Class 3A wrestling: Fort Dodge clinches first traditional team title since 1985

During Brody Teske’s freshman season, he and coach Bobby Thompson walked through the halls of Fort Dodge Senior High School on their way to the wrestling room.

Along the way, Teske slowed to a stroll to admire the Dodgers’ successful wrestling history. He saw the team’s 11 team state championship trophies, the latest from 1985. Teske stopped and raised his brow, then looked back at Thompson.

“He said, ‘Guys, we have to get one of those,’” Thompson recalled. “That stuck with me for four years.

“We finally did … and I think this is their legacy.”

On Saturday night inside Wells Fargo Arena, a 33-year drought came to an end. Fort Dodge clinched the Class 3A traditional state tournament team title. The Dodgers amassed 144 points, outscoring second-place Waukee by just five. Southeast Polk, the three-time defending champions, finished third with 134.5.

Fort Dodge was always going to be the favorite at this year’s state tournament, and it displayed that dominance through the competition’s first two days. After Thursday, the Dodgers managed a 4.5-point lead. On Friday, they pushed four wrestlers into Saturday night’s finals, and the margin ballooned to 26 points over Waukee.

But Saturday morning brought with it a hint of bad luck. In the morning, Fort Dodge went 2-6 through the wrestlebacks and medal matches, while Waukee and Southeast Polk surged. Heading into the tournament’s final session, a 26-point lead had flipped to a one-point deficit behind the Warriors.

“We kind of fell on our face,” Thompson said, “and they didn’t. They responded. Waukee responded. Southeast Polk really responded. They made it a race. It was a good run there. It wasn’t (fun) through the process. I probably ate a lot of Tums, and my stomach was churning a lot.

“I felt really good coming out of the semifinal round. My hope was to lock it up on Friday night so I could actually get some sleep. That didn’t happen. Then, today, it was one after the other … now, looking back, it’s gratifying to come out on top of a three-horse race.”

Nerves festered, but confidence remained high. Fort Dodge outpaced all competitors with four finalists. Waukee's Kyle Biscoglia won his third state title with a decision victory at 120 pounds, giving the Warriors a five-point advantage going into 126.

In the tunnel, Teske looked at Thompson and smiled.

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“This is a kid going out to get his fourth title, and he looks at me and says, ‘So if I pin, we win,’ and I said, 'No, they have two more kids,'” Thompson said. “And he goes, ‘No, if I pin, we win.’”

Teske recorded a first-period pin at 126 for his fourth individual state title, which put Fort Dodge ahead 140-139. Drew Bennett followed with a decision victory at 132 to increase the Dodgers’ point total to 144. At that point, Fort Dodge had just one finalist left, while Waukee had two.

Cayd Lara dropped his final at 152 pounds, but so, too, did Waukee’s Anthony Zach and Brandon Tessau at 170 and 182, respectively. Upon the conclusion of Tessau’s match, an 8-2 loss to Valley’s Joel Shapiro, Thompson received a smattering of high-fives and handshakes in the tunnel underneath the Well.

He couldn’t help but smile. A former Dodger wrestler himself, Thompson knows what that golden trophy will mean to the folks in the stands who came to support and the rest of them back home. Fort Dodge is back on top of the Iowa wrestling world.

“Our community has supported these kids for so long,” Thompson said. “We pack it in for our wrestling meets. The crowd here, you can hear the Dodgers. They’re loud and they’re in charge. They’re behind these kids 110 percent.

“Dodger Nation is a wrestling nation, and it’s great to finally bring that trophy back home. It means a lot to watch these kids get what they worked so hard for. Our theme this year was ‘We deserve it, but you have to earn it.’ These kids did.”

Mason City’s Schriever is halfway to four

Iowa prep wrestling fans witnessed history when Teske and Underwood’s Alex Thomsen became the 26th and 27th wrestlers to win four individual state titles. But at the beginning of Saturday’s final session, they witnessed another wrestler take a step toward the same milestone.

Mason City’s Cullan Schriever beat Fort Dodge’s Drake Ayala 9-3 to win his second state title at 106 pounds. Schriever piled up four takedowns, including two in the third period. 

It was a hard thought to escape afterward, especially with Teske and Thomsen following, but Schriever is now halfway there. He is not the only one, either — West Sioux’s Adam Allard and Lisbon’s Cael Happel, fellow sophomores in Class 1A, also have two titles in hand.

“It obviously comes into mind, but I’m not focused on it at all right now,” Schriever said. “I was just focused on this this year. But it’s time to move on. Time to turn to freestyle and greco. I want to make a world team.”

Biscoglia gets third title, team finishes second

Biscoglia was in his usual spot on Saturday night — Mat 3, in the state finals, a spot where he’s been comfortable each of the past three years.

Biscoglia capped his stellar Waukee career with his third individual title. A year in which he reached 150 career wins and 100 career pins ended with perfection, as the Northern Iowa-bound senior went 51-0 en route to the 120-pound state championship. He beat Ankeny Centennial’s Ben Monroe 9-2 in the finals.

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“It feels great,” Biscoglia said. “My freshman year, I set the goal of being a four-timer, but I was unable to qualify that year. After that, I really worked hard. My third title, that was the goal. I wanted to win my third and go undefeated. With that match, I was able to get both.”

Biscoglia was Waukee’s only individual champion. Zach and Tessau both took second, and another five Warrior wrestlers earned medals this weekend, helping the team to a second-place finish.

Valley’s Nick Oldham brings home gold; Shapiro gets No. 2

It had been two years since Nick Oldham wrestled on state Saturday night. 

As a freshman, Oldham muscle his way to the state finals at 106 pounds. Once there, he dropped a 9-1 major decision to Biscoglia. The next year, Oldham dropped his quarterfinal bout to Schriever and ended up falling to fifth. 

This year, the Valley junior would not be denied. Oldham pinned his way to the finals, where he met Ankeny’s star freshman Caleb Rathjen. Oldham overcame being cradled in the second period to ultimately put Rathjen on his back in the third and win 10-8.

“It feels amazing,” Oldham said. “Best dang feeling in my life.”

Oldham was one of two state champions for Valley, who finished fourth in the team race with 106.5 points. Shapiro won at 182, his second straight state title. The senior completed a perfect season, going 40-0.

East’s Dentis comes up just short

Deville Dentis became Des Moines East’s first state finalist since 1995, but the junior’s bid for the Scarlets' first state title in 56 years came up just two points short.

Dentis lost to Perry’s Zach Stewart 3-1 in the state finals at 138 pounds. It was just Dentis’s fourth loss of the season. Stewart, a senior, finished 55-5.

Cody Goodwin covers wrestling and high school sports the Des Moines Register. Follow him on Twitter at @codygoodwin.

Class 3A Team Race

1. Fort Dodge, 144
2. Waukee, 139
3. Southeast Polk, 134.5
4. West Des Moines Valley, 106.5
5. Glenwood, 76.5

Finals Results

106: Cullan Schriever (Mason City) 40-1, So. over Drake Ayala (Fort Dodge) 41-2, Fr. (Dec 9-3)
113: Nick Oldham (Valley, West Des Moines) 39-1, Jr. over Caleb Rathjen (Ankeny) 20-2, Fr. (Dec 10-8)
120: Kyle Biscoglia (Waukee) 51-0, Sr. over Ben Monroe (Ankeny Centennial) 39-7, So. (Dec 9-2)
126: Brody Teske (Fort Dodge) 39-1, Sr. over Kaleb Olejniczak (Perry) 48-6, Jr. (Fall 1:49)
132: Drew Bennett (Fort Dodge) 46-1, Sr. over Eli Loyd (Pleasant Valley) 51-7, So. (Dec 9-4)
138: Zach Stewart (Perry) 55-5, Sr. over Deville Dentis (Des Moines, East) 44-4, Jr. (Dec 3-1)
145: Cade DeVos (Southeast Polk) 39-3, Jr. over Mason Hulse (Boone) 44-4, Sr. (Dec 7-2)
152: Harlan Steffensmeier (Fort Madison) 43-2, Sr. over Cayd Lara (Fort Dodge) 44-4, Sr. (Dec 5-4)
160: Nelson Brands (Iowa City, West) 55-1, Sr. over Wilfred Kadohou (Iowa City, City High) 39-8, Sr. (TF-1.5 3:15 (22-7))
170: Ben Sarasin (Cedar Rapids, Kennedy) 40-0, Sr. over Anthony Zach (Waukee) 46-3, Jr. (Dec 9-5)
182: Joel Shapiro (Valley, West Des Moines) 40-0, Sr. over Brandon Tessau (Waukee) 33-8, Sr. (Dec 8-2)
195: Jacob Dykes (Iowa City, City High) 45-1, Sr. over Reece Bowlin (Indianola) 40-6, Sr. (Dec 7-2)
220: Francis Duggan (Iowa City, West) 15-2, Sr. over Greg Hagan (Dowling Catholic, West Des Moines) 38-2, Jr. (MD 13-4)
285: Caleb Sanders (Glenwood) 45-3, Sr. over Dylan Olson (Dubuque, Hempstead) 37-4, Sr. (Dec 3-2)