Ankeny’s Hayden Bratland has won a lot of big matches in her wrestling career.
Saturday’s victory over Colbie Tenborg of Saydel in the Central Iowa Kickoff at Nevada may have been one of her biggest yet.
Bratland, the defending Class 2A state champion at 140 pounds, posted a 7-5 decision over Tenborg in the title match at 145. Tenborg is a two-time state champion.
“Wow, what a stud,” Ankeny coach Dustin Roland said of Bratland. “That match was an absolute brawl. Hayden overcame an in-match injury and held on for the win. I had two people tell me that was one of the best matches they had ever seen, regardless of gender.”
Bratland led Ankeny to a third-place finish in the 33-team field. She was one of five finalists for her squad, but the only one to come away with a crown.
Raccoon River-Northwest racked up 279 points to defend its team title. South Tama was the runner-up with 259, while Ankeny finished with 223.5.
“This is a great tournament to start the year,” Roland said. “It’s a long day filled with many ups and downs. We chose to send a limited roster, only filling 10 of the 14 weights.”
Placing second for Ankeny were Karlie Kruse at 125, Haley Togba at 135, Jammie Krah at 140 and Aliayah Shade at 170. Togba lost a 12-7 decision to Izzy Duncan of Raccoon River-Northwest in the finals, while Kruse dropped a 13-1 major decision to Ruby Roof of Algona.
“Karlie wrestled well and ran into a hammer in the finals,” Roland said. “Her two losses this week need to be a reminder that at her level we need to be sharp for every second we are on the mat.”
Krah recorded three consecutive falls to reach the finals. She then dropped a 16-3 major decision to Calista Rodish of Raccoon River-Northwest.
“Jammie was dominant all day until running into the No. 1-ranked girl, but she needs to figure out how to close the gap on that level of (competition),” Roland said.
Shade had a similar tournament. She notched three straight pins before being pinned by South Tama’s Autumn Elsbury in 1 minute 50 seconds.
“Aliayah had a great day,” Roland said. “Her only loss came to the No. 2 girl in the country.”
Ankeny’s Nora Bockes at 115 and Trudy Haag at 130 both placed fourth at their respective weights. Bockes reached the 100-victory career mark during the tournament, while Haag raised her career total to 99 wins.
“Nora had a rough day, but is once again trying to navigate a lingering injury that is limiting her ability. She finished fourth here last year and wound up in the state finals so we are not too concerned. She is a gamer!” Roland said. “Trudy also had a rough day by her standards. No doubt she will rebound and continue to be the hammer she has been her entire career.”
Placing fifth for Ankeny were Zoe Sullivan at 110 and Aysia Moser at 235. They each recorded a fall in their fifth-place match.
“Zoe is much more aggressive than we saw last year so that’s a positive thing,” Roland said. “And Aysia had another good day, going 3-1 with her only loss coming to the No. 2 girl in 1A (Haley Armstrong of SWAT). She is getting better every minute she is on the mat.”
Ankeny also took a few extra girls who competed in the varsity division as non-scorers. One of them, Ari Clinton, placed third at 120.
Teammate Bradlynn Virchow took sixth at the same weight.
“Bradlynn competes as hard as we could ask, but she needs to learn from today’s matches,” Roland said. “Ari had a breakout performance, while Jaedyn (Stites) won a couple of matches at 125 and will likely be dropping to 120 next week as well. That gives us three quality options at 120, and it’s a good problem to have.”
Ankeny will now be off for the Thanksgiving break until hosting a triangular meet on Dec. 2 at Ankeny Centennial. The team will face Urbandale/Johnston and Cedar Falls.
“Overall, we won’t put much stock into this weekend,” Roland said. “It’s just another piece of the puzzle as we look to be our best in February and not November.”