Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: Dalton Rosalez of Fort Dodge makes a play at McNeil Field earlier this summer.

Dalton Rosalez saved his best for last with a prototypical senior season at Fort Dodge Senior High.

Rosalez was recently named an all-Iowa Alliance Conference and all-district performer on the baseball field for the Dodgers. As one of just two seniors on the team, he batted a career-best .353 and led FDSH in RBI (36), hits (42) and total bases (51) as the squad secured its first full winning season since 2016.

On the mound, Rosalez was 4-2 with 31 strikeouts.

“It’s a really big deal to be honored for both the all-conference and all-district,” said Rosalez, a three-year varsity regular. “I’ve been working toward that goal since I started playing varsity baseball my sophomore year, and it all (came from) offseason (work). I put a lot of my time into baseball in the offseason to get to where I was (in 2023).”

Rosalez also made the most of his opportunities as a newcomer to both the rugby and golf programs. The Fort Dodge Stags secured a trophy at the state tournament for the first time in school history, placing third in May.

Rosalez, who played scrum half and fly half as the main distributor for the offense, is now signed to play rugby at Iowa Central.

“I chose Iowa Central because it’s close to home and has the program I want to study,” Rosalez said. “I decided on rugby (collegiately) because when I played for the Stags this year, I just fell in love with the game. I want to see how far I can go with it.

“One of the assistant coaches from Iowa Central helped out with the (Fort Dodge) rugby team, and I talked with him about playing (for head coach Brent Nelson’s program). There are also four of my (Stag) teammates going to Iowa Central, so that also helped with my decision.”

As a rookie in the Dodger golf lineup last fall, Rosalez cracked the starting varsity rotation.

Rosalez wants to be remembered by the example he set, proving it’s never too late to become a contributor in a sport at the varsity level.

“I hope I’m remembered by my leadership on these teams,” Rosalez said. “In baseball, I feel like I took the underclassmen under my wing, helping them understand the game more and what it took to be a Dodger.

“Not everything will come easy. You have to be willing to put in the extra time on the field and in the classroom when needed. You also have to figure out how to manage your time correctly between school and sports.”

TIMEOUT WITH DALTON ROSALEZ

Vacation destination: Brazil.

Person I would like to have dinner with: Tiger Woods.

My sports role model: Floyd Mayweather.

My everyday role model: my father.

I can’t go a day without: my phone.

Nickname: Rosi.

Most heated rivalry: Mason City.

Favorite road trip: the Bahamas.

What are you listening to right now? Show You How by T-Pain.

Favorites…

Team: Seattle Seahawks.

Athlete: Shohei Ohtani.

Class: welding.

Movie: anything action.

Binge watch: the Avengers movies.

Book: anything by David Goggins.

Phone app: Instagram.