(Story by Stephen McDaniel)
From the start of the very first practice to late February, everything is done with the plan to succeed by the time the state wrestling tournament arrives.
The Ankeny wrestling team is already prepping for February as the Hawks found big success in their first of three days of competition this week with a season-opening 53-19 victory in a road dual against Valley on Thursday.
“I saw what I wanted to see and that was just kids going out, wrestling hard and not worrying about if they have to win or how close it’ll be,” said Ankeny coach Jack Wignall. “We’ve really been on the kids to just go out and wrestle. We’ve kind of taken a different approach with our drilling and some of the other things we do. I think that was shown tonight with our kids.”
Ankeny’s CIML Conference dual with the Tigers was just the start of action for the team as the Hawks are also prepared to compete in the two-day Dan Gable Donnybrook in Coralville on Friday and Saturday.
The Hawks couldn’t have asked for a much better start to the season than picking up a big road victory over a conference opponent in the first dual of the year. They won 10 of the 14 matchups with nine of those 10 victories resulting in bonus points.
With the Hawks’ strength in their lineup coming in the lower weights, a hot start in a dual starting at 150 pounds would help open the door for Ankeny to get a lead and clinch it with some 3A ranked individuals at the end.
Senior AJ Rouh got them started out on the right foot by using a pair of takedowns and some back points en route to a 16-6 major decision over Valley’s Jase Brumfield to kick off the dual.
And even if he ended up losing by an 18-7 major decision, sophomore Kash Johnson added another spark to the Hawks’ lineup.
Johnson had by far the most difficult matchup for Ankeny as he was paired with Valley’s JahKari Clark at 157 pounds. Clark currently ranks No. 3 in 3A at 150 and is coming off a season that saw him finish as the 144-pound state runner-up to current Iowa State Cyclone Kane Naaktgeboren during the last state tournament.
Despite trailing 17-4 after two periods, Johnson scored a takedown on Clark and battled his way out of a last-second takedown attempt by Clark that may have resulted in additional back points had it not been for Johnson’s quick reaction.
“I wish Kash could’ve had some of that belief in the first 2 minutes of that match that he did when he got done like, ‘I can wrestle with this kid,’” Wignall said.
The trio of Jacob Schlee at 175, Ryleigh Egeberg at 190 and Andrew Haase at 215 gave the Hawks the strong push they needed in the team score after they recorded back-to-back-to-back falls.
Schlee got it on a double underhook in the first period, while Egeberg and Haase worked into the second period before getting the mat slap. Egeberg and Haase both teased their eventual falls with some near falls in the first period before striking in the second period for their pins.
Valley attempted to battle back with a pair of pins to open up the lower weights and pulled within 22-19 before a forfeit for Ben Walsh at 113 led Ankeny to six straight victories to seal the dual.
Hayden Fontana scored a fall in just over a minute against Valley’s Austen Fry at 120, Aiden Winkie used a takedown and a reversal to fuel a 5-0 decision at 126, Truman Folkers and Calvin Rathjen recorded matching 19-3 technical falls at 132 and 138, and Brady Claeys sent the Hawks home with a fall at 144 over Valley’s Kash Kiner in 1:13.
“They looked aggressive, they looked fresh, and I was really, really happy with how we wrestled tonight,” Wignall said.
Depending on a win or loss, the Hawks will carry some fresh momentum or motivation with them on their quick turnaround as some of them will be back on the mat nearly 12 hours after Thursday’s dual concluded.
The Dan Gable Donnybrook inside the Xtream Arena will provide the Hawks with their first big tournament of the season, putting them on the mat for their second and third days of competition.
It’s challenging to prepare for three days of wrestling, but it’s a sacrifice the Hawks are looking to have pay off once February arrives.
“Here’s our philosophy behind it: we want to put our kids in difficult positions,” Wignall said. “The state tournament is a three-day weigh in. So that’s why we wrestle two two-day tournaments. It’s to get their weight under control, know they can do it and the state tournament isn’t their first three-day weigh in. We know it’s tough and the kids really struggle. But at the end of the day, that makes us strong mentally and physically.”
Here are the match-by-match results from Thursday’s meet:
Ankeny 53, Valley 19
150: Rouh beat Brumfield, 16-6; 157: Clark (V) beat Johnson, 18-7; 165: Cochran (V) beat Anderson, 6-3; 175: Schlee pinned Hudson, :27; 190: Egeberg pinned Shipley, 2:24; 215: Haase pinned Straker-Seay, 2:43; 285: Raridon (V) pinned Bakker, :36; 106: Lange (V) pinned Salgado, 1:33; 113: Walsh won by forfeit; 120: Fontana pinned Fry, 1:02; 126: Winkie beat Mavromatis, 5-0; 132: Folkers won by technical fall over Wheelan, 19-3; 138: Rathjen won by technical fall over Schulz, 19-3; 144: Claeys pinned Kiner, 1:13.
