(Story by Stephen McDaniel)
What was Friday night like for the Ankeny girls’ wrestling team?
Head coach Dustin Roland summed it up the best.
“It’s history, man,” Roland said after Ankeny recorded its first two individual state champions. “Anytime you’re a part of history, it’s special. I’m super proud of (Elyse Engebretson and Hayden Bratland).”
The Ankeny program has ascended quickly in its few years of existence, and it has reached a lot of team milestones in that short time.
But it crossed off a major milestone not once, but twice, on Friday night as Engebretson and Bratland entered into the Ankeny history books as its first-ever state champions.
Engebretson and Bratland reached the same end point on top of their respective Class 2A podiums, but the pair had two different paths on the way to their gold medals at Xtream Arena in Coralville.
Bratland, a sophomore, came in with the pressure of being the No. 1 seed at 140 pounds. Engebretson, a senior, was seeded No. 6 at 125. Yet both reached the same end goal.
Engebretson holds the official title as the Ankeny program’s first-ever champion after pinning No. 5 Anna O’Rear of West Delaware in 3 minutes 46 seconds in the title match. She finished with a 44-5 record.
Not only does Engebretson take much pride in becoming Ankeny’s first champion, but the Polk City senior has even more pride in becoming the North Polk Comets’ first-ever girls’ state champion.
“I’d do myself a disservice if I didn’t say I’m also the first North Polk state champ,” Engebretson said. “It means the world to me.”
Her bracket was the perfect example of getting hot at the right time and not letting seeds determine the outcome. Engebretson and her final opponent, O’Rear, were responsible for knocking out the top four seeds in their bracket.
Just to reach Friday’s semifinals, Engebretson had to knock off No. 3 Destiny Brown of Ridge View and she did so by a 14-4 major decision. Then, on Friday, she followed with an 8-7 decision over No. 2 Camille Schult of Waverly-Shell Rock–the reigning champ at 120.
She initially trailed 4-1 going into the third period against Schult, but got things tied up with a takedown and a trade of escapes.
The difference-maker came with 24 seconds remaining when Engebretson managed to record the winning takedown for an 8-5 lead. An escape from Schult and a stalling call against Engebretson produced the final margin.
“Two years ago, I remember her in the first week of matches at our dual against Waverly-Shell Rock and Dallas Center-Grimes and she’s being DQ’d from matches for locked hands and didn’t have any idea what she was doing,” Roland said. “It was a pretty raw product out on the mat to two years later being a state champion is a testament to her ability to be coachable, be a student of the sport and hold herself accountable. It’s super special to see what she’s accomplished over a two-year period.”
Meanwhile, O’Rear advanced to the finals by recording falls against No. 4 Addie Nelson of Southeast Polk and No. 1 Emerson Gregg of Council Bluffs Lewis Central. But once they met in the finals, the lower-seeded Engebretson had the upper hand.
O’Rear’s decision to start on top in the second period allowed Engebretson to break up the scoreless match with an escape. She may have gotten another point after a stalling warning was given to O’Rear, but Engebretson ended it before it could happen.
She waited for the right moment to take a shot, and her timing was just right as she got O’Rear right on her back. There was a bit of a fight, but not enough to stop Engebretson from sticking the shoulders and crowning herself the new 125-pound champion.
“Definitely a waiting game,” Engebretson said. “I was coming in to see if I could find my ties and get to my position. Then when she gave it to me, I knew I could attack.”
Bratland’s ride to the top was a little different because not only was she the No. 1 seed at 140, but she got a traditional matchup between the top two seeds with Spencer’s Shaylee Sutherland meeting her in the finals.
Nothing was going to stop Bratland’s dominant run to the title, especially after losing to Sutherland by fall during last year’s 140-pound semifinals.
“(Finishing third) definitely motivated me,” Bratland said. “I remember that feeling of losing (the semifinal) match and it really pushed me to become better this year. I really wanted that state title, and I made sure to remind myself at every practice I went to and I fought really hard.”After winning by a major decision and a fall on Thursday,
Bratland got No. 4 Kerene Panya of LeMars in the semifinals and proceeded to rack up three takedowns for a 9-1 lead before sticking the pin at the 2:19 mark to reach her first-ever state finals.
“She’s a great person to have in our program,” Roland said of Bratland. “She doesn’t have any drama, and she doesn’t have any issues. She goes out on the mat and she just wrestles like a dog every single time she goes out, as you could see tonight.”
And even though she faced the No. 2 seed in the biggest match of her season, Bratland didn’t miss a beat.
Sutherland threatened a takedown in the first period with control of Bratland’s leg, but the Ankeny star turned it into a takedown of her own for an early 3-0 lead.
The margin only grew in the second period with a quick escape and a second takedown leading to a two-point near fall for a 9-0 advantage. Sutherland looked to make up points on top to start the third, but another escape put the cherry on top of Bratland’s 10-0 major decision.
Bratland finished with a 42-1 mark.
“Everything just feels so surreal right now,” Bratland said after winning her title. “Like I don’t even think this is actually happening. I think in these next couple of days that it’ll settle in a bit.”
Engebretson and Bratland winning the program’s first state titles is just further proof of the upward trajectory that Ankeny has been on in its three seasons of existence.
It got its feet wet with a 40th-place team finish in the first year, leaped up to seventh overall with some of its first-ever state placewinners and now finishing its third season as the Class 2A state runner-up with two state champions and seven total placewinners.
Junior Nora Bockes (110) and senior Haylee McGrew (155) also joined Engebretson and Bratland as Ankeny’s other two finalists. Bockes and McGrew both finished second at their respective weight classes after losses in the finals.
Ankeny’s original goal going into the season was bringing home a team title, and it looks forward to returning plenty of talent that’ll aid in trying to reach that goal in 2025-26.
