For the second straight year, the Ankeny girls’ wrestling team has qualified eight competitors for the state tournament.
Ankeny easily won a super regional meet on Friday at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines. The team racked up 277 points, 100 more than runner-up Dallas Center-Grimes.
Ankeny crowned two individual champions and had three other finalists, but coach Dustin Roland still called it a bittersweet day.
“We are very proud to bring home the program’s first super regional title and having eight young ladies punch their tickets to next week’s state tournament, but we are leaving some girls home that we fully expected to be making the trip with us,” Roland said. “When you walk away with four girls landing one position away from qualifying, that stings.”
Ankeny senior Dana Cleveland captured her second regional crown. She pinned three consecutive opponents to win the 145-pound title.
In the finals, Cleveland pinned Gracie Leslie of Nevada in 3 minutes 55 seconds. She raised her record to 37-1.
“Dana is the poster child for consistency,” Roland said.
Teammate Hayden Bratland claimed the title at 140. She had three falls in a combined 3:48 along with a major decision.
Bratland earned the crown by pinning Julie Maylum of Perry in 1:33. The freshman improved to 34-3.
“Hayden did her thing as she wrestled very smart all day,” Roland said.
The Ankeny girls wore blue shoelaces or ribbons to honor the Perry community following the recent mass shooting there. Haylee McGrew even dyed her hair blue.
“Our girls raised $900 to give to the Perry girls in light of their tragedy and also rolled up all the mats as a thank you for the opportunity to compete,” Roland said.
McGrew advanced to the final at 155 before being pinned by Emmalee Spurgeon of Pella in 4:46. She is now 29-2 on the season.
McGrew needed just 2:14 to pin her first three opponents. In her first match, she pinned Cloe Guion of Winterset in just 7 seconds.
“Haylee just ran into an absolute buzzsaw from Pella and was upset in the finals, but she will be wrestling next week and we are confident that she is going to make some noise at state,” Roland said.
Like McGrew, Nora Bockes at 110 and Trudy Haag at 115 also reached the finals before losing to an undefeated foe.
Bockes was pinned by Jasmine Luedtke of Ottumwa in 2:59. She is now 33-7.
“I’ve said it all year that Nora has overcome some health issues and just keeps doing her thing,” Roland said. “Her only loss came to the defending state champion.”
Haag was pinned by Reanah Utterback of Sigourney-Keota in 2:49. Her record is now 26-10.
“Trudy also wrestled consistently,” Roland said. “She lost in the finals to one of the top girls in the state who competed against the boys last year and was a state placewinner in their tournament.”
Placing third for Ankeny were Lauren Watson at 100 and Elyse Engebretson at 120. Melanie Martinez also qualified for state by finishing fourth at 235.
Watson posted a 3-1 decision over Riley Gach of Carlisle in the third-place match. She improved to 36-8.
“We knew Lauren was going to have to bring her ‘A’ game going in, and she did,” Roland said. “She rebounded from a one-point loss in the semis with two big wins for the next best thing.”
Engebretson pinned Paige Popson of Albia in 2:50 to place third. She lifted her mark to 31-8.
“Elyse has been cleaning things up over the last month and was also able to rebound from a tough semifinal loss,” Roland said.
Martinez was pinned by Delilah Subsin of Ottumwa in 3:35 in the third-place match. She is now 20-10 on the season.
“She did exactly what she needed to do to finish fourth and secure her spot in the 32-person dance,” Roland said.
Ankeny got fifth-place finishes from Ella Hron at 105, Emma Daggett at 125, Liz Makovec at 135 and Josie Bishop at 170. The top four finishers at each weight advanced to state.
“Despite the disappointing end, I could not be more proud of Ella for making it back onto the mat after a horrific injury in July that I don’t think many young ladies would ever have the courage to come back from,” Roland said. “She made some huge improvement since getting back in mid-December and walked off the mat for the last time on Friday.”
The state tournament will be held on Thursday and Friday at Xtream Arena in Coralville. Ankeny placed 40th at last year’s tournament with 29 points.
Bockes, Engebretson and Haag will be making their second straight trip along with Cleveland, who took fourth at 135 as a junior.
“Please come out and help us send these girls off to state on Wednesday afternoon at 5:15 in our wrestling room at Orbis,” Roland said. “They have worked their tails off and are looking to bring home the program’s first state trophy.”
