The road to the Class 3A state duals tournament won’t be an easy one for the Ankeny and Ankeny Centennial wrestling teams.
In fact, both the Hawks and Jaguars will have to hit the road.
The Iowa High School Athletic Association announced the sites and assignments for the regional duals on Wednesday. Regional duals are scheduled for 6 p.m. on Tuesday, with the top eight teams in each class qualifying for the state dual tournament on Feb. 8 at Xtream Arena in Coralville.
Ninth-ranked Ankeny (15-5) was assigned to the Carlisle site. The Hawks will face No. 11 Norwalk in the opening round, with the winner to meet No. 8 Carlisle for a trip to the state duals.
Ankeny edged Norwalk by three points to win the Bob Sharp Invitational on Jan. 18 at Ankeny. The two teams will also face off in a dual meet on Thursday at Urbandale, where nothing will be at stake and both the Hawks and Warriors might be inclined to rest some of their varsity regulars.
No. 14 Centennial (10-9), meanwhile, was assigned to the Waukee Northwest site. The Jaguars will meet No. 12 Council Bluffs Lewis Central in the opening round, with the winner to face No. 6 Waukee Northwest for a berth to state.
Centennial dropped a 38-32 decision to Lewis Central in the Osage Duals on Jan. 18. If the Jaguars can avenge that loss, though, they would then face a Northwest team that they defeated, 40-39, in the season opener on Dec. 5.