(Story by Stephen McDaniel) It’s one thing to beat a good team during the regular season, but it’s a completely different thing to repeat that success against the same squad in the postseason with your season on the line. The Ankeny Centennial girls' basketball team was able to do it, and now the 12th-ranked Jaguars are one win away from returning to … [Read more...] about ‘We’ve just shown so much growth’: Jags roll past Roosevelt, earn trip to Cedar Falls
Jaguars
‘It feels a lot better getting my revenge’: Dhabolt tops Miller, claims 2nd state title
A year ago, Max Dhabolt made some history by becoming the first Ankeny Centennial boys' wrestler to capture an individual state title. It turns out that winning a second championship was even sweeter. The second-seeded Dhabolt avenged his only loss of the season by defeating No. 1 Jaxon Miller of Carlisle, 7-4, in the Class 3A 175-pound title match on … [Read more...] about ‘It feels a lot better getting my revenge’: Dhabolt tops Miller, claims 2nd state title
Vandermark, Walsh close out high school wrestling careers with 4th-place finishes
Seniors Cale Vandermark of Ankeny Centennial at 126 pounds and Ben Walsh of Ankeny at 120 closed out their high school wrestling careers with fourth-place finishes in the Class 3A state tournament on Saturday at the Casey's Center. Centennial also got a sixth-place finish from senior Brandon Bogseth at 215. Junior Ethan Sodergren took seventh for the … [Read more...] about Vandermark, Walsh close out high school wrestling careers with 4th-place finishes
Ankeny’s Rathjen, Centennial’s Dhabolt to wrestle for state titles on Saturday night
Ankeny Centennial junior Max Dhabolt is one win away from capturing a second consecutive state wrestling title. Sophomore Calvin Rathjen of Ankeny has a chance to claim his first crown. Both standouts advanced to Saturday's championship matches with dominant performances on Friday night in the Class 3A semifinals at the Casey's Center. The … [Read more...] about Ankeny’s Rathjen, Centennial’s Dhabolt to wrestle for state titles on Saturday night
‘They deserve to be honored’: Jaguars romp to win over Lincoln on Senior Night
The four seniors on the Ankeny Centennial boys' basketball team are not among the squad's leading scorers. But their value to the Jaguars' program runs much deeper than the box score. The quartet of Kolby Bechen, Carter Gustafson, Will Perpich and Brody Prill was honored on Thursday during the Senior Night festivities at Centennial, where the Jaguars … [Read more...] about ‘They deserve to be honored’: Jaguars romp to win over Lincoln on Senior Night
Jaguar wrestlers boast trio of semifinalists in Vandermark, Dhabolt and Bogseth
Despite sitting in 17th place overall after the first two days of the Class 3A state tournament, the Ankeny Centennial wrestling team made a statement on Thursday at the Casey's Center. The Jaguars advanced three wrestlers into Friday night's semifinals, putting them in some elite company. Only four teams have more semifinalists than Centennial, which has … [Read more...] about Jaguar wrestlers boast trio of semifinalists in Vandermark, Dhabolt and Bogseth
Hawks sit in 10th place in Class 3A; Jags advance 4 wrestlers into quarterfinals
The Ankeny wrestling team sits in 10th place with 34.5 points heading into the second day of the Class 3A state tournament at the Casey's Center. Crosstown rival Ankeny Centennial, meanwhile, bounced back from a winless opening round on Wednesday to advance four wrestlers into Thursday's quarterfinals. The Jaguars are tied for 22nd place with 23 … [Read more...] about Hawks sit in 10th place in Class 3A; Jags advance 4 wrestlers into quarterfinals
‘We just scrapped, and that’s who we are’: Jaguars battle No. 6 Ames down to wire
(Story by Stephen McDaniel) Next week, the Ankeny Centennial and Ames boys' basketball teams will be playing to keep their seasons alive in the same Class 4A substate bracket. But the Jaguars were simply focused on the task at hand of hosting the sixth-ranked Little Cyclones while trying to close out the home stretch of the season with some positive … [Read more...] about ‘We just scrapped, and that’s who we are’: Jaguars battle No. 6 Ames down to wire
‘I thought we battled through adversity’: Ankeny bowlers take 5th at district meet
A tough field awaited the Ankeny boys' bowling team in a Class 3A district meet on Monday. It was going to take a huge performance at Wayward Social in Marshalltown for Ankeny to qualify for the state tournament. Unfortunately, it didn't happen. Coach Adam Booth's team placed fifth among the eight squads with a score of 2,713. "After a three-hour … [Read more...] about ‘I thought we battled through adversity’: Ankeny bowlers take 5th at district meet
Boys’ substate pairings announced: Hawks, Jaguars receive tough draws
Both the Ankeny and Ankeny Centennial boys' basketball teams received tough postseason draws from the Iowa High School Athletic Association. The Class 4A substate pairings were announced on Monday. The Hawks (9-10) are the No. 2 seed in Substate 3, while the Jaguars (7-12) are the No. 3 seed in Substate 2. Centennial will host a substate quarterfinal … [Read more...] about Boys’ substate pairings announced: Hawks, Jaguars receive tough draws
THE MADNESS BEGINS: State wrestling tourney brackets announced by IHSAA
The Class 3A state wrestling tournament brackets have been announced by the Iowa High School Athletic Association. Four of Ankeny Centennial's 10 qualifiers earned a top-eight seed and will receive a first-round bye. Two of Ankeny's nine qualifiers earned a No. 3 seed and will also receive a first-round bye. The Class 3A tournament begins on Wednesday … [Read more...] about THE MADNESS BEGINS: State wrestling tourney brackets announced by IHSAA
Ankeny Fanatic Prep of the Week: Jake Smith, Ankeny boys’ swimming
Sophomore Jake Smith helped the Ankeny boys' swimming team to a 17th-place finish in the state meet on Friday and Saturday at the University of Iowa's Campus Recreation & Wellness Center in Iowa City. He scored points in both of his individual events. Smith placed 15th in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:46.54. He later took ninth in the 500 … [Read more...] about Ankeny Fanatic Prep of the Week: Jake Smith, Ankeny boys’ swimming
‘We had a great meet’: Ankeny swimmers place 17th at state despite DQ in last race
Ankeny senior Bryer Pearson earned a spot on the awards podium in his final boys' high school state swimming meet. Pearson placed third in the 100 butterfly on Saturday at the University of Iowa's Campus Recreation & Wellness Center. He set a personal record of 49.60 after breaking the 50-second mark for the first time during Friday's preliminaries, … [Read more...] about ‘We had a great meet’: Ankeny swimmers place 17th at state despite DQ in last race
‘The game was very physical’: Jaguars sink 22 free throws in victory at Waterloo West
The Ankeny Centennial boys' basketball team has earned back-to-back wins for the first time this season. Fresh off a 17-point victory over visiting Southeast Polk on Friday, the Jaguars traveled to Waterloo West on Saturday afternoon for a non-conference game and defeated the Wahawks, 57-51. "This was a nice, hard-fought win for us," said Centennial … [Read more...] about ‘The game was very physical’: Jaguars sink 22 free throws in victory at Waterloo West
‘We had a great final round’: Jaguars place 2nd at district, qualify 10 for state tourney
The Ankeny Centennial wrestlers picked a good time to have one of their best days of the season. The Jaguars placed second among eight teams in a Class 3A district tournament on Saturday at Iowa City High. More importantly, they qualified 10 wrestlers for the state tournament. "It's been a long season," said Centennial coach Jay Groth. "We've … [Read more...] about ‘We had a great final round’: Jaguars place 2nd at district, qualify 10 for state tourney
Beam, Perpich combine for 48 points in Jaguars’ win to close out regular season
(Story by Stephen McDaniel) Lizzie Beam and Faith Perpich have formed a great 1-2 punch for the Ankeny Centennial girls' basketball team over the course of the season. The junior and freshman guard tandem combined forces to help lead the Jaguars to their second straight victory to close out the regular season. Beam scored a game-high 26 points and … [Read more...] about Beam, Perpich combine for 48 points in Jaguars’ win to close out regular season
Centennial boys use balanced attack to finish sweep of season series vs. Rams
(Story by Stephen McDaniel) To the delight of the Ankeny Centennial student section, Carter Gustafson checked into Friday's boys' basketball game for the Jaguars with about 30 seconds left to play. The senior guard's fast-break layup in the final seconds was the perfect way to close out Centennial's 61-44 victory to sweep the season series against … [Read more...] about Centennial boys use balanced attack to finish sweep of season series vs. Rams
Ankeny’s Pearson, Smith, Kearney, Walsh advance to finals at boys’ state swim meet
Four Ankeny boys' swimmers qualified for Saturday's finals in a total of five individual events during Friday's preliminaries of the state meet at the University of Iowa's Campus Recreation & Wellness Center in Iowa City. Senior Bryer Pearson was Ankeny's top qualifier. He advanced to the "A" final in the 100 butterfly by posting a time of 49.84 … [Read more...] about Ankeny’s Pearson, Smith, Kearney, Walsh advance to finals at boys’ state swim meet
Jaguars roll past Ames on Senior Night, will host S.E. Polk to close out season
The Ankeny Centennial girls' basketball team turned in one of its best offensive performances of the season on its Senior Night. The 13th-ranked Jaguars made nine 3-point goals, connected on 21-of-25 free throws and rolled to a 68-49 victory over visiting Ames in a non-conference game on Thursday. Centennial nearly eclipsed its season-high of 71 … [Read more...] about Jaguars roll past Ames on Senior Night, will host S.E. Polk to close out season
‘Gavin had a great second game’: Ankeny senior places 15th at conference meet
The Ankeny boys' bowling team placed seventh in the CIML Conference meet on Thursday at Great Escape. Ankeny posted a score of 2,604. The team competition consisted of 15 bakers games. Waukee racked up a total of 3,380 to defend its title, including a 268 in its final game. Urbandale bowled a 279 in its second game and went on to earn runner-up honors, … [Read more...] about ‘Gavin had a great second game’: Ankeny senior places 15th at conference meet