The Ankeny wrestling team isn’t satisfied with just making it to the Class 3A state duals tournament.
The Hawks want to win a trophy.
“We have talked all year about winning state duals, and we have a really good team from top to bottom,” said Ankeny coach Jack Wignall. “We’re going to go there and wrestle our best guys, and we’re going to get it done.”
The fifth-seeded Hawks (16-2) will face No. 4 Linn-Mar (Marion) in the quarterfinals on Wednesday at 9 a.m. at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. The Lions posted a 37-35 victory over Ankeny at the Battle of Waterloo on Dec. 18.
“We were kind of hoping to get a rematch,” Wignall said.
If Ankeny can avenge that earlier loss, the Hawks would likely meet No. 1 Waverly-Shell Rock in the semifinals at 1 p.m. The Go-Hawks advanced all 14 of their wrestlers to this year’s traditional tournament, becoming the first team to ever accomplish that feat.
No. 2 Southeast Polk and No. 3 Waukee Northwest are on the opposite side of the bracket. The championship match is slated for 6:30 p.m.
Wignall said he thinks his team is capable of advancing deep into the tournament.
“Duals all come down to matchups, bumping kids up or down here and there,” he said.
Ankeny’s lineup took a hit at Saturday’s district tournament when Cade Bennethum, who is ranked fourth at 182 pounds, was unable to wrestle due to an injury that he suffered during last week’s regional duals. But Wignall said on Sunday that there’s an outside chance that Bennethum could return.
“Even with Cade out–and I’m not going to totally rule him out because he’s having an MRI on Tuesday and there’s a chance that he could wrestle–our approach won’t be any different,” he said. “We’re going there to win.”