Iowa High School Wrestling Program Lands New Head Coach

Tyler Willers will replace Jay Groth at Ankeny Centennial.

Indianola’s Eli Cox wrestles against Ankeny Centennial’s Maximus Dhabolt at 175 lbs. on Feb. 18, 2026, at Casey’s Center in Des Moines. | Cody Scanlan/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

An Iowa high school wrestling program will have a new head coach for the first time in school history this coming season.

Ankeny Centennial High School announced the hiring of Tyler Willers to replace Jay Groth, who retired after leading the program since its inception in 2013.

“We are thrilled to announce our new Head Coach for Boys Wrestling, Tyler Willers,” the Ankeny Centennial Activities and Athletics Facebook page posted. The hiring is pending board approval.

Tyler Willers Worked Under Legendary Head Wrestling Coach Jay Groth

Willers, who was an assistant under Groth this past season, is a former Pleasant Valley High School two-time Iowa High School Athletic Association State Wrestling champion. He earned all-conference honors all four years on the mats for the Spartans and was a two-time team captain.

He won his first individual state championship in 2010 in Class 3A at 103 pounds, doing the same two years later while competing at 120 pounds. 

Willers Wrestled For Pleasant Valley, Northern Iowa

After graduating from Pleasant Valley, Willers joined the University of Northern Iowa wrestling program, becoming a staple in the lineup for the Panthers during his time at the school. He won 40 matches in three seasons with Northern Iowa, competing both unattached and for the official team, including eight by fall.

Willers also has coaching experience at the collegiate level, where he was an assistant coach at Augustana College, one of the top NCAA Division III programs in the country.

Jay Groth Helped Lead Maximus Dhabolt To State Championships Each Of Past Two Seasons

Before taking over the Ankeny Centennial program, Groth coached two seasons at Des Moines Hoover High School and nearly 20 at Des Moines Roosevelt High School, ending with 467 dual victories overall and 10 individual state champions, including back-to-back champion Maximus Dhabolt.

Groth coached 10 Jaguar wrestlers who won at least 100 matches in their careers.

Ankeny Centennial Returns Number Of State Qualifiers, Pair Of Placewinners

Dhabolt will be a key member of the 2026-2027 Ankeny Centennial wrestling program as he enters his senior season. The Jaguars qualified in 10 of the 14 weight classes for state this past season.

This past December, Dhabolt ended his college recruiting, committing to Iowa State University.

Along with Dhabolt’s title run, Cale Vandermark placed fourth, Brandon Bogseth finished sixth and Ethan Sodergren was seventh. Brenden Harless, Cameron Moeckly, Will Sloan, Kaden Conley, Dean Landis and Ben Rotert also qualified.

Sodergren, Harless, Moeckly, Sloan and Rotert will all be back with Dhabolt for Willers.