—Submitted photo Fort Dodge’s Mariaha Benedict (left) and Ava Potter (right) stand with their brackets after qualifying for the state tournament on Friday night.

SPENCER — For the fourth time in her career, senior Mariaha Benedict will be competing at the state tournament.

Fort Dodge’s all-time win leader will not make the trip along.

The third-ranked (IAwrestle) Benedict (135) will be joined by eighth-ranked freshman Ava Potter (235).

Fort Dodge still had seven wrestlers with a chance for state berths in the final round.

“We definitely put ourselves into good spots,” said Fort Dodge head coach Jon Koenig. “We had seven alive going in with a chance in the last round.

“They have to realise what they achieved. I know they are down, but they have come a long ways.”

It was a bitter-sweet day for the Dodgers as they were without 30-plus match winner, freshman Shayley Butrick (105) who was out with Influenza A.

“This was just a tough situation for Shayley,” Koenig said. “To be a standout freshman and then have it ripped away from you is tough. It’s an uncontrollable situation. She still had a fever this morning, and health is so much more important.

“I think this will create a chip on her shoulder and push her even more.”

Benedict cruised through the bracket winning by fall in all three matches in the first period.

She clinched the state ticket with a fall in 1:37 over Eunice Reyna Yoc (33-4) of MOC-Floyd Valley.

The Northwestern College commit was a fifth-place finisher for the Dodgers last season.

“Mariaha just has to stay in the right mindset for the next couple of days,” Koenig said. “Get some workouts in. I expect that she will end up either the third or fourth seed, but her goal has always been to be on top.”

It was a different type of night for Potter (39-5), who only had one match with three girls at her weight. The rookie waited all night for the last championship match, where she pinned Emma Daniels (35-5) of Carroll in 1:21.

“It was a difficult night for Ava, having to wait three-plus hours to wrestle,” Koenig said. “I told her to jog around and get her blood flowing every 35 to 40 minutes and get some sprints in to stay focused.

“In the finals, she wrestled better than she did the last time against (Daniels).”

The Dodgers had a chance for more participants, as a total of six reached the semifinals, but only Potter’s sister, Emma Potter (190), made it to the championship match.

Potter (17-31) lost at 190, falling via pin versus Emma Grossman. She had to come back to wrestle a true second-place match, but she came up short.

Adalyn Ford (22-28) had a strong day for the Dodgers at 120. She won four matches.

Ford lost in the quarterfinals, but rolled back with three straight falls and was in a win-or-go home match. She came up short via pin in 1:50 versus Brianna Kiger (15-4) of Carroll.

Tori Jakeman (28-27) lost in the semifinals, but bounced back with a fall in the consolation semifinals at 170. Jakeman was then knocked out of the tournament by a 2-0 decision.

Mariana Taute (130) lost in the semifinals, bounced back with a win and then placed fourth.

Brooklyn Nelson (10) lost in the semis, earned a win and then finished fourth as well.

Desiree Austin was fourth at 140. She had two falls on the day.

“Emma and Addie were right there,” Koenig said. “That just tells you how much these girls have learned and grown. Emma just started wrestling, and Addie wrestled in middle school. We have to keep work on some things and correct them.

“I can’t say enough about all of our girls. Lydia (Cowell), Ava (Osorio), Brooklyn, Greyson (Hinds), Mariana, Desiree (Austin), Rey (Lacina), and Tori (Jakeman) have come along way. They have to focus on the growth and not on the numbers.”

Freshman Shayley Butrick had to miss the regional qualifier due to an illness. Butrick was 38-12 this season.