The Ankeny girls’ wrestling team came away with a pair of victories on Tuesday in a season-opening triangular meet at Waverly-Shell Rock.
Ankeny won 10 of the 14 matches to post a 60-19 triumph over the host Go-Hawks. The team recorded six falls and won four other matches by forfeit.
Ankeny also defeated Decorah, 49-30. The squad had five more pins among its nine wins.
“First nights are always tough. Win, lose or draw, the emotions and anxiety can lead to some uncharacteristic wrestling,” said Ankeny coach Dustin Roland. “At the end of the day, it’s just a small piece of the season’s journey—a piece that won’t matter in February. We have plenty to work on, especially from the bottom position, and I can promise we’ll start addressing that (Wednesday).”
Ankeny got a pair of falls at 190 pounds from Aliayah Shade, who needed a total of just 52 seconds to flatten both of her opponents.
“Aliayah looked really strong tonight,” Roland said. “Watch out for her as she continues to gain confidence.”
Bradlynn Virchow at 120, Trudy Haag at 130 and Haley Togba at 135 also had two pins apiece.
“Bradlynn made the most of her spot in the varsity lineup,” Roland said. “I’ve said this over and over about Trudy, but she continues to be a consistent hammer throughout her career. And Haley is going to be a fun one to watch this year—she is an exciting wrestler.”
A few of Ankeny’s wrestlers made their debuts in the varsity lineup, including freshman Reagan Semrow at 100.
“I’m very proud of the fight and effort shown by Reagan in her first high school competition,” Roland said.
Ankeny will travel to Valley on Thursday for its CIML Conference opener.
Here are the match-by-match results from both of Tuesday’s meets:
Ankeny 60, Waverly-Shell Rock 19
100: Schwartz (W-SR) beat Semrow, 9-1; 105: Brager won by forfeit; 110: Westendorf (W-SR) beat Watson, 11-0; 115: Bockes pinned Tiedt, 3:28; 120: Virchow pinned Stafford, :36; 125: Schult (W-SR) won by technical fall over Kruse, 16-1; 130: Haag pinned E. Luhring, 3:29; 135: Togba pinned Sprole, 1:22; 140: Krah won by forfeit; 145: Bratland pinned Ryan, 1:21; 155: Mkandawire won by forfeit; 170: Djoumessi (W-SR) pinned Henderson, :35; 190: Shade pinned A. Luhring, :25; 235: Moser won by forfeit.
Ankeny 49, Decorah 30
100: S. Adams (D) pinned Semrow, 3:11; 105: Brager won by forfeit; 110: Watson beat Sheffield, 10-7; 115: Kos (D) pinned Gardner, 2:48; 120: Virchow pinned Becker, 1:04; 125: Kruse beat Downing, 12-0; 130: Haag pinned Farley, 1:20; 135: Togba pinned E. Adams, 2:42; 140: Krah pinned Parker, 1:02; 145: Bratland won by forfeit; 155: Luzum (D) pinned Mkandawire, :41; 170: Simon (D) pinned Kat, 1:25; 190: Shade pinned Cuevas, :27; 235: Lippe (D) pinned Moser, 3:27.