Bulldogs wrestlers take 7th at Keith Young Invitational tournament

Published 8:39 am Monday, December 4, 2023

Twelve wrestlers from Lake Mills competed in the Keith Young Invitational at Cedar Falls High School this weekend.

Of the 16 teams in the tournament, 13 were some of the largest schools in the state. The Bulldogs held their own by finishing 7th in the final standings.

“It was a very tough tournament, and we wrestled pretty well.” said coach Alex Brandenburg. “I would say the first couple rounds we wrestled our best and faded a bit towards the end having been our third meet of the week.”

Individually, three wrestlers qualified for the finals. Lucas Oldenkamp (106), Landon Price (138), and Wyatt Hanna (215) came away with runner-up finishes. Price and Hanna each lost to highly ranked 3A opponents.

The Bulldogs had a few other placewinners with Steve Brandenburg getting 3rd (144), Hayden Helgeson 4th (132), and Royce Peterson 6th (126).

Lake Mills also sent 18 wrestlers to St. Ansgar for a tournament, and that group finished third out of five in the team standings. Ethan Lawson was champion at 190 pounds, while Caleb Skogen (138), Josiah Kjeldahl (175), and Jakobe Anderson (285) each placed second.

“There was a lot of good mat time for our kids in both places today,” Brandenburg said. “We had a successful week as a program, as we knocked off the third-ranked team in a dual, and our kids wrestled very well today in Cedar Falls as well as those who wrestled in St. Ansgar.”

Keith Young Invitational standings: Dubuque Hempstead 184.5, Ankeny Centennial 177, Norwalk 166, North Scott 154, Valley, West Des Moines 133.5, CR Kennedy 131, Lake Mills 126, Ames 106, Dowling 79, Charles City 69, Cedar Falls 61.5, Western Dubuque 54, Belle Plaine 48, CR Jefferson 37, Mason City 34.5, Waterloo West 16.

Finals: 106: Jack Wallukait (D) forfeit over Lucas Oldenkamp (LM). 113: Tyler Harper (N) dec. Cale Vandermark (AC), 3-2. 120: Cody Vandermark (AC) pinned Matthew Williams (NS). 126: Evan Bratten (DH) maj. dec. Jordan Young (CC), 16-2. 132: Mitchell Murphy (DH) dec. Carter Cajthaml (CC), 10-5. 138- Jabari Hinson (A) dec. Landon Price (LM), 4-0. 144- JahKari Clark (V) dec. Joe Hirsch (WD), 5-1. 150- Lucas Bruhl (AC) tech. fall Owen Walker (V), 18-3. 157- Cinsere Clark (V) dec. Louden Bloxham (CRK), 9-2. 165- Ari Ehlts (AC) dec. Dawson Fish (DH), 5-2. 175- Nic VanArkel (V) pinned Dan Dhabolt (AC). 190- Jace Tippet (NS) dec. Camden Smith (DH), 8-2. 215- Danarii Mickel (A) dec. Wyatt Hanna (LM), 5-2. 285- Kolton Borcherding (N) pinned Dawson Rheingans (NS).