Lucas Bruhl and the Ankeny Centennial wrestlers are headed back to the state duals tournament.
The top-ranked Bruhl got a fall at 150 pounds to clinch the fifth-seeded Jaguars’ 45-34 victory over No. 11 Johnston in the final of a Class 3A regional dual on Tuesday at Centennial. He pinned Kinnick Thompson in just 24 seconds to punch his team’s ticket to Xtream Arena in Coralville, where the state duals will be held on Saturday.
“This is exactly what I wanted,” said Bruhl. “This has been one of the best teams I’ve ever been on, so I’m excited for this.”
The Jaguars (19-1) had posted a 35-30 win at Johnston on Jan. 4, but the Dragons jumped out to a 28-9 lead on Tuesday before Centennial rallied by winning six of the last seven matches. All six of the victories came by fall.
“Man, that was a nailbiter, and the guys came through at the end. I’m proud of them,” said Centennial coach Jay Groth. “We got down in a hole–kind of where we started we knew it was going to be tough to start–but they kept fighting back. We talked all week about how we’ve got to get a pin where we got a tech(nical fall before), we’ve got to get a tech where we got a major (decision before), and the lower weight guys came through.”
Centennial started its rally at 113, where No. 4 Cale Vandermark pinned Ethan Huebbe in 5:01.
“The last time I came up short–I just got the tech,” Vandermark said. “I knew I needed to get the extra point with the pin, and that’s what I did.”
No. 4 Cody Vandermark, Cale’s brother, then followed with another fall at 120. He pinned Isaiah Madison in 3:00.
“I trusted my team, and I knew we could come back,” Cale said.
Another fall from Ethan Sodergren, who pinned Shandrel Thompson in 2:27 at 126, cut the Dragons’ lead to 28-27 with four matches left.
“(The Vandermarks) have kind of saved us a couple of times–they got that ball rolling for us in a couple of dual meets,” Groth said. “And then Ethan pinned the kid that he had split with (previously), and Tyler Brennan’s match was big. That’s a match that we lost in the dual the first time, and he came back and pinned (No. 11 Carson Cornwell) right there at the end. Those were huge.”
Brennan’s fall at 138 came after Johnston’s Owen Gilbert, who was trailing 8-0 at the time, put Andrew Roland onto his back and pinned him in 3:37 at 132. The pin by Brennan was even more dramatic and pulled the Jaguars within 34-33.
With the final seconds of the match ticking off the clock, Brennan pinned Cornwell just as the buzzer sounded. The Johnston coaches argued to no avail that the fall should not have counted.
“In the end, we still would have won, whether we got the fall or the major–we got bonus points anyway,” Groth said. “Tyler just wrestled tough. He’s done that three times now this year where he’s lost to a kid and then came back and beat him. Everybody he’s lost to that he’s got a second chance at, he’s come back and won. I was real proud of him, too.”
Centennial took a 39-34 lead when No. 3 Max Dhabolt pinned No. 6 Parker Casey in 2:46 at 144.
“He’s a big-time kid. He goes out and scores points,” Groth said of Dhabolt. “We preach all the time, ‘Score the next point. Score the next point.’ That’s all we need to do, and everything else takes care of itself. Boy, that’s what he’s doing.”
In the final match, Bruhl just needed to avoid being pinned in order to secure Centennial’s win. But he did a lot more than that, recording by far the fastest fall of the night.
“I knew those guys in front of me were going to get it done,” Bruhl said. “We got some big pins in there. It did come down to the last match a little bit, so I had to seal it.”
The Jaguars also got wins from No. 5 Isaac Bruhl at 157 and No. 10 Mitchell Grider at 215. Bruhl opened the meet with a fall over Max Kelly in 1:38, and Grider later posted a 7-3 decision over Mason Roethler.
Centennial will face No. 4 Fort Dodge (10-2) in the Class 3A quarterfinals on Saturday at 9 a.m. The Dodgers advanced with a 61-4 win over Waukee.
“Last year we qualified, but we didn’t have much success,” Groth said of his team’s eighth-place finish. “This year, we’re going to try to win a championship. That’s why we’re there.”
The winner will meet No. 1 Southeast Polk (12-0) or No. 8 Waverly-Shell Rock (9-3) in the semifinals at 2:15 p.m. The Rams handed Centennial its only loss, 46-19, on Jan. 18.
“We want that rematch against Southeast Polk,” Cale Vandermark said. “We’re going to do our best, and I think we can come out with the upset.”
Lucas Bruhl said the Jaguars don’t want to come home empty-handed.
“We’re coming for a trophy, that’s for sure,” he said.
Here are the match-by-match results from Tuesday’s meet:
Centennial 45, Johnston 34
157: I. Bruhl (AC) pinned Kelly, 1:38; 165: Helgeson (J) pinned Ehlts, 4:52; 175: Blackorby (J) pinned D. Dhabolt, 3:11; 190: Gibbons (J) pinned Cahill, 1:36; 215: Grider (AC) beat Roethler, 7-3; 285: Darling (J) pinned Keller, 1:26; 106: Beirman (J) beat Larsen, 16-8; 113: Ca. Vandermark (AC) pinned Huebbe, 5:01; 120: Co. Vandermark (AC) pinned Madison, 3:00; 126: Sodergren (AC) pinned S. Thompson, 2:27; 132: Gilbert (J) pinned Roland, 3:37; 138: Brennan (AC) pinned Cornwell, 6:00; 144: M. Dhabolt (AC) pinned Casey, 2:46; 150: L. Bruhl (AC) pinned K. Thompson, :24.
