Ankeny Fanatic

Your Ankeny Sports Resource

Winter

‘They fought all the way until the end’: Jags fall at Urbandale, finish year at 9-14

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(Story by Stephen McDaniel) The first season of the Matt Delger coaching era officially came to an end on Friday for the Ankeny Centennial boys' basketball team. Having the season end with a loss will always leave a bitter taste, but the Jaguars feel that there’s been a foundation set in the 2025-26 campaign that Centennial teams of the future will be … [Read more...] about ‘They fought all the way until the end’: Jags fall at Urbandale, finish year at 9-14

‘It seemed like a good time to hang it up’: Groth retires after 34 years as head coach

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The only head coach in the history of the Ankeny Centennial wrestling program has departed from his position in style. After guiding junior Max Dhabolt to a second consecutive Class 3A individual state title last weekend, Jay Groth announced his retirement on Thursday after 34 seasons as a head coach. Groth spent two years at Des Moines Hoover and 19 … [Read more...] about ‘It seemed like a good time to hang it up’: Groth retires after 34 years as head coach

‘They deserved this win’: Jaguars knock off No. 4 Cedar Falls, qualify for state tourney

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The Ankeny Centennial girls' basketball program made a habit of advancing to the state tournament under Scott DeJong. It appears the Jaguars' tradition will continue without the legendary coach. Twelfth-ranked Centennial used a 7-0 run in the first 2 minutes of the fourth quarter to post a 40-35 victory at No. 4 Cedar Falls in a Class 5A regional final … [Read more...] about ‘They deserved this win’: Jaguars knock off No. 4 Cedar Falls, qualify for state tourney

‘We really wanted to start off hot’: Mitchell, Gorsh lead Jaguars past Fort Dodge boys

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With only four wins on the year, the Fort Dodge boys' basketball team entered Monday's game at Ankeny Centennial looking to pull off a postseason surprise. The Jaguars, meanwhile, wanted to quickly squash any hopes for an upset. Centennial used a 15-0 run in the first half to pull away and went on to beat the Dodgers, 56-27, in a Class 4A substate … [Read more...] about ‘We really wanted to start off hot’: Mitchell, Gorsh lead Jaguars past Fort Dodge boys

‘We’ve just shown so much growth’: Jags roll past Roosevelt, earn trip to Cedar Falls

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(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

‘It feels a lot better getting my revenge’: Dhabolt tops Miller, claims 2nd state title

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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(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

THE MADNESS BEGINS: State wrestling tourney brackets announced by IHSAA

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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

‘The game was very physical’: Jaguars sink 22 free throws in victory at Waterloo West

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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

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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

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(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

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(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

Jaguars roll past Ames on Senior Night, will host S.E. Polk to close out season

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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

HOME COOKIN’: Hawkettes earn top seed in Region 5, Jags will also host semifinal

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The Class 5A girls' regional basketball pairings were announced on Thursday afternoon by the Iowa Girls' High School Athletic Union. Fifth-ranked Ankeny (13-7) is the top seed in Region 5 and will host a semifinal game on Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. The Hawkettes will play the winner of Wednesday's game between Sioux City North (5-16) and Sioux City West … [Read more...] about HOME COOKIN’: Hawkettes earn top seed in Region 5, Jags will also host semifinal