—Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Tory bennett (center) stands with her parents Troy and Shawn Bennett. Bennett was named Fort Dodge’s Florence Nordman Award co-winner, which is handed out to the top female senior athlete.

Tory Bennett may not be big in stature, but she more than makes up for it in heart, grit and determination.

Bennett, listed at 5-foot-7, carved a standout career out of proving doubters wrong and letting her play do all of the talking.

“Going into my freshman year, I was this little 4-foot-10 girl playing volleyball and basketball against 6-feet tall (CIML opponents),” Bennett said. “I would get thrown around like a dummy in basketball especially. But as the years went on, I’m glad that I got thrown around like that.

“That’s what made me into the gritty and competitive athlete that I have become.”

Bennett, a four-sport standout at Fort Dodge Senior High, was recently named Fort Dodge Senior High’s top female athlete for 2022. The future University of Iowa softball player was named the co-winner of the Florence Nordman Award with best-friend and teammate Jalen Adams.

“Winning the Nordman Award is a big honor to me,” Bennett said. “It means that multiple coaches from different sports view me as the best female athlete in my class. That feels great.”

This marks only the second time in school history that the award was shared. Mary Fischbach and Melanie Broer were both winners in 1983.

“I could not have asked to share the award with a better person,” Bennett said. “Jalen works so hard in everything she does, and she strives to be her best.

“She is one of the hardest-working, gritty and humble girls I know. It means the world that I get to share it with her.”

This is the second Nordman Award for the family trophy case. Bennett joins her sister, Madi Bennett (2016), as only the second sister duo to achieve the feat. Mandy Pilcher (1999) and Mitzi Pilcher (1989) are the others.

“My sister has always been my role model: in sports, school, or even life,” Bennett said. “When she won the award, I wasn’t really sure what it meant or how you got it, but I knew I wanted to get it too just to be like her.

“I think it’s pretty cool that we are one of only two sister duos that have ever won the award.”

Bennett made her mark as one of the top softball and basketball players in school history.

She manned the shortstop position for five seasons under head coach Andi Adams, and was part of the historic rise in Class 5A for the Dodger program.

Bennett’s relationship with Coach Adams was different than most, as Adams helped coach Bennett from the time she was a youngster.

“What Tory lacked in size, she made up for in her speed, athleticism and instincts,” Adams said. “We put her at so many positions and she just competed. She even pitched when she was younger. We had the ‘Dudley’ pitch for her, because it was so slow, you could read ‘Dudley’ on the ball. But that was Tory…she would do whatever you asked.

“She is a true competitor. Whether it was for a state championship or a regular season game, she wants to win.”

Bennett, Adams and classmate Haley Wills spearheaded the Dodgers’ five straight state tournament appearances and three straight Class 5A championship game appearances.

Adams remembers a game earlier this season where Bennett had to come out for an inning to check on an injury. Once they found out it wasn’t serious, she was ready to go right back in.

“Very few times do players want to go back in when they’re hurt. They just say, ‘Take me out,'” Adams said. “We couldn’t. Tory knows her team needs her. She is like a coach out there; at times, she’s been called, ‘Coach Tory.’

“She’s like talking to another coach. We’ve discussed lineups together and strategies.”

The Dodger grad’s dream came to fruition in 2021 when Fort Dodge won the school’s first-ever state championship on the diamond.

In her career, Bennett had 248 hits and hit .429 in five seasons. She drove in 150 runs, scored 217 times and stole 104 bases as one of the best shortstops in Iowa. Bennett earned first team all-state recognition in 2022.

On the hardwood, Bennett etched her name into the school’s record books as the fifth-leading career scorer. She had 865 points, which is the fifth most in FDSH history.

“I had Tory for four years and when she was sick, she still wanted to practice. I couldn’t have asked for a better athlete to have in practice or games,” said Dodger basketball coach Scott Messerly. “She would work hard the whole practice and do the line drills at the end. She would just go out and compete. She tried to make other players around her better.

“One of the best things about Tory was her ability to do what we needed to do. If she knew someone couldn’t be guarded by a defender, she would feed them. All she wanted to do was win.”

Bennett was also a standout on the volleyball and track teams through her junior year.

Athletics were a big part of Bennett’s life, but schoolwork always came first.

“I think the most important thing is academics, with athletics close behind,” said Bennett who carried a 3.954 GPA. “I focused very strongly on my schoolwork during the day and then went to sports practices after school, then school work again at night.

“A strong work ethic is important in everything you do, and I work hard in school to be able to achieve what I want to achieve.”

Growing up, Bennett always leaned on her siblings to show her the way and instill the toughness she needed to succeed. Madi was a star athlete in multiple sports; Drew was a state champion wrestler.

“My biggest role models are my brother and sister,” Bennett said. “When I was little, I always wanted to be like them. I would tag along with them and their friends and they would always let me play the big kid games with them.

“They (Madi and Drew) threw me around like a little puppet, but I don’t think I’d be as strong as I am without them pushing me around and showing me the concept of work ethic and determination as a young girl.”

Whether it was for a ride, advice or a simple need for support, Bennett always knew she could count on her mother, Shawn, to push her in the right direction.

“My all-around role model is my mom,” Bennett said. “She pushed me to be the athlete, student, and person that I am today, and without her, I wouldn’t be where I am today.

“She is the strongest and most loving woman ever. I hope I grow up to be as strong and as good of a mother that she is for my siblings and me.

“My dad (Troy) always pushed me to be my best too and never expected anything less than the best. He always believes that I can compete with the highest athletes in the country with no doubt in his mind and I appreciate him for that.”

Adams, who is an English teacher at FDSH, saw both sides of Bennett.

“Tory is a goal-oriented person,” Adams said. “In the classroom, she is in the top five percent. She wanted to take very hard courses to push herself and challenge herself with math and science.

“You see it with all of the roles she has with Dodger Senate and things like that (Bennett was the senior class president). She says I want to be a doctor and take care of people.”

With her dedication in the classroom and on the field, there is also a softer side to Bennett.

“If you look at some of the pictures, you usually see Tory smiling or laughing,” Adams said. “She is not always a serious person. She uses that playful attitude to calm herself down.”

From the beginning to the end, Adams watched as Bennett flourished into the athlete and student she is today.

“When she was younger, I made the players write down three things they were afraid of,” Adams said. “Tory’s list was — 1. Bridges; 2. Ghosts; 3. Coach Adams. One day she just looked at me and said, “Coach, you’re not on my list anymore.

“Once we got to a certain point, there was only so much I could coach her on. She became the kind of player and leader I hoped and thought she could be.”

Though she is now headed to Iowa City, Bennett will always remember the community that helped build her and support her.

“There is nothing that I am going to miss more than being a Dodger and wearing that uniform proudly,” Bennett said. “The Fort Dodge community is one like no other. The support system having your back unconditionally is something that I won’t get anywhere else.

“I am so appreciative of my time as a Dodger and I wouldn’t trade any of it for the world. Thank you, Dodger Nation.”