (G) pinned Joe Young, :50. 195- Jacob Hanson (G) pinned Ethan Lawson, :19. 220- Trenton Robinson (G) pinned Mason Gaetzke, :33. 285- Wyatt Hanna (L) pinned Tristan Smith, 2:20. 106- Lucas Oldenkamp (L) pinned Kaleb Feld, 1:21. 113- open. 120- Geraldo Vazquez (L) won by forfeit. 126- Royce Peterson (L) dec. Jace Hendrickson, 7-2. 132- Hayden Helgeson (L) won by forfeit. 138- James Cash (G) maj. dec. Carter Christianson, 10-2. 145- Steve Brandenburg (L) won by forfeit. 

Lake Mills 48, Newman Catholic 28

160- Ham (L) pinned Gage Petersen, 1:28. 170- Kaufman (L) won by forfeit. 182- Hank Brandenburg (N) pinned Young, :30. 195- Logan Lursen (N) pinned Lawson, 1:16. 220- Kael Hanig (N) won by forfeit. 285- Hanna (L) pinned Jackson Sable, :38. 106- Oldenkamp (L) won by forfeit. 113- open. 120- Liam Stockberger (N) dec. Vazquez, 15-4. 126- Peterson (L) won by forfeit. 132- Helgeson (L) pinned Alex Bosch, 3:21. 138- Brandenburg (L) inj. def. Pete Miller. 145- Gabe Lewerke (N) pinned Isaiah Torres, :42. 152- Stene (L) won by forfeit.

Nashua-Plainfield 56, Lake Mills 19

170- Kaufman (L) pinned Maverick Dietz, 1:06. 182- Tate White (N) won by forfeit. 195- Aiden Sullivan (N) won by forfeit. 220- Hanna (L) pinned Jackson Zwanziger, 3:55. 285- Isaac Jones (N) won by forfeit. 106- Oldenkamp (L) dec. Nic Brase, 7-2. 113- Jayden Rinken (N) won by forfeit. 120- Hayden Munn (N) pinned Vazquez, 3:11. 126- Garret Rinken (N) tech. fall Helgeson, 19-3. 132- Kendrick Huck (N) pinned Christianson, 2:54. 138- Brandenburg (L) maj. dec. Kaden Wilken, 12-0. 145- Aiden Geiner (N) won by forfeit. 152- Jackson Carey (N) pinned Stene, :57. 160- Eli Kalainoff (N) dec. Ham, 6-3.