Junior Ben Walsh helped the Ankeny wrestling team to a 40-33 victory over visiting Ankeny Centennial on Thursday. Ranked seventh in Class 3A at 113 pounds, he pinned Carson Auge in 55 seconds for one of the Hawks’ five falls.
Walsh is a two-time state qualifier at 106. He entered the season with a career record of 54-31.
Here is some inside info on Walsh:
You led your team to an 11th-place finish in the Dan Gable Donnybrook on Dec. 6-7 at Coralville with a third-place finish. Were you happy with your performance at the tournament?
I was pretty happy with my performance. I feel like I still could’ve wrestled better in some positions, but overall I did well and am happy with how we did as a team.
You went 4-1 there, recording two falls and a pair of technical falls. Are you always looking to score bonus points?
In every match I always try to rack up as many points as I can, especially this year with the new rules. It’s easy to get lots of bonus points (now that a takedown is worth three points).
You pinned Cole Caniglia of Creighton Prep in 4:32 for third place after trailing early in the match, and coach Wignall praised you for not giving up. Do you feel like you can wrestle harder for all 6 minutes than your opponents?
I knew that match vs. Caniglia would be tough, and I feel like I should’ve wrestled a lot better in the match. But there wasn’t a time during the match that I felt like I couldn’t win. I just kept pushing the pace and making him tired, then ended up pinning him. Especially this year, my cardio is a lot better than it has been and I know I can out pace and out scramble everyone in a match.
Ben Walsh gets a fall in 55 seconds at 113 and @ankenywrestling takes a 24-13 lead. pic.twitter.com/0MoEedaIts
— ANKENY FANATIC (@AnkenyFanatic) December 13, 2024
Congratulations on the win over Centennial. Was revenge a big factor for the team after losing last year’s dual, 42-17?
The Centennial dual is always important, and our whole team wanted to get that win back from last year so it does feel good that we got some revenge.
Each team won seven of the 14 matches, so the outcome was decided by bonus points. Did you feel like you had to get a pin when you took the mat?
Yeah, I knew I had to get a pin. We started off the dual losing the first (three) matches, but (Andrew) Haase and (Jack) Dorfler got some points back pinning their kids to get us started so when I got out there, I knew I just had to get the job done and get bonus points as always and give our team the best chance to win.
Your teammate, Brady Claeys, later had a fall at 144 to seal the victory. Were you confident that he could get the win that your team needed?
Brady’s match was awesome. He kept calm even when he was down by three (points), but when he got on top I was fully confident he was going to lock up his cradle and put it away.
Coach Wignall said that this team is wrestling better this early in the season than any team he has coached. Why do you think this team is off to such a good start?
I think our team is off to a great start because we’re a family in the room, and we all get along and work hard every day but still have fun and keep a good culture. We all know what our team is capable of this year, and we all have high expectations for ourselves and as a team. We’re doing a lot of things differently this year, and it’s already showing so we’ve just got to keep going and good things are going to happen.
What are your goals for the rest of the season?
My goals are big: I want to end the season on top of the podium. Especially after being upset last year, I want to get some of those matches back. But another goal is to get back to state duals as a team and do well there.
Do you want to wrestle in college, and have you looked at any schools yet?
Yes, I am planning to wrestle in college right now, but I haven’t really looked deep into a lot of schools. I’m still just looking and still trying to reach some of my goals, then definitely after this season I’ll start looking deeper into it. I’m excited for it.