Lake Mills qualifies 6 wrestlers for state

Published 6:51 am Sunday, February 11, 2024

Lake Mills hosted district wrestling on Saturday. Thirteen individuals started the day with aspirations to qualify for the state tournament.

Wrestlers from 10 area schools competed, and Lake Mills was able to qualify six wrestlers to Des Moines this upcoming week.

Four wrestlers will advance to state as district champs. Juniors Lucas Oldenkamp and Landon Price, as well as sophomore Steve Brandenburg, dominated their competition with all pins and one technical fall combined. Junior Wyatt Hanna won his title with a thrilling overtime win. T

Two Bulldogs moved on by placing second. Senior Garrett Ham had two come from behind victories on the day to punch his ticket, and junior Andrew Grunhovd moved on by getting a pin in the semifinals.

“The six guys that qualified for state wrestled very well today,” said coach Alex Brandenburg. “Anytime you can have this many guys wrestling in Des Moines, it is very exciting.”

A few other Lake Mills wrestlers were in the mix for a state trip but lost close matches.

“It was hard to see kids so close to qualifying and not reach their goal,” Brandenburg said. “The district tournament will always be the most emotional day of the season for wrestlers, fans, and coaches.”

The half dozen wrestlers will open the state tournament Wednesday night at 6 p.m. in Wells Fargo Arena.

“This should be a good experience for each of these kids,” Brandenburg said. “Hopefully, we can go down there, wrestle hard and bring home some medals.”