HIGH SCHOOL

Fort Dodge’s Bobby Thompson named All-Iowa Wrestling Coach of the Year

Cody Goodwin
The Des Moines Register

The climb to the top sometimes takes time. Bobby Thompson knows this as well as anybody.

For the past three years, the Fort Dodge wrestling coach led his athletes trekked the 96 miles south to Wells Fargo Arena for the state tournament. He watched the Dodgers perform and ultimately come short of their goals, placing third in 2015 and second in both 2016 and 2017.

Fort Dodge celebrates its team victory during the state wrestling championships at Wells Fargo Arena on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2018, in Des Moines.

This winter, though, was different. Thompson knew his team would possess the firepower to finally reach the peak. Come February, after a strong first two days and a heart-pounding Saturday night, the Dodgers emerged as the Class 3A team title winners .

And for his efforts in leading the Dodgers to team gold, Thompson has been named the Des Moines Register’s All-Iowa Wrestling Coach of the Year. He'll be honored at the Des Moines Register Sports Awards on June 23, which features tennis icon Venus Williams as guest speaker. 

“Our community has supported these kids for so long,” Thompson said during the state tournament in February. “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.”

The Dodgers’ first traditional state team championship since 1985 did not come without some late drama. Fort Dodge laid the foundation during the tournament’s first two days, taking a 26-point lead into Saturday.

Thompson later acknowledged that he hoped to clinch the team title during Friday’s later session. Instead, he joked about gulping antacids on Saturday morning as Waukee and Southeast Polk stormed back from their distant second- and third-place positions, creating a three-way logjam at the top of the 3A standings.

Still, Thompson took solace in his four state finalists, more than any other 3A team. Seniors Brody Teske and Drew Bennett secured individual titles at 126 and 132 pounds, respectively, giving Fort Dodge a lead it would not relinquish.

Once it became mathematically official, Thompson stood underneath Wells Fargo Arena and received handshakes and high-fives. He wiped the sweat off his forehead and breathed easy. This title, he explained, meant so much to everybody back home.

“This title doesn’t just belong to the guys that placed down here this weekend,” Thompson said. “It belongs to all 14 in our lineup, every guy in the wrestling room and all those guys that came before them. This title belongs to everyone in Dodge.”

The team title is Fort Dodge’s 12th, which ties for third all-time. Thompson was a member of the Dodgers’ triumphant squad back in 1980. At that time, it broke a drought that spanned 39 years.

This season’s championship ended a 33-year drought, but Thompson said this one means more. For the past four years, he’s watched as his team climbed the ladder, from afterthought to contender to champions.

It was a hard, long road. Thompson wouldn’t have had it any other way.

“I was on a state championship team, but this means more to me,” Thompson said. “It’s so great to see the kids get something they’ve worked so hard for … this means so much to us. It’s been a 33-year grind, and it’s just a compliment to our kids. They just got the job done.”

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