During his tenure as the head coach of the Ankeny Centennial wrestlers, Jay Groth has built a program that embodies hard work and toughness.
That culture has led to a lot of success in the 12-year history of the program, but even Groth admits that it’s not easy to be a Jaguar wrestler.
“We have lost a few kids this season because wrestling is a hard sport,” Groth said. “The kids we have in the room are tough. We have been pushing them, and they are responding well so far. The kids are working hard.”
Centennial won a second straight district title last year, when it crowned six individual champs and advanced nine wrestlers to state. The Jaguars went on to place seventh in the Class 3A tournament.
Three state placewinners are back from that squad, led by junior Max Dhabolt. He became the first boys’ state champion in school history a year ago, when he went 33-1 at 157 pounds, capped off by a 7-2 victory over Bas Diaz of Waverly-Shell Rock in the title match.
Dhabolt’s only loss as a sophomore came by injury default during a dual meet against Southeast Polk. He did not give up a takedown all season until his quarterfinal match at the state tournament.
Dhabolt went 35-3 and placed third at 144 as a freshman, when he helped the team to a fourth-place finish–matching the highest finish in school history. He also helped the Jaguars to a fifth-place finish in the Class 3A state duals.
With a career record of 68-4, Dhabolt is on pace to reach the 100-victory milestone this season.
“Max is a D-A-W-G,” Groth said. “He loves to wrestle, and he is running through each practice like he hasn’t proved anything to anybody yet. He is as hungry to dominate as ever. Max wants title number two, Max wants to dominate every match, and he wants to have fun doing what he loves.”
Senior Cale Vandermark and junior Ethan Sodergren are also back for the Jaguars. They both have state championship aspirations, too.
Vandermark is a three-time placewinner who boasts a career record of 120-18. He has signed a letter of intent with Iowa State.
After placing fourth at 106 as a freshman and at 113 as a sophomore, Vandermark was the state runner-up at 120 last season. He posted a 41-3 mark as a junior, with all three of his losses coming to two-time state champion and Oklahoma recruit Jake Knight of Bettendorf.
Vandermark could become the winningest Ankeny wrestler ever this winter. Former Centennial great Ben Monroe, a three-time state runner-up who also went on to wrestle at Iowa State, won 160 matches in his career from 2016-20.
“Cale is working hard as always,” Groth said. “It is a relief to be done with the recruiting process and signing with ISU is awesome. Cale works harder than anybody I know. He is putting kids through the ringer with cardio and lifting. He is quiet, but he recognizes effort and lets the guys know when they are doing things right and he will let them know if they are not giving their best effort.”
Sodergren went 33-10 and placed eighth at 138 last year. He also qualified for state as a freshman, when he went 33-12 at 126.
With a career record of 66-22, he could also reach the 100-win mark this season.
“Ethan wants to get on top of the podium as well,” Groth said. “He wrestled, lifted and competed during the offseason. He wants to dominate from start to finish.”
Brandon Bogseth, Ben Rotert, Will Sloan and Dirk Winkel are among the other returnees who saw some varsity action last year, when the Jaguars posted a dual record of 11-11, including a 5-3 mark in the CIML Conference.
“We graduated 20 seniors last year, so we are young,” Groth said. “But our numbers are pretty good, and the practices are going well.”
The Jaguars will open their season by hosting a dual meet against conference rival Waukee Northwest on Thursday. The Wolves posted a 42-31 win over Centennial in the final of last year’s regional duals, ending the Jaguars’ bid for a third consecutive trip to the state duals.
Groth’s team will then compete in the Keith Young Invitational on Saturday at Cedar Falls.
“We need to be coachable, we need to be physical, we need to be aggressive, and our conditioning has to be better than anybody else we see,” Groth said.