The Ankeny wrestling team advanced the third-seeded duo of Ben Walsh and Calvin Rathjen into Friday night’s semifinals while moving into ninth place in the Class 3A state tournament at the Casey’s Center.
The Hawks have scored 52.5 points, but their hopes for a top-10 finish took a hit on Thursday when all five of their wrestlers in the consolation bracket were eliminated from the tournament.
No. 13 Eddie Salgado at 106 pounds and No. 15 Aiden Winkie at 138 each won a third-round consolation match before losing in the blood round. No. 19 Eli Perez at 126, No. 20 Jacob Haase at 150 and No. 13 Ryleigh Egeberg at 190 all lost in the third round of consolation matches.
Two-time defending champion Southeast Polk leads the Class 3A field with 117.5 points, 29 more than Dowling Catholic. The Rams have six semifinalists, two more than any other team.
Walsh advanced to the semifinals for the second straight year by recording his second fall in two days at 120. He built an 8-0 lead in the second period before pinning No. 11 Hugo Hughes of Iowa City West in 2 minutes 42 seconds to lift his record to 28-1.
“It feels really good,” said Walsh, a four-time state qualifier who placed fifth at 113 a year ago. “I’m just playing it safe and taking it match-by-match. One at a time and get it done.”
Walsh will meet No. 7 Zander Manz of Council Bluffs Lewis Central (39-3) in Friday’s semifinals. Manz posted a 4-0 decision over No. 2 Chase Watkinson of Cedar Rapids Prairie.
“I got two more (matches) in me,” Walsh said.
Rathjen, meanwhile, posted a 10-2 victory over No. 6 Nolan Dao of Clear Creek-Amana in the quarterfinals at 165. The sophomore got a takedown in each period, including one with just 1 second left in the match to earn a major decision.
“He’s been at 175 for some of the year, so I hadn’t wrestled him this season,” Rathjen said of Dao. “I’m usually a high crotch guy, but he was a little bigger so the hit on the outside wasn’t quite working. I went inside and finished both my shots there.”
Rathjen, who lost in the second round as a freshman before rebounding to earn a fourth-place finish at 132, is now 26-2.
“It feels great,” Rathjen said. “Last year I didn’t get the win on the front side. I was a little nervous going into last year, but this year I’m just kind of loose and letting it fly.”
Rathjen will face No. 10 Rylee Brown of Fort Dodge (30-7) on Friday. Brown posted a 6-5 decision over No. 2 Noah Howk-Erwin of Linn-Mar (Marion), who had pinned Rathjen in last week’s district final.
“I just looked at state as a fresh start,” Rathjen said. “(The loss) didn’t mess up my seeding too bad–I still got on the bottom side. I just had to clear my head and get back to work.”
Rathjen posted a 13-7 decision over Brown in the semifinals of the Jack Mendenhall Invitational on Jan. 10 at Ames.
“It was a three takedown match,” Rathjen said. “And then I got hurt early in the third (period).”
With a victory, Rathjen could get a chance to avenge his only other loss in Saturday’s finals. No. 1 Mac Crosson of Indianola will meet No. 4 Cole Green of North Scott in the other semifinal.
Crosson posted a 4-1 decision over Rathjen in the finals of the Bob Sharp Invitational on Jan. 17 at Ankeny.
Here are the Hawks’ results from the consolation bracket on Thursday:
3rd Round
106: No. 13 Eddie Salgado pinned No. 12 Chandler Brown (Indianola), 5:44.
126: No. 19 Eli Perez (16-13) was pinned by No. 12 Karson Pulver (Pleasant Valley), 4:49.
138: No. 15 Aiden Winkie beat No. 8 Miles Vander Velde (C.B. Lincoln), 17-5.
150: No. 20 Jacob Haase (23-22) lost to No. 11 Jake Dunn (Urbandale), 12-2.
190: No. 13 Ryleigh Egeberg (32-14) lost to No. 12 Scott Smith (S.E. Polk), 7-2.
Blood Round
106: No. 13 Eddie Salgado (34-12) was pinned by No. 8 Connor McGonegle (Iowa City Liberty), 1:44.
138: No. 15 Aiden Winkie (27-13) lost to No. 5 Owen Duffek (C.B. Lewis Central), 4-3.
