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BEST OF THE BEST

Dodgers will be recognized as Iowa’s top team

Messenger photo by Britt Kudla The Fort Dodge wrestling team poses after winning the state championship in Des Moines.

One of the greatest teams this community has ever produced will be honored as the state’s very best for 2017-18 at the All-Iowa Sports Awards banquet on Saturday night in Des Moines.

Fort Dodge, the undisputed and undefeated championship wrestling team, returns to the building where it captured both its dual and traditional titles this past February. The Dodgers will formally be recognized as the ”Team of the Year” at Wells Fargo Arena.

”It’s amazing and kind of surreal, given this includes every sport from every season — both boys and girls,” FDSH head coach Bobby Thompson said. ”There were some pretty dominant teams and performances. This is an incredible honor for our program, our school, and the city of Fort Dodge.

”We’re really looking forward to being there (to accept the award). We have a lot of people to thank for singling us out (among the more than 750 athletes from 21 different sports in attendance).”

The Dodgers spent the entire season ranked in the Top-30 nationally, and by the end of a year filled with pressure and promise, they had checked nearly every box in establishing themselves as a historic force in the land of CIML heavyweights. Fending off schools two and even three times their size in Iowa’s largest class, Fort Dodge captured every tournament it entered, including gold-medal performances at the CIML, district, state dual and traditional state meets.

Senior Brody Teske became the school’s first-ever four-time individual state champion — an accomplishment only 25 others had experienced ever in Iowa — while classmate Drew Bennett also earned a title. In addition, senior Cayd Lara and freshman Drake Ayala both took home silver. Teske (Penn State), Bennett (Northern Iowa) and Lara (Northern Iowa) are all Div. I recruits on the mat.

Thirteen of the 14 Dodgers qualified individual for state, and nine brought home medals, including Teske, Bennett, Lara, Ayala, Levi Egli (fifth), Carson Taylor (fifth), Drevon Ross (sixth), Triston Licht (eighth), and Damond Lockner (eighth).

Fort Dodge went unbeaten and untied for the first time since 1949, won its first state duals title ever, and ended a 33-year traditional state championship drought.

”It took every wrestler we had to get this done,” said Thompson, who was also named wrestling’s All-Iowa Coach of the Year. ”I don’t know how many more times you’ll see a community our size win a title like this (at the large-class level); the odds, numbers and resources in this day and age are really stacked against you.

”We’d been close (with bronze in 2015 and runner-up performances in both 2016 and ’17) and turned a lot of heartache into motivation. These kids paid their dues and kept working relentlessly to get to this point. It was a special, special group who represented Fort Dodge the right way — a way that will always be their legacy.”

Since 2015, the Dodger program has produced 29 state medalists: nine champions, four runner-ups, two third-place medalists, two fourths, four fifths, one sixth, two sevenths and five eighths.

Thompson confirmed a number of athletes and all of his assistants will be in attendance to receive the award on Saturday at the event, hosted by the Des Moines Register. Tennis icon Venus Williams is the guest speaker, and well-known Iowa sports personality Chris Hassel will serve as the evening’s emcee.

Fort Dodge joins recent All-Iowa Sports Award winners Sam Cook of Fort Dodge (male athlete of the year, 2016); Elle Ruffridge of Pocahontas Area (girls basketball player of the year, 2017); and Teske (wrestler of the year, 2017).

This a general-admission event, with ticket prices of $35 for the public or $112 for a family of four. Tickets are $25 for students.

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