-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Brooks Cowell of Fort Dodge wrestles against Storm Lakes Milton Duarte during class 3A districts on Saturday

Fort Dodge had already crowned six winners and assured itself of nine state wrestling participants by the time an emotionally-charged championship round concluded at a Class 3A district meet here on Saturday.

That’s when the Dodger gym really got loud.

With a fervent fanbase building momentum for their true second-place matches, freshman Brooks Cowell and sophomore Drevon Ross recorded first-period pins within minutes of each other to give third-ranked FDSH double-digit qualifiers for the first time in 12 years.

The Dodgers finished with 249.5 points to place second overall. Johnston (279.5) was the winner, with five individual champs and seven runner-ups. The Dragons received only one first-round bye compared to four for Fort Dodge, which helped create enough separation to keep head coach Bobby Thompson’s squad at bay.

”It was a really good day from start to finish,” Thompson said. ”The kids did what they needed to do and then some. They battled and worked their way out of some tough assignments.

”We had four guys (advance) despite being No. 3 seeds (at their weights). Watching Drevon and Brooks come through at the end with our crowd just feeding them energy was the icing on the cake. We preach ‘family first’ with our program; the atmosphere and the way our kids were pulling for each other was a perfect example of that.”

Top-ranked senior Triston Lara (138 pounds) joined unbeaten No. 1 juniors Drew Bennett (38-0 at 113) and Brody Teske (42-0 at 120) at the top of the podium again. Lara (40-1) became the program’s all-time leader for career victories after a first-period pin in the finals, passing two-time state champion Sam Cook with his 163rd triumph as a Dodger.

”It’s kind of a bittersweet moment, knowing this is the last time I’ll wrestle here (in the FDSH gym),” said Lara, a University of Northern Iowa recruit. ”But it’s really exciting to see 11 guys make it, especially so many (six) who are going for the first time.

”Everyone coming up and congratulating me (about breaking the record) and telling me how much they love watching us wrestle — that means more than (the accomplishment) itself. The support we get is incredible. We saw that all day long, and during (the true-second matches) especially … that’s what Dodger wrestling is all about.”

Teske agreed.

”I was talking to (first-year FDSH grappler) Dorian Franklin about (the environment), and he said, ‘we don’t have anything like this in Omaha’ (where Franklin transferred from),” said Teske, the nation’s second-ranked 120-pounder who is now a perfect 128-0 in his career. ”It made me take a step back and really appreciate who we are as Dodgers. This is a special place that we sometimes tend to take for granted because it’s always been like this for us.

”I’m happy, but not satisfied. I think most of us feel that way. This is just the first step. Getting 11 through is important, and watching Brooks and Drevon (win their true second matches) — it wasn’t long ago that I was in their shoes (as an underclassman). It’s big that so many of our guys are going to get to compete at state, because there’s nothing like it.”

No. 2 junior Cayd Lara (41-2 at 152) also repeated as a district gold medalist, while first-time titleists Keaton Dornath (35-10 at 182) and Triston Licht (17-5 at 195) were winners in their brackets as well. The senior and the sophomore will be making their initial trips to Wells Fargo Arena.

”It’s a great feeling to finally experience, especially because it happened here,” said Dornath, who worked his way through the 182 field as a No. 3 seed. ”Being a senior, it was now or never. I think we all did a good job of showing a sense of urgency and competing in a way that is expected of us.

”Fort Dodge is a wrestling community. It’s always awesome to see this kind of energy; it really helped give us the momentum we needed.”

Sixth-rated junior Damond Lockner (39-7 at 126), Franklin (20-16 at 160) and sophomore Kaden Smith (30-16 at 170) all advanced to the finals at their respective weights as well, and will move on as runner-ups. Cowell (15-9 at 106) and Ross (34-14 at 132) — both No. 3 seeds — had to go the extra mile to stay alive after dropping semifinal matches, but they delivered with the pressure on.

Ross’ afternoon was a rollercoaster ride. He watched his semifinal opponent, Johnston’s Cade Moss, rally from a late 4-0 deficit in the finals to prevail in overtime for the title, keeping Ross’ flickering runner-up potential alive. Moss scored a last-second takedown as the third-period clock expired to force the extra session against Boone’s James Runestad.

Ross, who has won 23 of his last 26 matches, then made the most of his second chance by wiping out Runestad in 75 seconds for his true second.

”I was just lucky that God was there for me,” said Ross, who tensely watched the Moss-Runestad final from just a few feet away. ”After the loss (in the semis), I felt completely broken. But I had to get myself back together mentally and prepared for an opportunity if it came my way.

”As soon as I saw what happened (to Runestad), I was ready. Then Brooks got his pin (at 106 against top-seeded Milton Duarte) and the crowd was really fired up. I took that momentum and did what I could with it.”

Only FDSH senior Levi Trenary (23-19 at 145) came up short in his state bid. Trenary suffered a controversial overtime setback to Mason Hulse of Boone in the semifinals, and Hulse then lost to sixth-ranked Nick Graham of Johnston in the championship match.

”For as happy as I am, I’m crushed for Levi,” Thompson said. ”Especially being a senior. You never have a perfect day at districts, and Levi’s match is the one that will keep me up at night.

”It’s a bitter pill to swallow. He’s meant a lot to our program through the years, and I couldn’t be more proud of him.”

Triston Lara is now a four-time state qualifier, while Teske and Cayd Lara have advanced for a third consecutive season. Bennett and Lockner will be repeat participants. Dornath, Licht, Franklin, Smith, Cowell and Ross are tourney rookies.

Fort Dodge took 10 wrestlers to state in both 2004 and ’05. The school record for qualifiers is 12, set in 1984.

The Dodgers placed second in Class 3A last February, and third the year before.

Action begins for all classes on Thursday inside Wells Fargo Arena.

CLASS 3A, DISTRICT 3

Team Standings

1. Johnston 279.5; 2. Fort Dodge 249.5; 3. Storm Lake 166.5; 4. Ames 116.5; 5. Le Mars 115; 6. Boone 108.5; 7. Carroll 52; 8. Nevada 40.

Individual Results

106 — 1. Thomas Edwards, Johnston (27-14); 2. Brooks Cowell, Fort Dodge (15-9).

113 — 1. Drew Bennett, Fort Dodge (38-0); 2. James Edwards, Johnston (27-20).

120 — 1. Brody Teske, Fort Dodge (42-0); 2. Bradley Brown, Storm Lake (31-8).

126 — 1. Zach Price, Johnston (37-3); 2. Damond Lockner, Fort Dodge (39-7).

132 — 1. Cade Moss, Johnston (32-17); 2. Drevon Ross, Fort Dodge (34-14).

138 — 1. Triston Lara, Fort Dodge (40-1); 2. Sterlin Brunk, Johnston (31-11).

145 — 1. Nick Graham, Johnston (23-1); 2. Mason Hulse, Boone (39-3).

152 — 1. Cayd Lara, Fort Dodge (41-2); 2. Elliot Pohlmeyer, Johnston (36-13).

160 — 1. Collin Hushagen, Johnston (40-8); 2. Dorian Franklin, Fort Dodge (20-16).

170 — 1. Marcus Coleman, Ames (37-0); 2. Kaden Smith, Fort Dodge (30-16).

182 — 1. Keaton Dornath, Fort Dodge (35-10); 2. Emin Okic, Johnston (26-22).

195 — 1. Triston Licht, Fort Dodge (17-5); 2. Bobby Piagentini, Johnston (24-22).

220 — 1. Jacob Melton, Boone (26-5); 2. Ben Standish, Johnston (19-27).

285 — 1. Colin Newell, Ames (31-4); 2. Jake Ryan, Johnston (33-9).