For the second week in a row, the Ankeny wrestling team battled its CIML Conference opponent down to the final match.
This time, the Hawks came out on top.
Truman Folkers pinned Waukee’s Carson Crigger in 4 minutes 54 seconds at 132 pounds to give Ankeny a 35-32 victory over the visiting Warriors on Thursday. The Hawks evened their dual-meet record at 1-1 in the league, while Waukee dropped to 0-2.
“I was a little bit surprised that it was that close, but we still have guys out who are sick,” said Ankeny coach Jack Wignall. “We didn’t have everybody in the lineup that we wanted, but we’re slowly starting to get there. It was just a patchwork of kids for this meet.”
Ankeny got off to a fast start, winning the first four matches to build a 20-0 lead. Perez Perez at 138 and second-ranked Ben Hansen at 144 opened the meet with back-to-back falls, capped off by Hansen’s pin over Cooper Martin in just 14 seconds.
“Ben’s been sick,” Wignall said. “I didn’t think we were going to have him, but he showed up in the morning and was 5 pounds over. But he got a couple workouts in and made weight, and he didn’t waste any time. I told him to get in and get out if you can, and he listened. He did just that.”
After Kash Johnson posted a 7-6 decision over Kaden Witzenburg at 150, No. 9 Teagen Peiffer followed with a technical fall at 157. Peiffer defeated Beau Andrews, 16-1, in 5:11.
However, Waukee then won the next six matches–three of them by falls–and took a 28-20 lead after Drake Pelton posted a 10-4 decision over Eddie Salgado at 106.
Ankeny closed the gap to 28-26 when Ben Walsh, who is ranked third at 106, won by forfeit at 113. But Waukee’s Mahdi Fadel then posted a 9-1 major decision over Vaughn Houston at 120, giving the Warriors a 32-26 advantage with two matches left.
The Hawks got a big win at 126 from Aiden Winkie, who posted a 6-1 decision over Lincoln Miller. That cut Waukee’s lead to 32-29 and set the stage for Folkers’ heriocs.
“Aiden wrestled a great match, and then Truman sealed the deal for us,” Wignall said. “We knew with our lack of bodies that there were some kids we needed to get into certain weights, and that’s what we did.”
Folkers, who is ranked fifth at 126, moved up a weight and needed to win by at least a major decision to give his team the victory. And the junior delivered with a fall midway through the third period.
“That was pretty impressive,” Wignall said. “Truman went up a weight and the kid he wrestled went down a weight, so he was wrestling a much bigger kid. He’s just jumped to a higher level this season.”
Folkers placed sixth in Class 3A at 113 a year ago.
“He cut a lot of weight his freshman and sophomore years to make 106 and 113,” Wignall said. “After the season last year, I told him he could go any weight he wanted this year. He could make 120 pretty easily, but he’s a lot stronger and a lot healthier and having more fun at 126. He’s in a really good spot right now.”
Ankeny will compete in the Frank Baltzley Invitational on Saturday at Johnston. The Hawks placed third at last year’s tournament.
“We’re going to be short some guys, but that’s ok,” Wignall said. “We’re still going to go over there and compete.”
Here are the match-by-match results from Thursday’s meet:
Ankeny 35, Waukee 32
138: Perez (A) pinned Jones, 3:44; 144: Hansen (A) pinned Martin, :14; 150: Johnson (A) beat Witzenburg, 7-6; 157: Peiffer (A) won by technical fall over Andrews, 16-1; 165: Anderson (W) pinned Schlee, 2:58; 175: Gammell (W) beat Egeberg, 11-3; 190: Steger (W) pinned Howard, :35; 215: Lloyd (W) beat Haase, 4-3; 285: Hine (W) pinned Beroth, :43; 106: Pelton (W) beat Salgado, 10-4; 113: Walsh (A) won by forfeit; 120: Fadel (W) beat Houston, 9-1; 126: Winkie (A) beat Miller, 6-1; 132: Folkers (A) pinned Crigger, 4:54.
