The Hampton-Dumont-CAL girls and boys wrestling teams both lost home duals to Lake Mills Tuesday, as aired on 99 The Wave. The #14 (2A) boys fell to #4 (1A) Lake Mills 42-28 and the girls lost 54-15.
In the boys dual, Hampton-Dumont-CAL came up short despite being spotted 12 points due to Lake Mills having two open weight classes. At 138, returning state qualifier Charlie Showalter won a 1:16 fall. At 165, Colin Bird won a 2:58 fall. William Vosburg won a 16-4 major decision at 120 to round out the Hampton-Dumont-CAL wins. Four matches were decisions, all won by Lake Mills. Hampton-Dumont-CAL coach Patrick Hansen says the close matches were the difference.
“We’ve just got to get better,” Hansen says. “I mean, we lost some close matches we probably shouldn’t have. It comes back to bite you. I think our britches got a little too big. A lot of stuff going on in here tonight. And Lake Mills, got to tip the hat to them. They came in, they brought it, they wrestled well. I mean, they’re ranked fourth in the state for a reason. It’s not like we got beat by some JV squad.”
Hampton-Dumont-CAL will return to action Friday and Saturday at the Dan Gable Donnybrook Tournament at Xtream Arena.
In the girls dual, Lake Mills racked up six wins by fall and got 18 free points due to open weight classes. Hampton-Dumont-CAL’s Maren Subbert earned a 1:39 fall at 235, sliding up a weight class from her usual 190. Megan Severs earned a 3:17 fall at 140, and Elsie Kuper won a 10-4 decision at 170.
“We knew it was going to be tough,” Head Coach Brittany Stevens says. “Lake Mills has been around before they were Lake Mills. They were with that big team up there up north. And so we knew we were coming up against some good opponents, but we were ready for it. We were more excited to have everybody get a match, more than byes and open matches. So we were excited for that. Take away all of those forfeits, and it’s not that lopsided. So we’re pretty happy about the outcome. My girls stayed in it. They were ready to fight. They need the mat time and that experience. So there’s no losing, there’s only learning and getting better with every time they step out on that mat, and they step up to the challenge every time.”
It was the first-ever home competition for the Hampton-Dumont-CAL girls wrestling program.
Hampton-Dumont-CAL will return to action Tuesday, December 10 by hosting Janesville.
Patrick Hansen interview:
Brittany Stevens interview:
