-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Keaton Nichols of Fort Dodge wrestles against Storm Lake Aiden Phillps in the finals during Don Miller Invitational on Saturday

Keaton Nichols sent Fort Dodge fans into a frenzy and capped off the Dodgers’ Don Miller title in style on Saturday.

Nichols, ranked 12th at 285 pounds, finished the Miller Invitational as Fort Dodge’s fifth champion and helped lead the Dodgers to the team crown.

Fifth-ranked Fort Dodge finished with 226 points, ahead of Ankeny Centennial (205). No. 5 (2A) Webster City (193.5) was third, followed by Messenger-area schools Emmetsburg (152), Algona (147.5) and Humboldt (147.5).

“It was great to win at home, especially with the shape of our lineup (with three starters out),” said FDSH head coach Bobby Thompson. “We had some bad seeds, but up and down our lineup, from the veteran guys to our freshmen, they wrestled hard all day.”

Fort Dodge earned the most bonus points on the day, scoring 57. Webster City (47) was next, and Centennial (33) was third.

Finishing beside Nichols in the winner’s circle was top-ranked Dru Ayala (113), eighth-ranked Kane Butrick (126), No. 6 (152) Damarion Ross (160) and second-rated Dreshaun Ross (195).

“Those guys (Ayala and the Ross siblings) controlled the tempo all day),” Thompson said. “We were trying to get them to go longer in their matches to build up some of their stamina and not just go out quickly and get falls.”

Nichols ran through the competition, picking up four falls on the day and scoring a team-high 30 points in the tournament.

In the championship match, the 12-6 Nichols – who won his first Miller title – pinned Aiden Phillips of Storm Lake in three minutes. Nichols’ first two matches ended in the first period.

“That is the best I’ve seen him (Nichols) wrestle,” Thompson said. “He put in a lot of work in the offseason, trimmed down and got stronger, as did Collin (Munter).”

Ayala (14-1) won his third Miller championship, breezing through the field with a pin and two technical falls. He earned a 21-6 tech fall over Lewis Central’s Carter Schorsch in the finals.

Butrick (14-5), who was the fifth seed in the tournament, pulled off two upsets early on. After two falls in the first rounds, he beat top-seed Barrett Morgan by a 6-1 count in the semifinals.

The Dodger junior then won a tight 3-2 match over Decorah’s Mason Vila for the crown.

Damarion Ross (16-2) cruised through the field with two pins and two technical falls. In his final two matches he outscored his opponents 47-17. Ross beat Emmetsburg’s Justin Wirtz 25-10 in the second period.

Dreshaun Ross (13-2) earned a major decision over Emmetsburg’s eighth-ranked Ben Saxton (14-2) in the finals by a score of 19-7. In his first two matches, Ross earned first period falls.

Fort Dodge got strong results from their four freshmen in the lineup, as three earned medals.

Rylee Brown (132) and Jesse Egli (152) both placed third, while Caiden Fraher (138) was fourth.

“Our younger guys did well,” Thompson said. “They came out and were aggressive. We talked about how, if you land on the backside (of the bracket), you still have to come out and compete and get bonus points.”

With the first part of the season almost complete, Thompson is pleased with thethe energy his team has displayed.

“There was a lot of good in the first part,” Thompson said. “There has been a lot of fight and growth.

“We will take a little break here and once we come back, we will clean some things up and be ready to go for the postseason.”

12th-ranked junior Cal Hartman (10-7) was fourth and Munter (220) placed fifth.

Ankeny Centennial’s Lucas Bruhl, son of former Fort Dodge state champion Brad Bruhl, was named the Tim Ascherl/Brent Helmkamp Outstanding Wrestler of the meet.

The Dodgers will finish the first part of the season on Thursday in the FDSH gym. Fort Dodge will host Des Moines North/Hoover and Bondurant-Farrar.