Trudy Haag and Hayden Bratland each won an individual title to lead the Ankeny girls’ wrestling team to a third-place finish among 33 squads in the Central Iowa Kickoff on Saturday at Nevada.
Raccoon River Northwest captured the team crown with 295 points. Southeast Polk was second with 260.5 points, followed by Ankeny with 209.5.
“Overall, we had a good day,” said Ankeny coach Dustin Roland. “Trudy was as solid as usual, winning a title and beating the fifth-ranked girl in the process. Bratland wrestled solid and tough all day while defeating the No. 2 girl at 135 (pounds).”
Bratland (8-0) recorded four straight falls to win the title at 140, all of them in the first period. She pinned Cadence Bushong of Nevada in 1 minute 43 seconds in the finals.
That was a rematch of last year’s third-place match at the state tournament, which was won by Bratland, 5-0.
Haag (7-0) was nearly as dominant at 120, winning her first three matches by fall. She then recorded a 15-0 technical fall over Cadence Kinzie of Atlantic in the finals.
Ankeny had another finalist in Elyse Engebretson at 125. Engebretson (7-1) dropped a 10-5 decision to Addie Nelson of Southeast Polk and settled for second place.
“Elyse wrestle well and with confidence,” Roland said. “She is going to have a number of battles with (Nelson), and we are excited to turn that match around.”
Ankeny had six other top-six finishers, including Jammie Krah, who placed third at 145. Lauren Watson at 105 and Nora Bockes at 115 each took fourth, Mady Postma at 135 and Sophia Romesburg at 170 both finished fifth, and Aaliyah Shade placed sixth at 155.
Krah (6-2) pinned Alexa Heflin of Clear Lake in 3:20 in the third-place match.
“Jammie had her coming out party,” Roland said. “She defeated two ranked wrestlers and nearly beat a third.”
Watson (6-2) dropped an 11-9 decision to Serenity Turner of Knoxville in her third-place match. Bockes (6-2), meanwhile, was pinned by Hannah Brandhorst of Woodward-Granger in 3:33.
“Watson finished fourth in a bracket full of state qualifiers. We are excited about her offensive output,” Roland said. “Nora had a tough day, but is still trying to get into wrestling mode after starting late because of volleyball. No doubt she will get there when it matters.”
Postma (6-2) and Romesburg (6-2) each recorded a fall in their fifth-place matches. Postma pinned Sienna Fehr of Algona in 1:30, while Romesburg flattened Lizzie Mitchell of Gilbert in 4:23.
“Mady continues to gain valuable mat time and is getting better every time she steps on the mat. She is going to be a tough out later in the season,” Roland said. “And Sophia continues to impress in her young career.”
Shade (3-2) filled in for an injured Haylee McGrew. She dropped a 9-3 decision to Grace Rinehart of Raccoon River Northwest in her fifth-place match.
“Aaliyah was a team player to step in the lineup with limited practice time this year due to an injury,” Roland said.
Ankeny’s Presley Sullivan placed second in the consolation bracket at 110. Roland’s team had open weights at 100, 130, 190 and 235.
“We have this next week off to clean some things up before we head to the Dan Gable Donnybrook (on Dec. 5-6),” Roland said.