After dropping its first three duals on Saturday, the Ankeny Centennial wrestling team rebounded with a trio of victories at the Osage Duals to finish the day with a .500 mark.
The Jaguars are now 6-11 on the season.
“I was pleased that after losing the first three we didn’t get down on ourselves and let that negative momentum drag us down,” said Centennial coach Jay Groth. “The guys came back and kept wrestling hard.”
The Jaguars got a boost with the return of defending state champion Max Dhabolt to the team’s lineup at 175 pounds. The top-ranked Dhabolt had been out with an injury since the season opener on Dec. 4.
Dhabolt wrestled four matches on Saturday, recording three pins and a technical fall.
“Max really had only one day of practice, so we held him out of a couple of matches,” Groth said. “We want to make sure he’s all the way back before we really test him, but he looked good in the matches that he had.”
One of Dhabolt’s pins came against Brody Buhman of Davenport Assumption in 1 minute 3 seconds. Buhman is ranked fifth in Class 2A.
Dhabolt’s fall gave Centennial a 39-23 lead in the Jaguars’ fourth dual of the day. Assumption, the No. 7 team in Class 2A, then won the last three matches–two of them by fall–to forge a 39-39 tie.
However, the Jaguars won the dual on the fifth criteria tiebreaker. They scored the maximum six points in six different matches, one more than the Knights.
Centennial then followed with two more wins to close out the day. The Jaguars beat Hampton-Dumont-CAL, 51-23, and Humboldt, 43-29.
Humboldt is the No. 20 team in Class 2A.
“Assumption is a good team, and Humboldt always has a good team,” Groth said. “It was good to beat teams like that. I’m pleased with the way we finished, which was the opposite of how I felt after the Mendenhall tournament a week ago (at Ames).”
Groth’s team opened the tournament with a 57-17 loss to Kasson-Mantorville (Minn.). Centennial then dropped a 51-21 decision to Independence, the No. 4 team in Class 2A.
The Jaguars lost to Decorah, 45-20, in their third dual. Decorah, the No. 1 team in Class 2A, went 5-0 on the day to win the tournament.
“They’re good,” Groth said of the Vikings. “They’re just real solid.”
No. 3 Cale Vandermark went 5-1 for Centennial at 126. He recorded a pin and three technical falls.
Vandermark’s only loss came to freshman Adam Carey of Independence, 3-2, in overtime. Carey is ranked second in Class 2A.
“Cale knows fully well that he just needs to take the shots that he is so good at taking,” Groth said. “Right now he’s still a little tentative, but he just has to let it fly.”
No. 10 Ethan Sodergren went 4-2 for the Jaguars at 150. He had two pins and a technical fall in his last three matches.
Brenden Harless at 106 and Ethan Hand at 120 each had three falls on the day.
“Our younger guys at the lower weights are coming around and becoming a little more consistent,” Groth said.
Centennial will travel to Johnston on Thursday for a CIML Conference dual meet against the Dragons.