A year ago, the Ankeny girls’ wrestling team opened its inaugural season with a pair of losses to Dallas Center-Grimes and Waverly-Shell Rock.
On Tuesday at Dallas Center-Grimes, Ankeny avenged those losses in impressive fashion.
After opening the season with a 72-9 victory over Dallas Center-Grimes, seventh-ranked Ankeny then followed with a 42-39 win over No. 1 Waverly-Shell Rock, which won last year’s state tournament.
“There were lots of emotions walking out of that gym with two wins,” said Ankeny coach Dustin Roland. “We have come a long way since taking a couple beatings last year from those same two teams. I couldn’t be more proud of those girls and our coaching staff.”
Ankeny had four falls and won three other matches by forfeit against Waverly-Shell Rock. The Go-Hawks had four falls and won two matches by forfeit.
The only match that went the distance came at 140 pounds, where Ankeny’s Hayden Bratland dropped a 9-4 decision to Kiara Djoumessi, an Iowa recruit. The loss proved to be enough for Bratland, who avoided a fall that would have resulted in a 42-42 tie.
“One of our goals this year is to score points,” Roland said. “It was very evident to me that we were trying to score in all positions. With it being so early in the year and all three teams not having their best lineups, you have to take it with a grain of salt. With that said, anytime you can get a win over the No. 1-ranked team and four-time defending state champs it is something to be proud of. Like I said earlier, 100 percent of the credit goes to our girls that held nothing back.
“Shout out to Parker Fife for stepping into the varsity lineup at the last minute. That was a totally selfless thing to do,” he added.
Lauren Watson at 100 pounds, Haylee McGrew at 155 and Mallorie McGuire at 170 each had two falls for Ankeny on the night. It was the varsity debut for Watson, a freshman.
“Lauren was impressive with two wins, including one over a ranked wrestler,” Roland said.
Presley Sullivan at 105, Trudy Haag at 120 and Dana Cleveland at 145 also had two victories for Ankeny. They each had a fall against Dallas Center-Grimes.
Elyse Engebretson at 125, Bratland and Josie Bishop at 190 also recorded pins against the host Fillies.
“Josie picked up a huge win over DC-G after having only two practices under her belt due to swimming,” Roland said.
Ankeny’s Nora Bockes won twice by forfeit at 115. Emma Daggett at 130 and Melanie Martinez at 235 also had wins against Dallas Center-Grimes.
“I’m looking forward to seeing how these girls navigate 32-person brackets Saturday at Nevada,” Roland said.
Here are the match-by-match results from Tuesday’s meets:
Ankeny 72, Dallas Center-Grimes 9
100: Watson pinned Edwards, 4:50; 105: Sullivan won by forfeit; 110: Newell (D) won by forfeit; 115: Bockes won by forfeit; 120: Haag pinned Bond, 3:09; 125: Engebretson pinned Macke, :37; 130: Daggett won by disqualification over Kern; 135: Jahangir (D) beat Hans, 9-2; 140: Bratland pinned Mulder, :55; 145: Cleveland pinned Gray, 3:23; 155: McGrew pinned Van Der Molen, :43; 170: McGuire pinned Borcherding, 1:36; 190: Bishop pinned Beaudet, 3:33; 235: Martinez won by forfeit.
Ankeny 42, Waverly-Shell Rock 39
125: Schult (W) pinned Engebretson, 5:48; 130: Stough (W) pinned Daggett, 1:43; 135: Miller (W) pinned Hans, 2:31; 140: Djoumessi (W) beat Bratland, 9-4; 145: Cleveland (A) won by forfeit; 155: McGrew (A) pinned Stone, 1:48; 170: McGuire (A) pinned Johnson, :44; 190: Hinrichs (W) won by forfeit; 235: Soesbe (W) won by forfeit; 100: Watson (A) pinned Hoth, 4:35; 105: Sullivan (A) pinned Doyle, 2:20; 110: Tjedt (W) pinned Fife, :22; 115: Bockes (A) won by forfeit; 120: Haag (A) won by forfeit.
