CEDAR FALLS — Add national folkstyle champion to the ever-expanding profile of Fort Dodge freshman Dreshaun Ross.

Ross, the Dodger phenom who captured state gold at 195 pounds less than two months ago, dominated the same weight class on Saturday inside the UNI-Dome to claim the USA Wrestling 16U folkstyle title.

Ross is no stranger to this particular spotlight. He was a four-time youth folkstyle winner on the national scene. This was his first USAW event, though, as a high schooler.

Ross, now the country’s ninth-ranked 195-pounder regardless of age according to MatScouts, sliced his way through the bracket with a technical fall, a forfeit victory and a pin of Deangelo Sardina of Wisconsin in the finals.

“It was fun,” Ross said of the event. “I wish I had more matches…it was a small bracket. But I can’t do anything about that.

“I just go out every match and try to wrestle the same. It’s always (a positive) to win a tournament — especially one with ‘nationals’ behind it. But I have bigger goals ahead.”

The 6-foot-3 Ross went 44-2 in his inaugural prep campaign for FDSH, becoming the first large-class freshman in the illustrious history of Iowa high school wrestling to earn a state championship at a weight class higher than 170 pounds. He was the 63rd Dodger gold medalist of all-time and just the second freshman, joining Brody Teske (106 pounds in 2015).

The 15-year-old is a six-time AAU state champ, a six-time Tulsa Nationals title holder, a Fargo Nationals winner and a Greco-Roman and freestyle U-15 Pan-Am victor. Ross is also a five-time Trinity Award honoree — a prestigious honor given when a competitor sweeps the Kickoff Classic, Tulsa Nationals and Reno World Championships.

Ross is 12th nationally at 195 pounds according to FloWrestling. In the past few months, his skill and athleticism have also attracted major college attention in football; Ross already owns Div. I offers from Iowa, Iowa State and Purdue.

“My mentality is always to just go out there and be as aggressive as possible,” Ross said. “I have the same mindset for both sports: Just try my hardest.”

Ross’s brother, Damarion, was a USAW national folkstyle runner-up in a 64-man junior bracket at 160 pounds. Another Fort Dodge junior, Dru Ayala, grabbed runner-up honors as well at 113 after being edged by Idaho’s Mack Mauger. Ayala is rated 14th nationally by FloWrestling; Mauger is 8th.

Luke Fierke (16U, 285) and Joe Constable (14U, 187) of Fort Dodge were also silver medalists. Fierke is a Dodger freshman; Constable is an FDMS 8th grader.

In the youth brackets, Fort Dodge’s Owen Slinker placed 2nd; Kain Mendez finished 3rd; Damien Yeoman was 4th; Louis Taylor earned 5th; Trace Rial was 7th and Lukas Benedict took 8th.

From the area, Webster City freshman Linden Phetxoumphone was the 113-pound champ in the 16U division.

The next major tournament will be the UWW World Team Trials in Las Vegas April 27-30.