Coach Dustin Roland beamed with pride following Friday’s Class 2A regional tournament at Glenwood.
His third-ranked Ankeny girls’ wrestling team captured a third consecutive regional crown in dominating fashion, racking up 249 points. Dallas Center-Grimes was a distant second in the 10-team field with 166.
“We may sound like a broken record, but we are just so proud of our girls,” Roland said. “From our regional champs to the very last girl on our roster.”
Ankeny crowned seven individual champions and had one runner-up finisher. The eight state qualifiers went a combined 21-1 on the day with 20 falls.
Third-ranked Lauren Watson at 110 pounds, No. 4 Karlie Kruse at 125, Haley Togba at 140, No. 4 Jammie Krah at 145 and No. 11 Aliayah Shade at 170 each recorded three consecutive pins. No. 12 Aysia Moser pinned both of her opponents at 235, and No. 4 Nora Bockes also won by fall in the finals at 115.
Both Bockes and fellow senior Trudy Haag earned their fourth trip to the state tournament. Bockes (20-4) pinned Kaylea Hintze of Council Bluffs Jefferson in 1 minute 9 seconds to win her first regional title.
“Nora is back to make another run,” Roland said. “We are going to soak up our last week with one of the biggest positive influences our program has seen.”
The No. 3 Haag, meanwhile, had two first-period falls to reach the finals at 120. Haag (39-6) then dropped a 12-9 decision to No. 4 Audrina Johansen of Glenwood, who is now 46-3.
“Trudy will also be spending her last week in our program, and we are going to soak that up as well,” Roland said. “She is a state tournament veteran, and we expect big things from her.”
Watson advanced to state for the third time, while Kruse and Krah both qualified for the second time. They each won a second regional title.
Kruse (38-7) pinned No. 7 Charlee Kounkel of Hinton in 4:35 in the finals. She handed Kounkel her first loss in 26 matches.
“Karlie is wrestling at the top of her game at the right time,” Roland said.
Watson (33-6) pinned Zoey Tomlinson of Hinton in 45 seconds to claim her crown. The junior needed just 17 seconds to pin Ellie Michelson of Winterset in the quarterfinals.
“Lauren is a gamer, and her game is just getting started,” Roland said.
Krah (41-5) pinned Kalen Jo Westerfield of Council Bluffs Lewis Central in 2:30 in the finals.
“Jammie is on a mission,” Roland said. “I would not want to toe the line across from her.”
Shade (36-10) spent a total of less than 3 minutes on the mat in her three matches. She pinned Ashley Chasteen of Hinton in 40 seconds to win the title.
“Aliayah can wrestle with anyone if Aliayah decides she wants to wrestle,” Roland said. “She is an extremely talented athlete.”
Togba (29-12) also cruised to her crown by recording three first-period falls. She pinned Lindsay Trotter of Lewis Central in 1:53 in the finals.
“Haley is putting things together while becoming a more complete wrestler the last few weeks,” Roland said. “She can beat anyone!”
Moser (39-8) punched her ticket to state with a fall over Chelsea Oelke of Hinton in the semifinals. She then pinned Lilian Miller of Council Bluffs Lincoln in 3:09 to claim the crown.
“Moser or MS reliable as I am going to start calling her has bought into her game plan 100 percent,” Roland said. “It’s been so rewarding watching her growth off the mat, which has led to growth on the mat.”
Ankeny got third-place finishes from Kaelynn Boston at 130 and Kaylie Staples at 190. Both Boston (32-13) and Staples (19-8) recorded pins in their third-place matches.
They each then lost a true wrestle-back match for second place.
“KK gave everything we could have asked from the freshman, but she came up short. I will go to bed with a smile on my face thinking about her future in our program,” Roland said. “And Kaylie went from an ambulance ride to the hospital to be put under to put her dislocated shoulder back in place Wednesday night to wrestling for true second. She is one tough cookie. We could not have been more proud of her tonight.”
Jaedyn Stites took fourth at 135. She finished the season at 10-9.
“Jaedyn made the most of her opportunity tonight and is light years above her peers when it comes to winning in life!” Roland said. “We don’t focus on wins on the mat, but the wins in our lives.”
Also competing for Ankeny were Raegan Semrow at 100, Zoe Sullivan at 105 and Reagan Stephenson at 155.
“Semrow has grown so much this season and is such a blessing to have in our program,” Roland said. “Sullivan suffered a concussion in the semis that ended her season too soon, but we are hopeful this will light a fire in her this offseason. She will do some great things in her life, and I can’t wait to sit back and watch. And Reagan has given us everything, and we are so thankful for her selfless attitude. No doubt she will make some big improvements this offseason.”
The state tournament will be held on Thursday and Friday at Xtream Arena in Coralville. Ankeny placed second at last year’s tournament, finishing 13 points behind CIML Conference rival Raccoon River-Northwest.