Ankeny Fanatic

Your Ankeny Sports Resource

Winter

‘We played right with them’: Centennial boys drop 54-46 decision to No. 6 Waukee

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(Story by Stephen McDaniel) There was nothing the Ankeny Centennial boys' basketball team would’ve loved more than opening 2026 with a big upset victory. But despite a blazing hot start to the game, the Jaguars eventually fell behind in the second half and suffered a 54-46 loss to sixth-ranked Waukee on Friday night at Centennial. “We came out of … [Read more...] about ‘We played right with them’: Centennial boys drop 54-46 decision to No. 6 Waukee

‘Everything was just clicking’: Jaguars lead from start to finish in victory over Waukee

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(Story by Stephen McDaniel) The Ankeny Centennial girls' basketball team couldn’t have possibly asked for a better start to the new year. The Jaguars harnessed a total team effort coming out of the holiday break and kicked off the 2026 portion of their schedule by defeating 13th-ranked Waukee, 61-48, on Friday night at Centennial. “That’s the … [Read more...] about ‘Everything was just clicking’: Jaguars lead from start to finish in victory over Waukee

Ankeny Fanatic Prep of the Week: Kolby Bechen, Centennial boys’ basketball

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Senior guard Kolby Bechen has helped the Ankeny Centennial boys' basketball team to a 1-4 record. He is averaging 3.8 points per game and leads the squad with 10 assists. Bechen scored six points on 2-of-5 shooting from 3-point range as the Jaguars posted a 63-45 win over visiting Valley on Dec. 19 for their first victory of the season. He also grabbed … [Read more...] about Ankeny Fanatic Prep of the Week: Kolby Bechen, Centennial boys’ basketball

Vandermark captures 4th straight title at Miller Invite; Sodergren also wins crown

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Ankeny Centennial wrestling standout Cale Vandermark captured a fourth consecutive title in the Don Miller Invitational on Saturday at Fort Dodge, where he helped the Jaguars to a sixth-place finish in the 11-team field. Vandermark, who is ranked No. 1 at 126 pounds in Class 3A, posted a 2-1 decision over No. 9 Matthew Tran of Iowa City West in the finals … [Read more...] about Vandermark captures 4th straight title at Miller Invite; Sodergren also wins crown

‘I am so proud of our staff’: Asst. coaches guide Ankeny to DC-G Holiday Duals title

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The Ankeny girls' wrestling team defended its title on Saturday by going 5-0 at the Dallas Center-Grimes Holiday Duals. Fourth-ranked Ankeny competed most of the day without coach Dustin Roland, who left after the first dual to watch his son wrestle in another tournament. "I am so proud of our staff and their continued willingness to do whatever I ask … [Read more...] about ‘I am so proud of our staff’: Asst. coaches guide Ankeny to DC-G Holiday Duals title

Beam scores career-high 21 points, but Jaguars fall to 1-4 with loss to No. 4 Valley

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(Story by Stephen McDaniel) The Ankeny Centennial girls' basketball team was hoping to build off of its win over Urbandale a week ago and head into the holiday break with some positive momentum. But a matchup against fourth-ranked Valley ended the Jaguars' December slate with a 29-point loss. Centennial struggled to get its offense going in the … [Read more...] about Beam scores career-high 21 points, but Jaguars fall to 1-4 with loss to No. 4 Valley

‘It feels so good!’: Jaguars pull away in 2nd half, defeat Valley for first win of season

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(Story by Stephen McDaniel) With about 50 seconds left in Friday’s game against visiting Valley, Ankeny Centennial boys' basketball coach Matt Delger walked in front of his bench with a wide grin on his face and asked the reserves that don’t get much playing time if they wanted to close out the final minute. Delger’s smile quickly spread up and down … [Read more...] about ‘It feels so good!’: Jaguars pull away in 2nd half, defeat Valley for first win of season

‘We need to get tougher’: Jaguars tumble to 0-4 with 57-15 loss to No. 2 Dowling

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(Story by Stephen McDaniel) It’s safe to say that the Ankeny Centennial wrestlers haven’t seen the start to the season that they were hoping for. The Jaguars have been struggling in a battle with injuries and have now dropped their first four CIML Conference duals of the season  after Dowling Catholic handed them a 57-15 defeat on Thursday at … [Read more...] about ‘We need to get tougher’: Jaguars tumble to 0-4 with 57-15 loss to No. 2 Dowling

Ankeny girls’ wrestling team rolls to wins over N. Polk, Des Moines Public Schools

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The Ankeny girls' wrestling team dropped only one match while defeating a pair of opponents in a double dual meet on Tuesday at Northview Middle School. Fourth-ranked Ankeny rolled to an 84-0 victory over North Polk before following with a 78-6 win over Des Moines Public Schools to raise its overall record to 11-2. DMPS also lost to Ankeny by the same … [Read more...] about Ankeny girls’ wrestling team rolls to wins over N. Polk, Des Moines Public Schools

‘We’ve got a lot of work to do’: Jags build 34-3 lead before Urbandale rallies to win

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The Ankeny Centennial wrestlers still have a lot of work to do. The eighth-ranked Jaguars appeared to be on the verge of their first dual-meet victory on Tuesday, when they built a 34-3 advantage through the first eight matches at Urbandale. But the J-Hawks then mounted a huge rally, sweeping the last six weights to post a 39-34 win. "We got pinned … [Read more...] about ‘We’ve got a lot of work to do’: Jags build 34-3 lead before Urbandale rallies to win

‘I was so devastated hearing the news’: Elbow surgery will end Bratland’s season

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The Ankeny girls' wrestling team will have to chase the Class 2A state championship without its best wrestler. Top-ranked Hayden Bratland, the defending state champ at 140 pounds, will undergo elbow surgery on Wednesday. The junior will miss the rest of the season. "I was so devastated hearing the news," said Bratland, who was 8-0 on the year and owns … [Read more...] about ‘I was so devastated hearing the news’: Elbow surgery will end Bratland’s season

Hawks place 6th at Baltzley Invite behind champion Walsh, while Jaguars finish 13th

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It didn't take long for Ankeny wrestler Ben Walsh to get into midseason form. After making his season debut two nights earlier, the fifth-ranked Walsh cruised to the 126-pound title in the Frank Baltzley Invitational on Saturday at Johnston. He posted a 10-3 decision over Lou Elsten of Lawrence (Kan.) in the title match. "Sometimes when you have a kid … [Read more...] about Hawks place 6th at Baltzley Invite behind champion Walsh, while Jaguars finish 13th

Ankeny girls win 4th straight duals crown, improve record to 18-0 in event’s history

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The fourth-ranked Ankeny girls' wrestling team has never lost to an opponent at the Ankeny Centennial Duals. Coach Dustin Roland's squad remained perfect on Saturday at Northview Middle School, where Ankeny went 5-0 on the day to capture the title for the fourth consecutive year. The team is now 18-0 in the history of the event. Ankeny closed out the … [Read more...] about Ankeny girls win 4th straight duals crown, improve record to 18-0 in event’s history

‘She was just due’: Smith has career-high 19 points, leads Centennial to first victory

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Ankeny Centennial's Maizie Smith never lost confidence in her shooting ability. The senior made four 3-point goals and scored a career-high 19 points to lead the Jaguars to a 60-46 victory at Urbandale in a CIML Conference girls' basketball game on Friday. "I knew something would eventually fall," said Smith, who went 4-of-9 from behind the arc. "I was … [Read more...] about ‘She was just due’: Smith has career-high 19 points, leads Centennial to first victory

‘It just didn’t go for us’: Jaguars’ rally falls short when late 3-pointer bounces off rim

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The Ankeny Centennial boys' basketball team fought an uphill battle on Friday night. The Jaguars nearly climbed out of an 11-point hole at Urbandale before their rally fell short, resulting in a 42-39 loss to the J-Hawks. Centennial had a chance to force overtime in the final seconds, but a deep 3-pointer by Keaton Kasperbauer bounced off the rim as … [Read more...] about ‘It just didn’t go for us’: Jaguars’ rally falls short when late 3-pointer bounces off rim

‘Our girls had a great time competing’: Ankeny falls to Raccoon River-NW, 40-35

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A dual meet between the top two girls' wrestling teams in Class 2A came down to the final match on Thursday at Waukee Northwest. Top-ranked Raccoon River-Northwest got a fall at 100 pounds from Mya Van Beek to post a 40-35 victory over No. 2 Ankeny. Van Beek pinned Raegan Semrow in 1 minute 51 seconds to seal the verdict, but the loss didn't dampen the … [Read more...] about ‘Our girls had a great time competing’: Ankeny falls to Raccoon River-NW, 40-35

‘We’re heading in right direction’: Hawks top Centennial for 2nd consecutive year

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With two of their stalwarts back in the lineup, the Ankeny wrestlers defeated their crosstown rival for the second consecutive year. The Hawks traveled across town to Ankeny Centennial on Thursday and posted a 40-28 victory, getting a pair of pins from returning state placewinners Ben Walsh and Calvin Rathjen. "It was nice having both Ben and Calvin … [Read more...] about ‘We’re heading in right direction’: Hawks top Centennial for 2nd consecutive year

‘We’re darn close’: Jaguars battle Dowling down to wire before suffering 46-42 loss

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(Story by Stephen McDaniel) For the second straight game, the Ankeny Centennial boys' basketball team took a halftime lead and was just 16 minutes away from its first victory of the season. The Jaguars were still tied with under a minute left in Tuesday's game, but visiting Dowling Catholic made the plays down the stretch to escape with a 46-42 win on … [Read more...] about ‘We’re darn close’: Jaguars battle Dowling down to wire before suffering 46-42 loss

Boeding suffers scary fall during first half of Jaguars’ loss to No. 3 Dowling Catholic

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(Story by Stephen McDaniel) It can take just a matter of seconds to completely change an outlook on a game, and now the Ankeny Centennial girls' basketball team is hoping for the best for one of its senior leaders. A scary fall and a temporary halt to the action late in the first half left Centennial without forward Rylyn Boeding for the remainder of … [Read more...] about Boeding suffers scary fall during first half of Jaguars’ loss to No. 3 Dowling Catholic