The title drought is over for the Ankeny Centennial wrestlers.
In their seventh appearance in a Class 3A championship match, the Jaguars finally got an individual state championship on Saturday night courtesy of sophomore Max Dhabolt, who became the first boy in school history to capture a crown.
“Oh my gosh, it’s been a long time coming,” said Centennial coach Jay Groth, whose team placed seventh in Class 3A with 101 points. “It feels good to get that monkey off our back about having that first state champ. It’s going to be nice to put his name up on the board.”
The top-seeded Dhabolt posted a 7-2 decision over No. 2 Bas Diaz of Waverly-Shell Rock in the 157-pound final before a sellout crowd at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. He finished the season with a 33-1 record.
“It feels great,” said Dhabolt. “I put it all out there, and I succeeded.”
Dhabolt handed Diaz (44-3) two of his three losses this season. Diaz is a two-time state champion who is headed to South Dakota State.
Dhabolt won the first matchup, 4-1, in the finals of the Ed Winger Invitational on Jan. 16 at Urbandale.
“I knew I could go out there and beat him again,” Dhabolt said. “I had to prove everybody wrong again.”
After a scoreless first period, Diaz escaped in the second period to take a 1-0 lead. Dhabolt then escaped in the third period to tie it at 1-1.
Dhabolt got the go-ahead takedown with about 1 minute left. After Diaz escaped, he desperately tried to get a takedown, but instead Dhabolt got another one to seal the victory.
“He looked great,” Groth said. “He followed the plan, and he did the work. He executed against a really good kid.”
Groth said he wasn’t nervous before the match because Dhabolt didn’t appear to be showing any nerves himself.
“Max is a phenomenal wrestler,” Groth said. “He just looked loose, he looked like he knew he was going to win, and he went out and performed. The way he performs in competition and what he’s done, I wasn’t surprised at all (that he won). He’s just fun to watch and a good kid to have in the room.
“And it’s just looking up from here. (He’ll be a) national champion this summer,” he added.
Dhabolt’s victory means that Groth will soon be getting a tattoo of his wrestler’s face–most likely on his back. It’s a promise that he previously made.
“You had to bring that up. I forgot about that,” Groth joked.
But Dhabolt hadn’t forgotten.
“I’m glad I get a tattoo (of me) on his body,” Dhabolt said.
Dhabolt’s teammate, Cale Vandermark, also had a chance to win a title on Saturday. But the second-seeded junior dropped an 11-4 decision to No. 1 Jake Knight of Bettendorf in the 120-pound final.
“It gave me way more motivation,” Dhabolt said. “Seeing my teammate lose out there, I knew I had to come win a state title for us.”
Vandermark got off to a slow start, giving up a pair of takedowns in the first period while falling behind, 6-1. Knight got another one in the second period to build his advantage to 10-1.
“I just wasn’t staying in very good position on my feet,” said Vandermark. “I wasn’t getting to my ties like I wanted to.”
Vandermark got a late takedown to narrow the final margin, allowing him to avoid a major decision.
“I didn’t push my pace until the last period, so I just have to get to it sooner,” Vandermark said. “I hope to wrestle (Knight) again next year.”
Knight (48-1) won his second state title. The Oklahoma recruit handed Vandermark (41-3) all three of his losses this season.
“Cale was definitely nervous, and then he gave up that early takedown,” Groth said. “We just didn’t score until it was too late. We got in on his legs a couple times, but he couldn’t quite finish.”
Vandermark is on pace to become Centennial’s all-time winningest wrestler. He placed fourth in each of the previous two seasons before earning a runner-up medal on Saturday.
“I definitely made big improvements with my coach, T.J. Sebolt, last summer,” Vandermark said. “And I want to make some big strides again next summer.”
Groth is confident that Vandermark will reach the top of the awards podium next year.
“It’s a bummer (that Vandermark lost) because Cale is a great kid, and he’s great to have in the room,” Groth said. “But he’s going to get (a title) next year. I’m not worried about it.”
Ankeny, meanwhile, finished in 12th place with 80.5 points. The Hawks matched Centennial with four placewinners.
“That Thursday session was one of the most fun coaching experiences I’ve had,” said Ankeny coach Jack Wignall. “We went 12-2 that day and overall for the tournament we went 23-17. Everybody won at least two matches, and I know I’ve never had that happen before. I wish we could have had a finalist or two, but our kids performed the way we wanted them to and we’ll be back next year.”
