The Ankeny wrestling team was hoping to earn a third consecutive trip to the state duals tournament.
Second-seeded Indianola proved to be an obstacle that the Hawks couldn’t overcome.
The host Indians posted a 45-15 victory over No. 15 Ankeny in the final of a regional duals tournament on Tuesday. The Hawks, who placed fourth in Class 3A a year ago, finished the dual season with a 9-10 record.
“I always try to be an eternal optimist when it comes to wrestling (our opponents),” said Ankeny coach Jack Wignall. “I always feel like if we can put together a really good dual, we can beat teams. We had a game plan and a strategy tonight, and it just didn’t work out the way we knew it had to work out if we were going to win.”
Indianola, which had posted a 46-19 win over Ankeny at the Battle of Waterloo last month, won 11 of the 14 matches. The Indians advanced to the state duals tournament on Saturday at Xtream Arena in Coralville.
Four of Indianola’s wins came by four points or less.
“We lost by 30 points, but if you reverse those four matches, that’s a 24-point swing and we’re right in it,” Wignall said. “I really don’t think the score was indicative of how hard our guys wrestled. They really put in a lot of effort, but credit to (Indianola). They can win those close matches, and they’re solid at every weight. Congratulations to them.”
Ankeny got falls from sixth-ranked Ben Walsh at 106 pounds and No. 5 Truman Folkers at 126. No. 5 Ben Hansen posted a 7-3 decision over No. 8 Elijah Blewitt at 144.
The Hawks advanced to the final after defeating No. 18 Valley, 51-27, in the opening round. It was the second matchup between the two teams in six days–Ankeny also beat the Tigers, 46-15, on Thursday.
Before the rematch, the Hawks lost one of their starters when Bodie Creaseman suffered an injury during warmups.
“Our 175-pounder and our 190-pounder were getting warmed up, and our 175-pounder took Bodie down and we thought he broke his collar bone,” Wignall said. “I don’t think he broke it, but he at least separated his shoulder. So we had to bump Rece Johnson up from 175 to wrestle those matches at 190.”
Ankeny won the first five matches to build a commanding 29-0 lead over Valley. The Hawks went on to record six pins.
“(Valley) came out and just started wrestling their JV guys, and that was a little disappointing,” Wignall said. “We started wrestling some of the best teams in the state when we first got into the regional duals, and I’d always put my best team out there on the mat that I possibly could. It just didn’t happen tonight against Valley. I get some (of their strategy) to a point, but I just have a different philosophy when it comes to the regional duals, I guess. I’m always going to try to win.”
Ankeny competed without heavyweight Jack Dorfler, but Wignall said he’ll be back in the lineup for the district tournament on Feb. 10 at Norwalk.
Here are the match-by-match results from Tuesday’s meets:
Ankeny 51, Valley 27
106: Walsh pinned M. Alberico, 1:16; 113: Wignall pinned J. Alberico, 1:14; 120: Winkie pinned Hotak, 3:12; 126: T. Folkers won by forfeit; 132: Perez won by technical fall over Moll, 15-0; 138: Cochran (V) beat Claeys, 7-0; 144: Perez pinned Doonan, 1:10; 150: Hansen pinned Howell, :49; 157: C. Clark (V) pinned K. Johnson, 3:05; 165: Peiffer pinned Roemmich, :50; 175: VanArkel (V) won by forfeit; 190: Straker-Seay (V) pinned R. Johnson, 3:22; 215: Haase beat Monson, 11-3; 285: Camarillo-Diaz (V) pinned Breitbach, 1:33.
Indianola 45, Ankeny 15
113: Crosson beat Wignall, 3-0; 120: Wood beat Winkie, 5-2; 126: T. Folkers (A) pinned Hilton, 5:14; 132: Young pinned Perez, 2:41; 138: Cox beat Claeys, 6-0; 144: Hansen (A) beat Blewitt, 7-3; 150: J. Pontier beat K. Johnson, 14-4; 157: A. Pontier beat Peiffer, 4-2; 165: McDonald beat Wernau, 4-0; 175: Clatt beat Egeberg, 11-3; 190: Kellow pinned R. Johnson, 1:42; 215: Slorah beat Haase, 9-1; 285: Boyd pinned Breitbach, :45; 106: Walsh (A) pinned Nelson, 1:24.
