Lisbon boys’ wrestling has felt it is better than the No. 12 dual team ranking it currently holds in Class 1A.

And that may still be true.

But what is definitely true is that Alburnett deserves its No. 1 ranking in 1A. On Thursday, Jan. 9, in Wyoming, Alburnett downed Lisbon, 63-12.

“They beat the No. 2-ranked team (Don Bosco) by 23 points,” Lisbon coach Aaron Helmrich said. “They beat us by 51. I think we’re still in the top five.”

The Pirates just had too much rizz Thursday. Alburnett has ranked wrestlers at 11 of the 14 weights. By comparison, the Lions have two ranked wrestlers.

“They just have a solid lineup,” senior Tiernan Boots said. “That makes it pretty tough.”

Boots is ranked No. 4 at 157 for the Lions. He came up with one of the two wins for the Lions against the Pirates. He pinned No. 7 Dawson Becker in 4:38.

“I knew he couldn’t match my pace,” Boots said. “I kept pushing the pace and wore him out. I really wore him down.”

Boots used his power in the third period to put Becker on his back.

“Tiernan has a motor that won’t stop,” Helmrich said. “He got a big takedown, and then capitalized.”

The other Lisbon win against Alburnett came from 106-pound sophomore Jack Gogel, who pinned Jaxson Port in 1:18.

Otherwise, it was all Pirates. Alburnett won 12 matches, including seven by pin and three by technical fall. Lisbon’s other ranked wrestler, Wes Sadler, who is No. 7 at 120 pounds lost an 8-4 decision to Owen Henriksen, who is ranked No. 12 at 120 pounds.

“They have a heck of a team, up and down the lineup,” Helmrich said. “They have 14 guys that are really tough.”

Helmrich said he did see some things he liked in the loss, the first dual loss of the season for Lisbon (13-1). The Lions beat Midland in the double dual, 69-8.

Lisbon didn’t seem to carry the loss to the Tripoli Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 11. The Lions won the team title, topping Denver 235.5 points to 213.5.

Lisbon crowned three champions – Gogel at 106, Sadler at 120 and Jackson Knapp at 138. Five other Lions finished runner-up – Cael Stricker at 113, Carter Gadberry at 132, Boots at 157 and Gage Holub at 165, and Jacob Walerius at 215.

“We’ll use (the loss) as motivation the next three weeks,” Helmrich said. “We’ll try to get some more W’s the next three weeks.”

Lisbon 69, Midland 8

113 – Cael Stricker (L) won by forfeit. 120 – Wesley Sadler (L) tech. fall Nathan Rickels 18-1 3:13. 126 – Cade Happel (L) pinned Kolton Duffy 1:35. 132 – Carter Gadberry (L) pinned Nolan Zaehringer 1:14. 138 – Jackson Knapp (L) won by forfeit. 144 – Luke Robinson (L) maj. dec. Rylan Graves 14-1. 150 – Ian Kelsey (L) won by forfeit. 157 – Tiernan Boots (L) pinned Wyatt Christiansen 1:42. 165 – Gage Holub (L) won by forfeit. 175 – Dane Ballou (M) tech. fall Caleb Brown 18-2 3:10. 215 – Jacob Walerius (L) pinned Collin Hacke :46. 285 – Hudson Herboldsheimer (L) pinned Wyatt King 2:44. 106 – Jack Gogel (L) won by forfeit.

Alburnett 63, Lisbon 12

120 – Owen Henriksen (A) dec. Wesley Sadler 8-4. 126 – Rowdy Neighbor (A) tech. fall Cade Happel 19-3 1:39. 132 – JJ Callahan (A) pinned Carter Gadberry 1:06. 138 – Preston Klostermann (A) tech. fall Jackson Knapp 18-1 4:36. 144 – Cooper Franklin (A) pinned Luke Robinson :37. 150 – Reece Klostermann (A) pinned Ian Kelsey :42. 157 – Tiernan Boots (L) pinned Dawson Becker 4:38. 165 – Hunter Sauer (A) pinned Gage Holub 3:41. 175 – Shayden Washburn (A) tech. fall Caleb Brown 18-2 4:00. 190 – River Williams (A) dec. Gavin Carmer 3-0. 215 – Eaghan Fleshman (A) pinned Jacob Walerius 5:10. 285 – Sevy Redel (A) pinned Hudson Herboldsheimer :47. 106 – Jack Gogel (L) pinned Jaxson Port 1:18. 113 – Atlee Dewitt (A) pinned Cael Stricker 3:57.

Tripoli Invitational

Team scores – 1. Lisbon 235.5; 2. Denver 213.5; 3. Nashua-Plainfield 174; 4. Woodbury Central 154; 5. Emmetsburg 97; 6. Wapsie Valley 89; 7. Belle Plaine 79; 8. South Winneshiek 70; 9. Sumner-Fredericksburg 69.6; 10. Waterloo Columbus 23; 11. Tripoli 6.

106 – Jack Gogel, 3-0, first. 106 – Kyler Happel, 2-2, fifth. 113 – Cael Stricker, 1-1, second. 120 – Wesley Sadler, 3-0, first. 126 – Cade Happel, 2-2, fourth. 132 – Carter Gadberry, 2-1, second. 138 – Jackson Knapp, 2-0, first. 144 – Luke Robinson, 1-3, Sixth. 150 – Ian Kelsey, 2-2, third. 157 – Tiernan Boots, 4-1, second. 165 – Gage Holub, 2-1, second. 175 – Caleb Brown, 2-2, fourth. 190 – Gavin Carmer, 1-3, sixth. 215 – Jacob Walerius, 2-1, second. 285 – Hudson Herboldsheimer, 1-2, fifth. 285 – Aiden Winders, 0-2.