Woodward-Granger girls wrestling debuts, girls basketball 2-0
After a couple of weeks of rest from the fall season, the Hawks are back in action. (Note: Events covered Nov. 20-27)
Girls Wrestling
After sharing the mat with Perry in the inaugural Iowa girls wrestling season, the Hawks have their own crew this season and kicked off the year with a strong outing Nov. 18 at the Central Iowa Kickoff.
As a team, Woodward held a score of 74-72 across the evening’s matches, with Katelyn Brandhorst leading the crew with a solo score of 27-18. With a team-leading five takedowns for the day, Lauren Rodgers held a 16-5 advantage.
Coming out of Thanksgiving break, WG traveled to Collins-Maxwell for a triangular with Colfax (54-24 loss), Nevada (45-21 loss) and Perry (42-30 win).
Through the first two weeks of the season, Haley Hollingsworth emerged as the team’s takedown leader having 11 to her name. Brandhorst isn’t far behind with nine but has established herself as an escape artist with 11 escapes while allowing just one escape from her opponents.
Girls Basketball (2-0)
The Hawks are starting the season on stable ground after picking up two wins out of the gate.
Following the season-opening win over Collins-Maxwell, the team blew past Greene County on Nov. 21 with a 54-31 victory, a big improvement over last year’s five-point win over the Rams.
This surge in production has come from all over the floor thanks to depth to pick up missed opportunities.
Addie Lego opened the year with a team-leading 20 points while making 3-of-4 three-point tries. She claimed five points while missing her three perimeter looks against Greene County, so it was the combined efforts of players like Eva Fleshner (11 points) and Lexi Bogardus (9 points) that helped the Hawks maintain momentum. Andrea Nardini’s impact was also felt, scooping up nine rebounds in the win while freshman Elliette Burkle walked away with seven points while shooting 50 percent from the floor.
Boys Wrestling
After claiming second place in the West Central Conference, Woodward made its way back to the state tournament with three qualifiers in the 2022-23 season. Now all three return to their respective weight classes, potentially giving a launchpad for more to join them in their search for another appearance at Wells Fargo.
In fact, all three of the Hawks’ reps at the final meet of the season have at least two years of eligibility.
Cory Saxton (113 pounds) went 0-2 at the state tournament as a freshman but went 31-20 before those matches. James Dorrian (126) and Max Dalton (175) walk in as experienced juniors. Dorrian went 1-2 in his final appearance and held an overall record of 37-18. Dalton had an abbreviated season at 18-12 overall but led the team in wins in Des Moines, going 2-2 over the last weekend.
They’ll first hit the mat along with the rest of the team Thursday in a quad meet with Ballard, Gilbert and Roland-Story.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Woodward-Granger girls wrestling debuts, girls basketball 2-0
