Austin wrestled its best against a powerful group of opponents but after a busy week the Packers could not come away with a dual win at a five-team challenge Saturday in Caledonia.

The Packers (4-8) went 0-4 for fifth place but came away with plenty to be proud of.

"Most of our guys have wrestled 14-15 times in two weeks, and we are battling fatigue and injuries," AHS coach Bill Kinney said. "Our schedule has not allowed for as much teaching time in the practice room as we would like, so we are still making some critical errors at key times in matches.

"You cannot be tired, hurt, or make mistakes against the caliber of wrestlers we wrestled this weekend or the results will be ugly."

No. 12 ranked Dassel-Cokato won all four of its duals for first place and No. 15 Caledonia took second. Kasson-Mantorville and Plainview/Elgin-Millville also took duals from Austin.

The team's highlight came against PEM. The Bulldogs have four rated wrestlers but still only beat the Packers by five team points. In the middle of a 4-0 day, top-rated T.J. Parlin pinned PEM's fourth-ranked Bobby Bested, who was wrestling up two weight classes at 130.

Danny Rysavy (103), Josh Solberg (171) and Matt Day (275) all went 3-1. Solberg and Day were both defeated by PEM's rated wrestlers but came back to win their final matches in the dual loss to Caledonia.

Marcus Ball (160) also went 2-0 for the Packers, who have their last meet before Christmas Tuesday at Rochester Century in a triangular including Goodhue.

"We have one more competition before the break, then we'll take a rest, nurse some injuries, and get ready for the second half of the season," Kinney said.

Southland third at K-W

Top-rated Adam Landherr and unranked Dan Klingfus each took first place in leading the Southland wrestling team to third place at Saturday's Kenyon-Wanamingo Tournament.

Landherr locked up with Triton's No. 2 Jed Deno in the 160-pound finals and scored a 6-5 decision for the Rebels. Klingfus won a 7-0 decision in the 103 finale.

Four others -- Zach Stratton, Cory Mees, Joe Klaehn and Pete Churchill — placed second. Isaac Klaehn and Lucas Smith garnered third, and Alex Padilla placed fifth.

All of Southland's wrestlers placed in the top five, but five empty weights kept the Rebels from competing for first place as a team. Lake City won with a 197, Lakeville had 170.5, and Southland was just behind at 165.5.

The Rebels go to St. Ansgar, Iowa, for a dual Thursday night.

Blossoms second

Two points separated the Blooming Prairie wrestling team from first place at the Byron Tournament Saturday. The host Bears won a 38-36 dual for the championship.

Both teams won five of the 10 matches wrestled and both surrendered two forfeits, but the Bears had three wins by fall to Blooming's two.

Luke Nelson (135) and Brad Klemmensen (140) each recorded falls for the Blossoms, while the team's three rated wrestlers -- Grant Johnson (125), Steven Salinas (171) and Jay Salinas (275) each got decisions.

Nelson finished the day 3-0 with three pins as the Blossoms beat Zumbrota-Mazeppa 42-33 and LaCrescent 44-30. Steve Salinas was also 3-0 with two pins, while Johnson and Jay Salinas were 2-0. Klemmensen, Sam Tashima and Jeremiah Johnson were all 2-1.

Bulldogs get second

The GMLOK Bulldogs took second place with a 2-1 showing at the Goodhue Quadranguar Saturday. GMLOK's only loss was to Class A's seventh-rated Goodhue, 39-30.

The Bulldogs defeated Burnsville, a Lean and Mean team on the Class AAA chart according to The Guillotene rankings, 46-27. GMLOK also stopped Henry Sibley, 67-12.

GMLOK (4-1) does not wrestle again until the team travels to Plainview Friday for a dual with the PEM Bulldogs. On Saturday GMLOK goes to the Fillmore Central Tournament.