The Lake Mills wrestling program will attend the Iowa state wrestling for the first time in 16 years, according to a press release.

Lake Mills hosted regional duals and squared off with conference foe Belmond-Klemme in the semifinals. The Bulldogs jumped out to a commanding 34-0 lead before finally surrendering bouts to the Broncos. Belmond-Klemme battled back, winning the next five matches and closed the lead to 34-24. The Bulldogs won the next two matches to secure the 44-30 win.

“We did not wrestle all that well against Belmond-Klemme, but we never seem to wrestle well in our first dual of the day,” said Lake Mills coach Alex Brandenburg. “It was a good thing our middle upper weights got us out to a commanding lead.”

In the other semifinal, sixth-ranked Sumner-Fredericksburg took down Central Springs 32-30. The win by the Cougars improved their record to 23-2 heading into the finals against the Bulldogs. Unlike the semifinal dual, the finals lead went back and forth. After six matches, Sumner-Fredericksburg led 18-12 before Lake Mills took ahold of the dual. The Bulldogs dominated the lower weights by winning four straight, pulling out to a 33-18 lead. They never looked back. When the dust was settled, the Bulldogs beat the Cougars 45-30, clinching a birth in the state duals next Wednesday in Des Moines.

“Our kids really showed up in the finals and were determined to get the job done,” Brandenburg said. “It was important to get so many pins and avoid getting pinned in a couple matches where we were huge underdogs.”

The team enters state duals with a 31-7 dual record and will be the seventh seed in the eight-team 1A field. Lake Mills will meet second-ranked Don Bosco in the first round.

“We are very excited about the opportunity to wrestle in Des Moines and to break the long drought of not making it to state duals,” Brandenburg said. “It is amazing how many wrestlers had a hand in making this happen. We have had a lot of injuries and lot of different line-ups which makes this all the more special.”