The Ankeny wrestling team suffered some heavy losses to graduation last spring, forcing coach Jack Wignall to fill some holes in the Hawks’ lineup.
Five of the squad’s nine state qualifiers and four of the six placewinners will have to be replaced.
“We did lose a talented group of seniors,” said Wignall. “They won a lot of matches and scored points at tournaments and at the state tournament. They will be missed.”
Senior Ben Hansen is back along with juniors Truman Folkers and Perez Perez and sophomore Ben Walsh. They helped the Hawks to a fourth-place finish at the Class 3A state duals tournament and a 10th-place finish in the traditional tournament, where they scored 89.5 points.
Hansen is a three-time placewinner with a career record of 89-31. As a junior, he posted a 38-10 mark and placed sixth at 138 pounds.
Hansen finished eighth at 126 in 2022 and at 106 as a freshman.
Folkers, meanwhile, is a two-time qualifier. After posting a 20-6 record at 106 as a freshman, he went 36-14 and placed sixth at 113 last year.
The Hawks should be strong at the lower weights. Walsh compiled a 30-21 mark at 106 last year, while Perez Perez also qualified for state and went 19-18 at 126.
Senior Teagen Peiffer and junior Andrew Haase are both two-time letterwinners for the Hawks. Haase is among the wrestlers who also helped Ankeny’s football team to a runner-up finish in Class 5A earlier this month.
“With the success of our football team, it is always a bit disjointed when we don’t have the football guys in the room,” Wignall said. “They took off last week and will start (practicing) this week. As far as the guys we have in the room, they are working hard and learning. We have some seasoned kids, but we also have quite a few freshmen in our room. We typically bring up one or two, but this year we have brought up about 10. This class of ninth graders has a lot of mat time. Overall, it was great to get the season started!”
Senior Lincoln Sanderson is also back along with two other returning letterwinners, juniors Jeremiah Peters and Jacob Schlee. They are all battling for varsity positions.
“We do have some guys that wrestled behind (last year’s seniors) and got beat on every day in practice,” Wignall said. “Those guys are more than ready to make their mark for the Hawks. Guys like Haase, Peters, Brady Claeys and Rece Johnson.”
The talented freshman class includes Isaac Wignall, Jack’s nephew. Cameron Anderson, Ryleigh Egeberg and Kash Johnson are others who could make an immediate impact.
“It’s too early to tell where and if the freshmen will make the lineup,” Wignall said. “Several of them wrestled lots of matches in the spring, and we are hoping they can be contributors. They all have a big upside, and we are excited to have them in the room.”
Ankeny will open its season on Thursday with a CIML Conference dual meet at Dowling Catholic. The Hawks will then compete in the Dan Gable Donnybrook on Friday and Saturday at Coralville.
Wignall said his team’s long-term goals will be the same that they are every year.
“Qualifying for state duals is always the standard, which we have done the last two years. The bar is set now,” he said. “We are always hunting a trophy at the traditional state tournament. We have yet to achieve that goal, but nevertheless, that is always the goal!”
Getting healthy, and staying that way, will be extremely important.
“Another important piece is going to be for the freshmen to step up and contribute. We brought them up for a reason,” Wignall said. “Our qualifiers and placewinners have to place and place higher than last year. Lastly, those guys I named–and a few I didn’t include–need to step in and be difference-makers for us, meaning they need to get better week after week after week. Remaining the status quo will not help us reach our goals.
“They have to be coachable and work hard day in and day out,” he added.
