DES MOINES — In her final season on the mat, Mariaha Benedict captured her first Iowa Alliance Conference title here on Monday.

In their first seasons on the mat, freshmen Tori Jakeman (170) and Ava Potter (235) found their way to the top of the podium.

The Dodgers had a strong night in the IAC tourney, placing five wrestlers in the finals and taking fourth as a team with 175 points.

Ames (211) was champ, followed by Mason CIty (203.5) and Ottumwa (196).

Benedict (36-5) dropped down to 130 and won two matches by fall, pinning Ivanna Balderds of Des Moines Public (47) and Mason City’s Carleigh Arjes (35-14) in 1:52.

“It’s great to see Mariaha add the conference title to her resume,” said FDSH head coach Jon Koenig. “She has been wrestling well and we are setting up for the postseason.”

Jakeman (23-23) had three falls, winning in 3:07 and 1:16. She pinned Ames’ Taylor Glenney in 2:49 for the championship.

“Tori has been wrestling great lately. Both coach (Ben) Schnurr and I were talking about that,” Koenig said. “She has good hand fighting and that tenacity you need. She doesn’t just back.

“She has been taking big strides in the last weeks.”

Potter (235) also picked up two falls, pinning Miranda Ross of Ames in 45 seconds and Neveah Gonzalez (22-7) of Marshalltown in 3:44.

“Ava has been going out there and getting after it,” Koenig said. “We wished we could have seen the No. 2 girl from Ottumwa, but she’s been hurt.”

Butrick (35-10) had a 22-second fall in the semis before losing to Aubrey Hoveland of Mason City by fall in 2:00.

“Shayley and Brooklyn both had challenging opponents in the finals,” Koenig said. “Shayley’s girl was tough on top and turned her. Shayley wrestled a good tournament and as a freshman, she did a good job battling it out.

“She just needs to keep working.”

Nelson (30-13) pinned Ames’ Anna Bappe in 1:19 of the semifinals before losing by fall to Jordin Mayson (35-5) of Ottumwa in 4:30.

“Brooklyn had a difficult match as well,” Koenig said. “We just weren’t putting the whole puzzle together and were forcing the pieces.

“As a team, we need to not go for the pin all the time. We have good conditioning that I would stack up against anyone.”

Adalyn Ford (120) and Rey Lacina (145) were third for FDSH. Placing fourth was Lydia Cowell (100), Greyson Hinds (125) and Desiree Austin (140).

Dodgers Mariana Taute (135) and Emma Potter (190) were fifth.

“I feel like all of our girls did a great job staying in the matches,” Koenig said. “We just have to work on some things to improve.”

The Dodgers are back in action on Thursday when they host Marshalltown in the Dodger gym. Action begins at 6:30 p.m.