The Albert Lea wrestling team had a chance to prove itself over the weekend by taking part in The Clash XV in Rochester on Friday and Saturday.

Some of the best teams from the state of Minnesota and around the country came to compete in the tournament.

The Tigers finished fourth in their bracket and took second in their secondary bracket.

Albert Lea started off with De La Salle (California) in its first match Friday afternoon.

Albert Lea won the match, 35-28, and faced Park Hill (Missouri) in the second round.

Park Hill proved to be a challenging opponent, as it got up early and never relinquished the lead to win, 42-15.

The loss put Albert Lea in a matchup against St. Michael-Albertville. The Tigers were unable to regroup and the Knights took advantage and went on to win, 46-18.

Albert Lea would wrestle three more times on Saturday, with its first matchup coming against Tahoma (Washington). The Tigers had little trouble, winning 54-14, to advance to wrestle Prior Lake.

Again, the Tigers had little trouble with the Lakers, dousing them with a 49-25 win to advance to the championship match in the fourth bracket.

Once there, Albert Lea clashed with Washington High School (Illinois), which had also carved up Tahoma and Prior Lake on its way to meet Albert Lea.

The Tigers fell behind early, 12-4, but rebounded with four wins in a row to take the lead.

It started with a forfeit win for Gavin Ignaszewski, then Ty Harms won a major decision over Washington’s Cole Watkins.

Garrett Aldrich followed Harms with an 11-5 decision of his own over Dalton Jensen. Zach Glazier defeated Caleb Miller, 7-4, to give the Tigers a 20-12 lead.

But that would be all the points Albert Lea could muster, as Washington pitched a shutout the rest of the match to 34-20.

Albert Lea will have a few days off to gear up for its biggest match of the season, which will take place Thursday against Owatonna at Owatonna High School.

Start time is scheduled for 7 p.m.