The Austin wrestling team topped Mankato East 51-21 on the road Tuesday.

The Packers (7-10 overall, 5-1 Big Nine) got off to solid start when Devon Felten recorded a pin with one second left in the first period and three other Packers recorded pins and two won by forfeit later in the match.

Austin won seven of the last eight matches of the night.

“Tonight’s match was a big improvement after a tough outing on Saturday,” Austin head coach Bill Kinney said. “Mankato East has a very young and talented team. They battled with us each match of the evening. I was very happy with the way our team responded.”

Brennan Russell got his sixth straight win at 112 pounds and Mike Hirsch got his third straight technical fall at 189 with a 25-10 win.

Austin had 28 takedowns as a team, while the Cougars had just seven.

“I felt we did a great job on our feet and in the top position tonight,” Kinney said. “Alex Amrich, Michael Bednar, and Aaron Juenger won key matches for us. Even though he was fifty pounds lighter than his opponent, Thomas Herrera came back from an early deficit to get his pin. A year ago, I’m not so sure Thomas would have made that comeback. Thomas has made a great deal of progress in the past year.”

RESULTS

103: Devon Felten (A) pinned Jim Tong (ME) (1:59)

112: Brennen Russell (A) 11-9 dec. over Leon Fletcher (ME)

119: Ricardo Fletcher (ME) pinned Cindy Doan (A) (:26)

125: Erick Power (A) won by forfeit

130: Alex Amrich (A) 13-8 dec. over Cole Mosher (ME)

135: Cody Lorentz (ME) 4-3 dec. over Dylan Diekmann (A)

140: Nathan Knutson (ME) pinned Michael Holets (A) (1:48)

145: Howie Underwood (A) pinned Adam Burt (ME) (3:10)

152: Michael Bednar (A) 16-4 major dec. over Pete Trandem (ME)

160: Aaron Juenger (A) pinned Jared Nelson (ME) (:51)

171: Jerrad Ryks (A) won by forfeit

189: Michael Hirsch (A) 25-10 tech. fall over Dylan Fast (ME)

215: Mat Schnorenberg (ME) pinned Brett Kraemer (A) (1:42)

285: Thomas Herrera (A) pinned Collin Gabler (ME) (3:35)