The only question on Saturday was whether the Ankeny Centennial wrestling team would be able to host its home duals tournament.
Once the competition began, there was little doubt which squad would prevail.
The Jaguars rolled past four other teams to win the Centennial Duals for the eighth consecutive year.
“That’s a good run,” said Centennial coach Jay Groth, whose team is now 5-1 overall. “Obviously, the weather played a role in us missing a couple teams. It was a quick day, but it worked out well for us. We had a good day.”
Clear Lake and Perry were unable to make it to Ankeny, leaving four squads along with a team comprised of JV All-Stars to contend for the title.
“I’m very grateful for the fact that we got to wrestle,” Groth said. “I don’t think there were too many teams across the state that got to compete due to the weather. I’m glad that we got to.”
The Jaguars romped to a 68-4 victory over Des Moines Roosevelt, which is coached by Groth’s son, Michael. They also posted wins over the JV All-Stars (65-12), ADM (Adel) (55-23) and Urbandale (48-35).
The matchup against Urbandale was the de facto championship dual.
“That was a good match,” Groth said. “We were winning at 215 (pounds) with Danny Dhabolt getting back into the lineup, but he got a little bit injured and didn’t want to make it worse so we ended up injury defaulting in that match. I think the margin would have been a little bigger if he could have finished the match, but I just wanted to be cautious with him and keep him healthy for the year.”
Nine Centennial wrestlers went undefeated on the day, including third-ranked Cale Vandermark at 120. He pinned No. 5 Caleb Arroyo of Urbandale in 4 minutes 29 seconds in a matchup of returning state placewinners.
“Cale dominated the match and pinned him in the third period,” Groth said.
No. 9 Andrew Roland went unbeaten at 132, including a 4-0 decision over ADM’s Landon Moorhead.
“He beat a good kid,” Groth said.
No. 10 Ethan Sodergren at 138, No. 6 Isaac Bruhl at 150 and No. 2 Max Dhabolt at 157 also had perfect days along with Will Sloan at 126, Jacob Hand at 165, Ryan Smith at 175 and Brandon Bogseth at 215.
“We’ve got some injuries and some concussions,” Groth said. “The lineup is very fluid right now. We just have to get healthy.”
The Jaguars will host a rematch against Urbandale in a CIML Conference dual meet on Thursday.
“I’m not sure who will be at what weight because of the injuries, but I’m looking forward to that dual,” Groth said.