It should not be surprising that a team with a .500 record would come away with another split on Tuesday in a Class 3A regional dual at Waukee Northwest.
The 14th-ranked Ankeny Centennial wrestlers got a pin from heavyweight Brook Keller in the final match to beat No. 12 Council Bluffs Lewis Central, 34-33, in the opening round. The Jaguars then dropped a 42-31 decision to No. 6 Waukee Northwest in the regional final, allowing the Wolves to advance to the state duals on Saturday at Coralville.
“I don’t know what the attitude coming into the Lewis Central meet was from the whole team, but when things started happening they got fired up and wrestled well,” said Centennial coach Jay Groth, whose team finished the dual season at 11-11. “I was pleased with that, and I thought we fought hard against Northwest too. But Northwest wrestled well.”
Both meets were a reversal of an outcome from earlier this season. The Jaguars posted a 40-39 victory over Northwest in their opener on Dec. 5, when each team won seven of the 14 matches.
On Tuesday, the Wolves recorded eight victories and had four falls. They sealed the win when Brayden Williams pinned Keller in 2 minutes 59 seconds at 215 pounds.
“I thought we matched up with them pretty well, but we just lost a couple of matches there. It is what it is,” Groth said. “I’m sure Northwest will have a good run at the state duals too.”
Centennial’s Cale Vandermark at 120, Ethan Sodergren at 138, Isaac Bruhl at 150 and Max Dhabolt at 157 each won a pair of matches. Dhabolt led the way with two pins, while Bruhl had a fall and a technical fall.
“I was happy with all the efforts, especially with Charlie (Sloan) stepping up at heavyweight giving up like 80 pounds (against Northwest),” Vandermark said. “The effort was good.”
Earlier, Lewis Central built a 27-7 lead midway through the meet before Centennial rallied. The Jaguars avenged a 38-32 loss at the Osage Duals on Jan. 18.
Centennial started its rally with three straight falls, the last one by Henry Lee at 165. Ryan Smith then posted an 11-7 decision at 175 to give the Jaguars their first lead, 28-27.
After the Titans won the next two matches to regain a 33-28 advantage, Centennial needed a fall from Keller at 285. And he delivered, pinning Kyle Walling in 1:36.
“He was really close on that (first) attempt, and after that I thought he’d get it,” Vandermark said of Keller.
Groth was even more confident.
“I knew he could do it,” he said. “That’s why we flip-flopped Charlie and Brook, because he was fired up to go out there and pin him. He did it against Dowling and kind of won that meet for us, so it was kind of the same deal. I told him, ‘You get to be the hero again.’ He went out and got the job done and performed under pressure again, so I’m really pleased with his performance for sure.”
After Lewis Central jumped out to an early 12-0 lead, the second-ranked Vandermark got the Jaguars on the board with a 10-4 decision over No. 4 Weston Porter. Porter was a state runner-up at 106 last year.
“I wasn’t really happy,” Vandermark said. “The first time I beat him (last month) was a major (decision). I was looking to be more offensive and score more points, but I was sticking to my attacks that I wanted to.”
Centennial will now have 10 days to prepare for a Class 3A district tournament on Feb. 15 at Fort Dodge.
“A big concern for us is that the whole world is sick right now,” Groth said. “We’ve just got to stay healthy and hydrated and be ready to go for districts.”
Here are the match-by-match results from Tuesday:
Ankeny Centennial 34, Lewis Central 33
106: Elderbaum (LC) won by forfeit; 113: Manz (LC) pinned Beckwith, :58; 120: Vandermark (AC) beat Porter, 10-4; 126: Duffek (LC) beat Roland, 8-3; 132: Schorsch (LC) pinned W. Sloan, :55; 138: Sodergren (AC) beat Gregory, 15-5; 144: M. Volentine (LC) pinned Bennett, 3:12; 150: Bruhl (AC) pinned Bates, 2:23; 157: M. Dhabolt (AC) pinned K. Volentine, 2:22; 165: Lee (AC) pinned Graeve, 1:58; 175: Smith (AC) beat Chappell, 11-7; 190: Blanchard (LC) beat D. Dhabolt, 9-4; 215: Monge (LC) beat C. Sloan, 7-6; 285: Keller (AC) pinned Walling, 1:36.
Waukee Northwest 42, Ankeny Centennial 31
113: Christensen (WN) pinned Beckwith, 1:11; 120: Vandermark (AC) pinned Cahill, 1:09; 126: Roland (AC) beat Manning, 10-8; 132: H. Hutt (WN) pinned W. Sloan, :41; 138: Sodergren (AC) won by technical fall over Gallagher, 17-2; 144: L. Hutt (WN) pinned Bennett, 1:49; 150: Bruhl (AC) won by technical fall over Dobbs, 19-4; 157: M. Dhabolt (AC) pinned Rubino, 2:00; 165: Bry. Williams (WN) won by technical fall over Lee, 18-2; 175: Parker (WN) beat Smith, 9-4; 190: D. Dhabolt (AC) pinned Merk, 1:18; 215: Bra. Williams (WN) pinned Keller, 2:59; 285: Mohr (WN) beat C. Sloan, 12-1; 106: Barr (WN) won by forfeit.
