How both boys and girls Ames wrestling programs exceeded expectations in 2023

The Ames wrestling programs took a big step forward this season.

The Little Cyclone girls became one of the best female teams in the state during the inaugural season of IGHSAU-sanctioned wrestling. The Ames boys put two underclassmen in the state finals and finished among the top 20 in the 3A team standings.

"Going into this season the expectations were not very high given our results from last year," said Ames coach Andy Fecht. "We decided last year in the off season to set high expectations and change the way we do some things within our program and it paid off."

Here is what we learned from Ames' big season on the mat.

Girls thrive in first season of competing in a sanctioned sport

The Ames girls wrestling team had a huge season.

The Little Cyclones went 4-0 in duals, won the West Des Moines Valley and Jack Mendenhall Invitational meets and had five wrestlers qualify for the state tournament. Of those wrestlers, three ended up earning a spot on the podium — the first three wrestlers to place at state in school history.

Junior Alexis Winkey led the way for the Ames girls.

Winkey ended up finishing fourth at 125 during the girls state meet. She was an individual champion at Valley, Boone, the Mendenhall Invite and the Region 3 meet. Her season finished with a record of 30-7 and 24 pins, becoming the first female wrestler in Ames history to reach 50 career victories.

Lexa Rozevink had a breakout freshman season for Ames.

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Rozevink went 35-5 with 33 pins and placed fifth at 120 during state. She took first at Valley, Boone and the Mendenhall Invite.

Greta Goodman became Ames' first state placewinner when she came in sixth at 100. The talented sophomore went 23-5 with 15 pins and she took first at Valley, Saydel and the Mendenhall Invite.

Junior Allison Metschke and senior Leah Stagg were the other two state qualifiers for Ames this season.

Metschke went 22-8 at 170. She recorded 18 falls and placed first at the Mendenhall Invite.

Stagg was the senior leader on the team. She was 26-7 with 21 falls at 145 and came out on top at Saydel, Boone and the Mendenhall Invite.

More:Ames-area schools ready to begin first season of sanctioned girls wrestling in Iowa

Sophomore Brooklyn Greenlee went 20-13 with 12 pins and a Boone Invite championship at 110, freshman Sarah Higgins was 14-10 with 12 pins at 130, Lily Anderson was 10-11 with nine falls at 135, junior Cecilia Pelzer went 10-23 with eight pins at 140 and sophomore Kamryn Faas posted a 14-16 mark with 10 falls and a Boone Invite title at 155. Junior Caroline Orr was 22-17 with 20 pins at 190, senior Cynthia Ellis ended up 6-10 with five falls at 235 and freshman Sienna Carillo picked up one fall at 115.

Ames boys show great potential

The Ames boys took a huge step in the right direction.

The Little Cyclones posted a 14-4 overall record and a 7-2 Iowa Alliance Conference mark in duals. They placed second in the IAC, scored 61 points at state to finish 18th in 3A and sent four wrestlers to the state tournament after only pushing one through a year ago.

Three of the Ames boys' state participants ended up with a spot on the podium.

Two youngsters, sophomore Jabari Hinson and freshman Danarii Mickel, ended up placing second at state in their respective weight classes.

Hinson went 44-4 at 126 with district and conference titles, plus victories at the Tiger Invitational in Adel and Keith Young Invite in Cedar Falls. At state, Hinson was 4-1, reaching the 3A finals at 126 before falling to Iowa City's Cale Seaton in a competitive 4-3 battle.

Mickel had a 31-8 season at 195. He was a district and Keith Young Invitational champion and half of his losses came to eventual 3A 195 state champion Dreshaun Ross of Fort Dodge, including an 8-1 setback in the 3A 195 state title match.

Mickel ended up going 4-1 at state, including a victory over top seed McCrae Hagarty of Waverly-Shell Rock in the semifinals.

Senior Kyler Hall was the veteran leader of the Little Cyclones.

The team's only returning state qualifier from a year ago, Hall made it back to state at 285 and placed fourth in 3A with a 3-2 record, beating Spencer's Logan Huckfelt twice, including by fall in the fifth-place match.

Hall ended his senior season with a 38-5 record and 28 pins. He won championships at the district, conference, ADM and Mendenhall meets and surpassed 100 victories for his career.

Sophomore Jackson Winkey was Ames' other state qualifier.

Winkey lost both of his matches at state, but still showed signs of big things to come. He took first at the Mendenhall Invite and ended the season 38-13 with 21 pins at 160.

Sophomore Cole Martin was another talented sophomore to stand out for Ames this season. Martin finished 28-13 at 138.

Oren Geisinger was 14-8 with eight falls at 113 and Braxton Brown went 15-15 with three falls at 120 as Ames' other top freshmen alongside Mickel. Senior Kamden Windelow was 10-22 with a fall at 132, sophomore Jacob Booth-Veale went 5-15 with a fall at 145, sophomore Jace Roberts was 11-16 with five falls at 152, sophomore Jiraiya Fonseca went 15-23 with seven falls at 170 and sophomore Colden Bray was 6-6 with four pins at 220.

Junior Bode Hatfield also wrestled three matches for the Ames boys at 182.

Both teams excited for 2023-2024

Fecht said he was very happy with the nine combined state qualifiers Ames had on both teams.

"We were one of only two schools in the state to have three top-six placewinners in both boys and girls wrestling," Fecht said. "For our (programs) being as young as they were, our kids really stepped up to the plate and hit it out of the park.  Now we will move forward and begin to prepare for next year."

This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Ames boys and girls wrestling teams exceed expectations in 2022-2023