Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: Dreshaun Ross of Fort Dodge reacts after a win at the state tournament last year in Des Moines.

Dreshaun Ross could easily look ahead to his future at Oklahoma State.

Instead, the top-ranked Fort Dodge heavyweight is focused on living in the moment.

“This final season means a lot to me — more than just wrestling,” Ross said. “It’s some of the last memories I will have with some of (the people who will be) my best friends my entire life.

“I’ve just been very grateful and taking advantage of every moment with all my teammates and coaches.”

On Saturday, Ross begins his postseason pursuit of becoming a four-time state champion in a Class 3A district meet at the FDSH gym. There have been 34 in the history of Iowa high school wrestling.

Ross will be joined by Osage’s Blake Fox, who is in search of his fourth this season as well. If he has his hand raised a week from this Saturday night in Des Moines, Ross would become Fort Dodge’s second four-time state champion, joining Brody Teske.

Ross will already go down as one of the all-time greats, not just in a Dodger singlet but among the very best Iowa wrestlers ever. The top-ranked heavyweight prep in the nation has won 133 consecutive matches for FDSH, and is 140-2 in his career. He is one win from tying his older brother, Damarion Ross (141-34), for ninth on Fort Dodge’s all-time victory list — this, despite Dreshaun missing a significant portion of his junior year with a serious shoulder injury.

“The Red and Black means the world to me,” Ross said. “It’s a part of me that I will forever cherish.

“It’s been a big factor in my journey up to this point in my life, whether it’s my success or my family’s. It will always be Fort Dodge and the Red and Black for me.”

Ross was also one of the state’s top-ranked recruits on the gridiron after a stellar career for the Dodgers. He was a two-time district player of the year and two-time first team all-state selection — again, despite missing his entire junior campaign due to injury.

“Playing football and doing wrestling back-to-back was pretty natural to me,” Ross said. “I’ve wrestled for 11 out of the 12 months every year of my life, so going from one to another was easy.

“Taking a break from one to do another just made me more excited to move on to the next season.”

The Dodgers had a banner year on the gridiron, going 8-2 and reaching the playoffs. Ross played both ways for the Dodgers, as he rushed for 782 yards and nine touchdowns while recording 52 tackles on defense — 33 for loss and 13 sacks, which led all of Class 4A and became new single-season program records.

“This football season was everything I could have asked for,” Ross said. “It was extremely fun and enjoyable, especially with not being able to play last year. That made it a lot more fun, and made me even more grateful to be on the field.”

After the state tournament, Ross will turn his attention to his future at Oklahoma State.

“I chose Oklahoma State because I believe that’s where I can have the most success and become the best athlete and person I can possibly be,” Ross said. “Having the support system and coaches that Oklahoma State offers (led by two-time Penn State national champion, three-time world champ and Cowboy head coach David Taylor) made the decision easier.”

The brilliance of Ross’ career started at a young age. He was the fourth Ross sibling to wrestle, behind brothers Drevon and Damarion and sister Alexis.

“I started wrestling at three or four years old,” Ross said. “It clicked for me definitely in late middle school that it was something that I could do for a long time and be successful at.

“Everything wrestling-related changed for me. I started to understand why I needed to do what I was doing to achieve my goals.”

Ross began getting more serious about the sport, focusing on both the mat and the weight room.

“My training specifically started to become easier for me to want to go to practices and to do extra workouts,” Ross said. “I understood the why, and what the outcome of doing all of those would do for me and benefit me.”

With the success of the family, his home structure has served as the backbone for his entire career.

“The guiding force for me is kind of natural,” Ross said. “My parents made it very clear that I need to take school seriously…they didn’t really care if I did any sport at all. They just wanted to make sure I was a very respectful and supportive person.

“Sports became like a guiding force. My dad made me do a lot of workouts when I was young, and he understood I needed to be doing them (consistently) to be successful. He definitely had a big impact.”

As his Dodger career wraps up, Ross doesn’t want to be known for his state titles but rather, for who he is.

“I want my legacy to be about showing you can be a good person while also having some success in a sport,” Ross said. “I’d like to be remembered for more than just my accolades in wrestling or football. Hopefully, people remember what I did to help others.”

Ross, who carries a 3.694 GPA, is still unsure of his major at Oklahoma State.

TIMEOUT WITH DRESHAUN ROSS

Vacation destination: Cancun.

People I would like to have dinner with: Kobe Bryant and Tom Brady.

My sports role model:

Michael Jordan.

My everyday role model: my siblings and parents.

Nickname: DreDre.

Superstition: listening to music before every match.

Something you binge watch: Outer Banks.

What are you listening to right now? “We Found Love” by Rihanna

Favorites…

Team: 49ers.

Athlete: Jeremiah Smith.

Class: Math.

Movie: Top Gun Maverick.

Phone app: Snapchat or Instagram.