A year ago, the Ankeny wrestling team won its own Bob Sharp Invitational with 211.5 points.
The Hawks surpassed that total in Saturday’s annual tournament, but they were nevertheless unable to defend their championship.
Fourth-ranked Indianola crowned seven individual champs and easily captured the team title with 270 points. Ankeny took second in the 10-team field with 216.5.
The Hawks advanced eight wrestlers to the finals, but had to settle for just two individual titles. They went 1-4 in their head-to-head championship matches against Indianola.
“I say this every time, but we won some really good matches,” said Ankeny coach Jack Wignall. “When you get into the finals, they get a little tougher but we lost some matches that we shouldn’t have. But overall, it was a good day.”
Ankeny senior Ben Walsh won his second consecutive Bob Sharp title. Ranked fourth in Class 3A at 126 pounds, Walsh claimed the crown at 120 with a 17-1 technical fall over No. 11 Sawyer Nelson of Indianola.
Walsh, who won at 113 last year, raised his record to 15-0 with a pin and two technical falls.
“Ben was dominating at 126, but the plan was always for him to go down and this was his first time at 120,” Wignall said. “He tried to make (weight) for the Mendenhall tournament a week ago, but he got the flu and couldn’t make it. It’s been a rough go for him. He’s still feeling some lingering effects from the flu, but he’s definitely feeling better.”
Freshman Ryne Dobson provided the Hawks’ other individual crown. The No. 8 Dobson posted a 4-1 decision over Joseph Hauser of Mason City to win the title at 215.
Dobson, who recorded a 5-1 victory over No. 12 Conner Bistricty of Cedar Rapids Prairie in the semifinals, is now 20-6 on the season. He avenged two earlier losses to Bistricty.
“Ryne just keeps getting better. He’s fun to coach and really doing well,” Wignall said. “To do what he’s doing at his weight, he’s just a little sparkplug. It’s just incredible the nerve he has to keep his head on straight. I compare it to when (current Northern Iowa wrestler) Trever Anderson was a freshman before the state finals. The pressure doesn’t bother him–it’s a privilege.”
Ankeny got runner-up finishes from Eddie Salgado at 106, Aiden Winkie at 138, Noah Kauffman at 144, Gavyn Gatewood at 157, Calvin Rathjen at 165 and Kash Johnson at 175.
The No. 2 Rathjen posted a 9-1 major decision over No. 5 Brody Warrick of Boone in the semifinals, defeating Warrick for the second time in eight days. Rathjen had beaten Warrick, 6-3, to win a title at the Ames tournament.
In the finals, Rathjen dropped a 4-1 decision to No. 1 Mac Crosson of Indianola in a matchup of unbeaten wrestlers. The Ankeny sophomore is now 14-1.
“I thought Calvin wrestled him pretty tough,” Wignall said. “Those two trained together for years at Sebolt, so they know each other real well. Crosson is a returning state champ, and the difference was just a takedown in the last 5 seconds of a period. It was a great match.”
Salgado, who is ranked 10th at 113, dropped a 9-6 decision to Indianola’s Chandler Brown. His record fell to 19-7.
“We lost some head-to-head matches that could hurt us with seeding at the state tournament,” Wignall said. “Eddie got beat, and he gave up four points for locked hands and another point for stalling. But those are really correctable mistakes.”
Kauffman and Gatewood also lost to opponents from Indianola in the finals.
Kauffman was pinned by No. 7 Stoney Wood in 1 minute 2 seconds. He is now 17-6 on the season.
Gatewood was pinned by No. 11 Rylan Hilton in 1:27. His record fell to 11-14.
“We won some big matches to get into the finals, and that was a step in the right direction for our kids,” Wignall said.
Both Winkie and Johnson lost to higher-ranked opponents from Linn-Mar (Marion) in the finals.
The No. 8 Johnson lost by a 10-2 major decision to No. 5 Barrett Mieras. He is now 5-3.
The No. 12 Winkie dropped a 4-1 decision to No. 6 Tegan Ray. His record dropped to 14-8.
“Aiden was in a lot of shots and just couldn’t finish,” Wignall said. “He’ll be just fine going forward.”
Ankeny had four other top-four finishers. Eli Perez at 126 and Ryleigh Egeberg at 190 each placed third, while Jacob Haase at 150 and Layne Hearne at 285 both finished fourth.
The Hawks will host a CIML Conference dual meet against No. 6 Waukee Northwest on Thursday.
