Submitted photo: Dru Ayala of Fort Dodge won the 106-pound title at the Council Bluffs Classic.

COUNCIL BLUFFS — The Fort Dodge wrestling program continues to move forward after a respectable showing at the Council Bluffs Classic.

Head coach Bobby Thompson recently recognized that in order to do so, though, the Dodgers needed to first take one last look back.

Sophomore Dru Ayala captured a championship and junior Max Bishop reached the finals for FDSH, which placed 11th overall in the stacked 42-team field.

When the 2021-22 campaign started a few weeks ago, something seemed amiss. Thompson and his program were preparing the way they always had, but there was a different tone to the room.

“We all felt it. I noticed it and even had similar (emotions),” Thompson said. “It wasn’t the same; didn’t seem as fun. Something was just off.

“What we hadn’t really addressed enough was the fact that, for the first time in a long time, we were going through a real transition in leadership. We were losing some guys (champion Drake Ayala, runner-up Dreyzon Phillips, and medalists Lane Cowell and Kody Cook) who had bridged the gap back when the (championship senior) class of 2018, with Brody (Teske), Drew (Bennett), Cayd (Lara), Damond (Lockner) and the others, had graduated. Before that, we’d had guys like Triston (Lara), Sam (Cook) and Erik (Birnbaum). There would always been classes to keep us going.”

Fort Dodge has only four seniors this year, and just two — Ben Egli and Tyler Kasperbauer — are in the starting lineup.

“It was tough in the preseason. I think there was a lot of looking around, wondering who was going to take charge,” Thompson said. “It’s a big change after such a long period of time, and I think maybe we took some of that for granted. But once we got on the road (last weekend) for the Donnybrook (in Coralville), it got us going.

“Something about being able to bond together and rallying around each other for a tournament and in live competition really lit the fire. I thought we performed really well (in Council Bluffs), and we’re getting better every day now.”

Ayala ripped through the 106-pound bracket, reeling off seven consecutive victories and scoring bonus points in each one. He had four pins, a technical fall and two major decisions, including in the finals against previously-unbeaten Hudson Loges of Blair (Neb.), 11-2.

“Dru dominated,” Thompson said. “He kept an incredibly high pace and level of intensity from start to finish. That last match, against a tough kid, Dru bit through his upper lip. It was a huge gash. Thankfully, a great trainer took care of it and he went right back to work.

“He was focused and nothing was getting in his way.”

Bishop went 5-0 on his way to the championship round, where he lost to top-ranked (Class 1A) Eli Becerra of Missouri Valley.

“Max does a great job of being aggressive, but sometimes, it can go a little (over the edge),” Thompson said. “We just have to find that medium ground where he can continue to be who he is, but not cross that line to the point where (it’s counterproductive). He was really solid, though. Just some minor physical and mental adjustments to make. It’s all there for him.”

Freshman Koy Davidson (132) and sophomore Damarion Ross (138) both took sixth. Egli (182) was 11th.

“Koy, Damarion and Ben all dropped some close matches they’d like to have back,” Thompson said. “But that doesn’t take away from the fact that they wrestled well. They’re getting better every day; the potential is there for all of them.”

Sophomore Cal Hartman only took 17th in at 160, but he scored four consecutive pins after back-to-back losses to cap a 5-2 tournament. Keaton Nichols did the same at 285.

“Everyone made progress,” Thompson said. “This is always a really challenging field over here, and we held our own. To finish 11th out of 42 and fourth among Iowa teams…are we rebuilding a little? To a certain extent, sure. But I like the potential of this group moving forward.”

Orion Larson-Trott was 18th at 170.

The Dodgers return to action this Thursday with a home dual against Des Moines East. The annual FDSH Don Miller Invitational is this Saturday in the Dodger gym.