Last month, the Ankeny girls’ wrestling team dropped a 43-33 decision at Raccoon River-Northwest.
On Tuesday, third-ranked Ankeny returned to the Waukee Northwest gym and gained a measure of revenge by winning the CIML Invitational with 244 points. Raccoon River-Northwest was second in the six-team field with 241 points.
Ankeny crowned four individual champions while claiming the overall title for the second straight year.
“Going into this tournament my expectations were not high as we were down two big point-scorers, but once again these amazing young ladies rose to the occasion and accomplished what I didn’t expect them to,” said Ankeny coach Dustin Roland. “Our coaching staff is extremely proud of this group of ladies who continue to surprise us each week. At this point, I’m not sure what they can’t achieve.”
Nora Bockes at 110 pounds, Elyse Engebretson at 120, Hayden Bratland at 140 and Dana Cleveland at 145 each won an individual title for Ankeny. It was the second consecutive conference crowns for Bockes, Engebretson and Cleveland.
“Nora is as consistent as they come, Elyse is peaking at the right time, and Dana is just a winner. There is no other way to describe her,” Roland said.
Cleveland (34-1) earned her 100th career victory by pinning Ella Anliker of Valley in 4 minutes 21 seconds in the finals. She won 26 matches for the Ankeny Centennial boys’ team as a freshman and sophomore before winning 40 a year ago in the first season for the girls’ program.
Bockes (30-6) defended her 110-pound title by pinning Valley’s Avery Buhr in the title match for the second straight year. After pinning Buhr in 3:11 a year ago, Bockes pinned her in 4:43 on Tuesday.
Engebretson (28-7) pinned all three of her opponents in the first period. In the finals, she pinned Sofiya Pollard of Urbandale in just 32 seconds.
Bratland (30-3) also pinned all three of her foes in the opening period. She pinned Naomi Templeman of Raccoon River-Northwest in 1:51 in the title match.
“Bratland has tons of offense at her disposal, making her very exciting to watch,” Roland said.
Ankeny got second-place finishes from Lauren Watson at 100, Trudy Haag at 115 and Josie Bishop at 170.
Watson advanced to the final before being pinned by Katie Biscoglia of Raccoon River-Northwest in 1:35. Her record is now 33-7.
Haag dropped a 9-7 decision in overtime to Aaleyah McMaster of Valley. Her mark is now 23-9.
Bishop fell to Aleah Johnson of Raccoon River-Northwest, 4-1. Her record is now 23-12.
“Haag lost to a returning state placewinner in overtime and is a warrior,” Roland said. “Bishop is closing the gap between herself and the next tier of girls above her.”
Ankeny’s Ella Hron at 105, Mady Postma at 130, Aliayah Shade at 155, Mallorie McGuire at 190 and Melanie Martinez at 235 each placed third at their respective weights. Zoyie Gatewood at 125 and Audri Headrick at 135 each finished fourth, and Audrey Lucas took fifth at 115.
“Ella is hitting her stride at the right time with three falls,” Roland said. “Audrey has a bright future ahead of her, and Shade bumped up (a weight) and bridged the gap from a missing (Haylee) McGrew.”
Ankeny will compete in the regional tournament on Jan. 26 at Hy-Vee Hall.
