Jack Wignall

The Ankeny wrestling team placed second in a Class 3A district tournament on Saturday at Norwalk and qualified nine wrestlers for this week's state tournament at Wells Fargo Arena. Ninth-ranked Johnston captured the district crown with 239.5 points. The Hawks finished with 182.5 points. Ankeny crowned two champions among its six finalists and had three … [Read more...] about ‘I feel like we qualified a good number of kids’: Hawks advance 9 wrestlers to state

The Ankeny wrestling team was hoping to earn a third consecutive trip to the state duals tournament. Second-seeded Indianola proved to be an obstacle that the Hawks couldn't overcome. The host Indians posted a 45-15 victory over No. 15 Ankeny in the final of a regional duals tournament on Tuesday. The Hawks, who placed fourth in Class 3A a year ago, … [Read more...] about Hawk wrestlers beat Valley again, then fall to Indianola in final of regional dual

Thursday's wrestling dual meet at Ankeny was a preview of Tuesday's regional dual at Indianola. Ankeny posted a 46-15 victory over Valley in its final dual of the regular season. The Hawks finished 3-5 in the CIML Conference and raised their overall record to 8-9. The two teams will meet again in the opening round of a Class 3A regional dual next … [Read more...] about Hawk wrestlers roll past Valley, will meet Tigers again in Class 3A regional dual

Ankeny wrestling coach Jack Wignall saw some progress from his team despite a close loss on Tuesday. The 12th-ranked Hawks dropped a 33-32 decision to No. 6 Waukee Northwest in a CIML Conference dual meet at Southview Middle School. The Wolves got a pin from Abe Parker at 190 pounds to close out the meet. "It was pretty close," said Ankeny coach Jack … [Read more...] about ‘Our kids wrestled hard’: Hawks notch 5 pins, but drop 33-32 decision to Wolves

Ankeny wrestler Truman Folkers only needed to win two matches on Saturday to capture an individual title in the Jack Mendenhall Invitational at Ames. Folkers led his squad to a tie for fifth place in the 13-team field. Both Ankeny and Cedar Rapids Prairie finished with 138 points. Fort Dodge won the tournament with 195 points. Indianola was second with … [Read more...] about Folkers captures individual title, leads Hawks to tie for 5th at Mendenhall Invite

Ankeny wrestling coach Jack Wignall wasn't looking forward to Thursday's dual meet at top-ranked Southeast Polk. "We knew it was going to be tough, and I think I had more anxiety about that than when we have a dual meet that is fun and close," said Wignall. "They're just really good, and where we're good they're a little bit better." The Rams won 12 of … [Read more...] about ‘We knew it was going to be tough’: AHS wrestlers drop 60-6 decision at S.E. Polk

The last time the Ankeny wrestlers competed at Carlisle, the Hawks weren't happy with their performance. It was a different story on Thursday. Ankeny, the No. 17 team in the Class 3A dual rankings, recorded six falls and posted a 36-31 victory at No. 12 Carlisle in a non-conference meet. The Hawks evened their overall mark at 5-5. "We were in … [Read more...] about PIN TO WIN: Hawks record 6 falls, rally from huge deficit to beat No. 12 Carlisle

The Ankeny wrestling team is still a work in progress. That's why coach Jack Wignall wasn't too concerned about the Hawks' 39-33 loss at Johnston in a CIML Conference dual meet on Thursday. "We feel pretty good about where we're at," said Wignall. "If we get a couple of our guys back in January, I think we'll be OK." The Dragons won seven of the … [Read more...] about Hawk wrestlers drop 39-33 decision at Johnston, will head to Battle of Waterloo

Due to some illnesses, the Ankeny wrestling team entered Saturday's Frank Baltzley Invitational at Johnston with a depleted lineup. The Hawks competed without two of their five ranked wrestlers, including second-ranked Ben Hansen at 144 pounds. Hansen has been sick all week, although he did record a pin on Thursday to help his team to a win over … [Read more...] about Depleted Ankeny wrestlers finish in 10th place at Frank Baltzley Invitational

For the second week in a row, the Ankeny wrestling team battled its CIML Conference opponent down to the final match. This time, the Hawks came out on top. Truman Folkers pinned Waukee's Carson Crigger in 4 minutes 54 seconds at 132 pounds to give Ankeny a 35-32 victory over the visiting Warriors on Thursday. The Hawks evened their dual-meet record at … [Read more...] about THE TRUMAN SHOW: Folkers’ pin gives Hawks 35-32 triumph over Waukee

Ankeny wrestling coach Jack Wignall has a predicament on his hands. The Hawks' top two finishers in the Dan Gable Donnybrook on Friday and Saturday at Xtream Arena in Coralville were Ben Walsh and Isaac Wignall, who both competed at 106 pounds.  "It does create a dilemma," said Wignall. "You have two kids that are that good at the same weight. At … [Read more...] about ‘We knew it was going to be tough’: Hawk wrestlers place 14th at Donnybrook

With four matches left in Thursday's CIML Conference dual meet at Dowling Catholic, the Ankeny wrestling team held a 16-point lead and appeared to be on its way to a season-opening victory. Then things suddenly went awry. Dowling reeled off four straight triumphs, Ankeny was penalized a team point along the way for unsportsmanlike conduct, and that … [Read more...] about Dowling wrestlers overcome 21-point deficit to tie Hawks, then win on criteria

The Ankeny wrestling team suffered some heavy losses to graduation last spring, forcing coach Jack Wignall to fill some holes in the Hawks' lineup. Five of the squad's nine state qualifiers and four of the six placewinners will have to be replaced. "We did lose a talented group of seniors," said Wignall. "They won a lot of matches and scored … [Read more...] about Ankeny wrestlers look to reload after graduating 4 state placewinners