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Ankeny girls defeat Algona, W. Marshall, Winterset at North Polk Duals

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Ankeny’s Lauren Watson tries to turn Algona’s Mara Davis onto her back during a 100-pound match at the North Polk Duals on Thursday. Watson posted a 5-2 decision to help her team to a 57-15 victory. (Photo by Dan Holm)

The Ankeny girls’ wrestling team turned in a dominant performance on Thursday at the North Polk Duals.

Ankeny posted wins over Algona (57-15), West Marshall (48-36) and Winterset (84-0) to raise its overall record to 17-2. Coach Dustin Roland’s team won every match against Winterset, all but three against Algona and eight of the 14 matches against West Marshall for a 33-9 mark on the day.

Ankeny’s Nora Bockes controls Algona’s Laura Stohr during a 110-pound match at the North Polk Duals on Thursday. Bockes went on to post a 7-2 decision. (Photo by Dan Holm)

It was Ankeny’s second victory over West Marshall. The two teams met in the final of the Ankeny Centennial Duals on Dec. 9, when Ankeny posted a 51-28 win.

“We just went in and took care of business,” said Roland. “We still have a number of things to clean up, but it was great to get back into competition.”

Ankeny’s Elyse Engebretson tries to pin Algona’s Malyn Davis during a 120-pound match at the North Polk Duals on Thursday. Engebretson eventually won by a technical fall, 16-0. (Photo by Dan Holm)

The meet was hosted by North Polk, giving Ankeny’s five wrestlers from that district an opportunity to compete at their school. One of them, Elyse Engebretson, went 3-0 on the day with two falls and a technical fall at 120 and 125 pounds.

“I was able to score points for the team with wins, but I still have work to do and improvements to make leading up to super regionals,” Engebretson said.

Engebretson said it was fun to wrestle at her school.

“It was cool to be at North Polk and be a role model for the girls in the Comet Wrestling Club,” she said. “Also wresting in front of people I go to school with and see around the community is different. With any other sports everyone has seen most people compete, and this was the first time our Comet students or fans were able to see girls wrestling at home!”

Ankeny’s Dana Cleveland, shown here during a 145-pound match against Algona, went 3-0 with three falls at the North Polk Duals. (Photo by Dan Holm)

Six Ankeny wrestlers went 3-0 on the day. Dana Cleveland had three falls at 145, while Hayden Bratland recorded a pair of pins at 140.

Lauren Watson at 100, Nora Bockes at 110 and Haylee McGrew at 155 each had a fall among their three victories.

Ankeny’s Haylee McGrew controls West Marshall’s Meredith Crawford during a 155-pound match at the North Polk Duals on Thursday. McGrew won by a fall in 54 seconds to help her team to a 48-36 victory. (Photo by Dan Holm)

Josie Bishop went 2-1 with a pair of pins at 170.

“Josie picked up a big win over Algona, who was a little short-handed overall but I saw a solid team,” Roland said. “West Marshall continues to close the gap on us. They are a very well-coached team. Winterset is building and was a good dual to finish the night off with.”

The arm of Ankeny’s Trudy Haag is raised by the referee after she pinned Algona’s Savannah Steven in 1 minute 57 seconds in a 115-pound match at the North Polk Duals on Thursday. (Photo by Dan Holm)

Ankeny will compete in the Ogden Invitational on Saturday.

“I’m looking forward to taking the entire team to Ogden where we will see a number of the teams that will be at our regional tournament,” Roland said.