Dr. John Wendt
To say that Iowa High School Wrestling competition is “intense” is an understatement. The Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) describes Iowa as “Wrestling’s Home and Heartbeat.”[1] The ISHAA goes on to say, “At the center of our state’s vibrant history, culture, and passion for sports, Iowa reigns as one of the nation’s leaders in high school wrestling. Decades of championships and community support back the tradition of producing national and Olympic champions. The high school season of folkstyle wrestling culminates with the consistently sold-out state championships at Wells Fargo Arena in downtown Des Moines.”[2] And that intensity was on full display on the January 9, 2025, contest between the top ranked Southeast Polk High School and number four ranked Ankeny High School which was held at Ankeny in front of a boisterous and packed house.[3]
One reporter emphasized the intensity of this competition, “If you have never been to a wrestling dual in Iowa, the fans on both sides of the mat – or sitting together on one if that is the preferred layout – are always involved, always yelling and always really believing they are not getting the benefit of the calls…Having covered many, many duals and tournaments over the years, the most interesting part of the wrestling community in Iowa is the actual passion they have for the sport as a whole. While some might wonder if the action outside the gym was just as intense, my guess is that fans from both sides probably came together to ‘team up’ in support against what was being called on the mats.”[4]
In the 113-pound category Southeast Polk’s Nico DeSalvo won a 19-7 major decision over Ankeny’s Ben Walsh giving Southeast Polk a 34-0 lead, but then both wrestlers then proceeded to shove each other while they were shaking hands.[5] Both DeSalvo and Walsh were penalized one team point for flagrant misconduct. Frank Allen, a former wrestling referee and alumnus of Southeast Polk who was at the match said, “That was kind of the match that lit the fuse.”[6] Video shows Southeast Polk’s coach Jake Agnitsch approaching the scorer’s table a number of times with Ankeny spectators booing. The Southeast Polk junior varsity and non-participating wrestlers had gathered on the floor close to the mat and were cheering raucously. And a short time later, the referee asked those athletes to move from the floor to the bleachers.
Spectators became more agitated before the 120-pound category as officials met at the scorer’s table. Following a discussion with the referee the public address announcer Tom Urban read a statement calling for everyone to be respectful and warned the spectators that contestants needed to be treated with respect. That statement was met with sarcastic cheers by portions of the crowd.[7] Urban also warned that if the conditions did not improve the spectators would be asked to leave. When the conditions did not change, Urban announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, we ask that you please leave the gym immediately…Please calmly and quietly leave.”[8] The entire stands were emptied; all parents, spectators and fans were asked to leave after that class. Cheerleaders sat idly. After about 20 minutes the final ten wrestlers competed in a nearly empty gym.
Former referee Allen said also that removing all spectators was unjustified: “I do not think that either team or either fan base, did anything wrong, not to the extent that they that they should have cleared out a gym…It’s a bad look for wrestling, the sport, and it’s a bad look for the officiating… there was no winners last night.”[9] Former longtime Ankeny coach Dave Ewing said that he had never seen a mass ejection before: “Ten wrestlers didn’t have their parents or good friends or any fans in the stands to watch them wrestle, and it was after about a 20-minute delay. Those are tough circumstances to try to compete under…It’s a heated rivalry, and it got a little bit chippy in some of the matches…The referee was under a lot of pressure, and the situation got to a point where the administration had to get involved and try to resolve things and be reminded of sportsmanship and how important that is.”[10]
Ankeny coach Jack Wignall blamed the referee and the overall lack and quality of referees: “The flagrant misconduct calls should not have been made, and it wasn’t even administered right…The whole thing was not handled correctly.”[11] Wignall went on to say, “I really don’t think it got out of hand, but I can only imagine how flustered (the referee) must have been to think that that was his only option…I really feel bad for him, and I feel bad for the fans and the kids whose parents couldn’t be in the gym to watch them wrestle. It was really just a crazy situation that got overblown. I hope it’s a learning moment for the coaches’ association.” Finally, about the fan removal Wignall said, “It was his call, but I think it sheds a light on our referee shortage…The Iowa High School Athletic Association talks all the time about how they have to cancel events because we don’t have enough referees. I don’t know why we didn’t have a better ref there – and I’m not calling him out – but what I am saying is that he was in over his head. You can’t have a somewhat inexperienced referee for a CIML dual like that. It just sheds that light that nobody else was available to do that…[12]
Southeast Polk and Ankeny released a joint statement the following day saying, “We recognize that the events that transpired at last night’s wrestling meet between Southeast Polk and Ankeny High School do not align with the values of sportsmanship and respect expected from all participants and spectators in the CIML. Both teams are working together as we move forward to foster a positive and respectful environment.”[13] The ISHAA said that the director of officials and wrestling administrator was unavailable for comments and offered no clarification for the mass ejection. [14]
We have seen from the Covid years what it is like to compete in an empty arena.[15] Fan involvement is fun, maybe even necessary. However, there are also boundaries for acceptable fan behavior that don’t cross over the line into referee or athlete abuse. There have been times, especially in soccer where referees have order fans to leave the area or games to be played in closed stadia.[16] It was unfortunate for everyone that the Southeast Polk – Ankeny competition concluded in an empty gym.
The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) writes the playing rules for high school sports. Their goal is “to ensure that all students have an opportunity to enjoy healthy participation, achievement and good sportsmanship in education-based activities.”[17] According to the NFHS Wrestling Case Book & Officials Manual, Section 12(4) “Conduct by a spectator that becomes abusive or interferes with the orderly progress of the match must be corrected by the referee…Wrestling will not be resumed until the offender has been removed.”[18] According to Section 36.7(2) of the IHSAA Handbook “Sportsmanship. It is the clear obligation of member and associate member schools to ensure that their contestants, coaches, and spectators in all interscholastic competitions practice the highest principles of sportsmanship, conduct, and ethics of competition.”[19] And finally, specifically dealing with public conduct on school premises the ISHAA Handbook very clearly states, “School sponsored or approved activities are an important part of the school program and offer students the opportunity to participate in a variety of activities not offered during the regular school day. School sponsored or approved activities are provided for the enjoyment and opportunity for involvement they afford the students. Spectators will not be allowed to interfere with the enjoyment of the students participating, other spectators, or with the performance of employees and officials supervising the school sponsored or approved activity…”[20] And to show how serious the IHSAA takes this issue, the Handbook goes on to say, “If the spectator disobeys the school official or district’s order, law enforcement authorities may be contacted and asked to remove the spectator. If a spectator has been notified of exclusion and thereafter attends a sponsored or approved activity, the spectator shall be advised that his/her attendance will result in prosecution. The school district may obtain a court order for permanent exclusion from future school sponsored activities.”[21]
On January 9, 2025, Southeast Polk won all 14 matches, and the final score was Southeast Polk 60, Ankeny minus-1 due to Ankeny’s penalty in the 113-pound category.[22] Was that the result that coaches wanted? Was that “an opportunity to enjoy healthy participation, achievement and good sportsmanship in education-based activities”? Is that how student-athletes will remember that night? Did the referee handle the situation properly? While these teams are not scheduled to meet again during the regular season, they could possibly face each other during the road to the State Championships. The question is, “Do they want the same scenario?”
[1] Iowa High School Athletic Association, Wrestling, IHSAA (2025), https://www.iahsaa.org/wrestling/ (last visited Jan 18, 2025).
[2] Id.
[3] Iowa High School Athletic Association, Wrestling: 2025 Dual Team Rankings, Jan. 2, IHSAA (Jan. 2, 2025), https://www.iahsaa.org/wrestling-2025-dual-team-rankings-jan-2/ (last visited Jan 18, 2025).
[4] Dana Becker, Southeast Polk-Ankeny Wrestling Dual Gets out of Hand, Entire Gym Ejected, High School On SI (2025), https://www.si.com/high-school/iowa/southeast-polk-ankeny-wrestling-dual-gets-out-of-hand-entire-gym-ejected-01jh8976tdce (last visited Jan 18, 2025).
[5] Central Iowa Sports Network, CIML BOYS WRESTLING: SE Polk @ Ankeny, (2025), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAtOomdvr4o (last visited Jan 19, 2025).
[6] Meghan MacPherson & Caleb Geer, High School Wrestling Drama: Ankeny, Southeast Polk Wrestling Fans Ousted as Tensions Rise, weareiowa.com (2025), https://www.weareiowa.com/article/sports/local-sports/fans-ejected-southeast-polk-ankeny-wrestling-dual/524-0d76d10f-d913-46ae-8161-dc9973ff5e7b (last visited Jan 18, 2025).
[7] Dan Holm, No. 1 S.E. Polk Completes Dominant Win over Ankeny Matmen before Empty Gym, (2025), https://ankenyfanatic.com/2025/01/10/no-1-s-e-polk-completes-dominant-win-over-ankeny-matmen-before-empty-gym/ (last visited Jan 18, 2025).
[8] MacPherson and Geer, supra note 6.
[9] Id.
[10] Staff Writers Coach & A.D., Iowa Wrestling Official Kicks out Fans during Dual Meet, Coach and Athletic Director (2025), https://coachad.com/news/iowa-wrestling-official-kicks-out-fans-during-dual-meet/ (last visited Jan 18, 2025).
[11] Holm, supra note 7.
[12] Id.
[13] Eli McKown, Fans Removed from Gym during High School Boys Wrestling Dual between Southeast Polk, Ankeny, The Des Moines Register (2025), https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/sports/high-school/2025/01/10/southeast-polk-vs-ankeny-wrestling-dual-fans-asked-to-leave-empty-gym/77593458007/ (last visited Jan 18, 2025).
[14] Staff Writers Coach & A.D., supra note 10.
[15] Michael Hardy, The Hushed Spectacle of Soccer Matches in Empty Stadiums, (2020), https://www.wired.com/story/soccer-empty-stadiums/ (last visited Jan 20, 2025). See also, Calli McMurray, How Playing in Empty Stadiums Affects Athletes, (2021), https://www.brainfacts.org:443/thinking-sensing-and-behaving/thinking-and-awareness/2021/how-playing-in-empty-stadiums-affects-athletes-072621 (last visited Jan 20, 2025).
[16] Associated Press, Genoa Home Match against Juventus to Be Played without Fans after Crowd Trouble at Derby, (2024), https://www.sportsnet.ca/serie-a/article/genoa-home-match-against-juventus-to-be-played-without-fans-after-crowd-trouble-at-derby/ (last visited Jan 20, 2025). See also, Associated Press, Udinese to Play Home Game Minus Fans Following Racist Abuse Aimed at Opposing Player, (2024), https://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/udinese-fans-barred-game-monza-italy-racial-abuse-1.7092074 (last visited Jan 20, 2025).
[17] National Federation of State High School Associations, About Us, (2025), https://www.nfhs.org/who-we-are/aboutus (last visited Jan 18, 2025).
[18] National Federation of State High School Associations, 2023-24 Wrestling Case Book & Officials Manual, (2023), https://cdn1.sportngin.com/attachments/document/1d79-3089840/NFHS-WR-Casebook.pdf.
[19] Iowa High School Athletic Association, IHSAA Handbook, (2024), https://www.iahsaa.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/2024-25-IHSAA-Handbook-FINAL.pdf (last visited Jan 18, 2025).
[20] Id. at 77.
[21] Id.
[22] Becker, supra note 4.
