‘It was a fun night’: Ankeny wrestlers rely on bonus points to defeat Centennial

Ankeny’s Andrew Haase celebrates after recording a fall over Ankeny Centennial’s Brandon Bogseth in the 215-pound match during Thursday’s dual meet at Ankeny. Haase’s pin sparked a rally from an early 13-0 deficit that allowed the Hawks to post a 40-33 victory in the crosstown showdown. (Photo by Evan Reiter)

Ankeny senior Andrew Haase wanted his last Jag-Hawk wrestling dual to be a memorable one.

He did his part to make sure that it was.

Haase recorded one of his team’s five falls as the Hawks rallied from an early 13-0 deficit to beat visiting Ankeny Centennial, 40-33, in a CIML Conference matchup on Thursday.

“It feels really good,” said Haase. “It was a fun night.”

Ankeny’s Brady Claeys tries to wrap up a cradle against Ankeny Centennial’s Nolan Bennett during the 144-pound match at Thursday’s meet. Claeys eventually got a fall in 2 minutes 28 seconds that sealed the Hawks’ victory. (Photo by Evan Reiter)

Each team won seven of the 14 matches, but Ankeny enjoyed a significant advantage in bonus points. The Hawks improved to 2-0 in the conference, while Centennial dropped to 1-1.

“It’s early. We’ve got a lot of time left,” said Centennial coach Jay Groth. “Give them credit–they beat us. Maybe we’ll see them again, maybe not. But it’s always a good meet. (Ankeny coach) Jack (Wignall) had his guys ready, and we just weren’t ready enough.”

The Jaguars won the first three matches, including a fall from Ryan Smith at 175 pounds, before Haase pinned Brandon Bogseth in 1 minute 31 seconds at 215. The pin sparked a rally that saw Ankeny win six of the next seven matches.

“I felt like just me getting that fall really helped kick start our dual, just everyone scoring,” Haase said. “It was a really big part of the dual.”

The arm of Ankeny’s Jack Dorfler is raised by the referee after he recorded a fall at 285 pounds during Thursday’s meet. Dorfler, who pinned Ankeny Centennial’s Dirk Winkel in 4 minutes 39 seconds, had one of five falls for the Hawks. (Photo by Evan Reiter)

Ninth-ranked Jack Dorfler followed with another fall at 285, then Eddie Salgado won by a forfeit at 106 to put the Hawks ahead for good. A pin by No. 7 Ben Walsh at 113 extended the lead to 24-13.

“Looking through the lineup, we thought we could come back and get the pins, but you just never know,” said Wignall. “We knew where we expected to get falls, and we did. Getting the falls–Haase getting that started–was big for us.”

Centennial got a fall at 120 from No. 3 Cale Vandermark, who pinned Hayden Fontana in 1:57 to pull his team within 24-19.

“I just wanted to go out there and keep scoring points for my team,” said Vandermark. “I knew we needed a pin because it was going to be close at the end.”

Ankeny Centennial’s Cale Vandermark works for a fall against Ankeny’s Hayden Fontana during the 120-pound match at Thursday’s meet. Vandermark got the pin in 1 minute 57 seconds. (Photo by Evan Reiter)

After Ankeny got a fall from No. 2 Truman Folkers at 126, freshman Calvin Rathjen followed with an 11-3 major decision over No. 9 Andrew Roland at 132 to give the Hawks a 34-19 cushion. Rathjen is the younger brother of Iowa wrestler Caleb Rathjen, who was a two-time state champion at Ankeny.

“He looked good. He’s very talented,” Groth said. “He’s got good technique, and he’s put together well for a freshman. He’s another good Rathjen.”

Haase wasn’t surprised by Rathjen’s victory.

“Rathjen’s one of the top kids in the state. I expect him to be on the podium (at state) if not higher,” he said. “I felt like after his match we sealed off the deal. I was like, ‘Yep, we got this.'”

Ankeny’s Calvin Rathjen works for a takedown against Ankeny Centennial’s Andrew Roland during the 132-pound match at Thursday’s meet. Rathjen went on to post an 11-3 major decision. (Photo by Evan Reiter)

Centennial got a 9-1 major decision from No. 10 Ethan Sodergren at 138, but the Hawks then sealed the win when Brady Claeys pinned Nolan Bennett in 2:28 at 144.

“That’s what he does,” Wignall said of Claeys. “It’s one of those situations where people know that the cradle is coming, but can they stop it? Can he do it better than they can stop it? Brady’s really good at it. We knew that’s what we were going to do, and that’s why we put him on top (to start the second period).”

The Jaguars closed out the meet with back-to-back technical falls from No. 6 Isaac Bruhl at 150 and No. 2 Max Dhabolt at 157, but the outcome had already been decided.

“I knew it was going to be a close one,” Groth said. “(Ankeny) wrestled well. They scored more bonus points than we did. They’ve got a good team, and they did a good job.”

Vandermark vowed that his team would bounce back.

Ankeny Centennial’s Jacob Hand battles for position against Ankeny’s Cameron Andersen during the 165-pound match at Thursday’s meet. Hand went on to post a 13-3 major decision for the Jaguars in the opening match of the meet. (Photo by Evan Reiter)

“I thought we were going to pull it out,” he said. “We lost some of those matches that went back and forth, but we’ll go back at it and see what we can work on. It’s just one dual. We’ll come back at state duals and place higher than them and see what happens in the end.”

Both teams will be back in action on Saturday. The Hawks will compete in the Frank Baltzley Invitational at Johnston, while the Jaguars will host the Centennial Duals.

Here are the match-by-match results from Thursday’s meet:

Ankeny 40, Ankeny Centennial 33

165: Hand (AC) beat Andersen, 13-3; 175: Smith (AC) pinned Schlee, 3:00; 190: C. Sloan (AC) beat Egeberg, 5-3; 215: Haase (A) pinned Bogseth, 1:31; 285: Dorfler (A) pinned Winkel, 4:39; 106: Salgado (A) won by forfeit; 113: Walsh (A) pinned Auge, :55; 120: Vandermark (AC) pinned Fontana, 1:57; 126: T. Folkers (A) pinned W. Sloan, 3:21; 132: Rathjen (A) beat Roland, 11-3; 138: Sodergren (AC) beat H. Folkers, 9-1; 144: Claeys (A) pinned Bennett, 2:28; 150: Bruhl (AC) won by technical fall over Rouh, 20-5; 157: Dhabolt (AC) won by technical fall over Johnson, 21-4.