Photo by Jake Ryder, Marshalltown Times-Republican: Mariaha Benedict of Fort Dodge works on her opponent Friday at the girls state wrestling meet.

CORALVILLE — It wasn’t exactly what they wanted, but Fort Dodge’s Mariaha Benedict and Makayla Liska have something to build on now moving forward.

The Dodger junior and freshman had their eyes set on the big prize at the girls state meet, but after quarterfinal losses on Thursday, they turned to rebounding on the backside.

There was no pressure of medaling by the time Friday rolled around. The only question was which final place the duo would earn.

Benedict, a three-time state qualifier finished fifth, while Liska was sixth in her maiden voyage.

They join former champ Alexis Ross as the only meadlists in school history.

“Obviously Mariaha’s goal was to end up on the podium,” said Fort Dodge head coach Jon Koenig. “She wanted to be higher than she finished (in the rankings and seedings).

“She should be proud of herself. Next year she’ll come down and try to get even higher.”

As a sanctioned sport, Benedict and Liska join Ross, who was third, second and the Dodgers’ only gold medalist before the IGHSAU made girls wrestling official.

“Makayla should be proud of her achievements, too,” Koenig said. “To accomplish what she did as a freshman and having a tough season with an injury and illnesses is impressive.”

Benedict (46-7) and Liska (37-14) won their consolation quarterfinals in Class 2A, then lost in the semifinals.

Benedict, the school’s all-time wins leader, is now 118-29 with three state appearances. This was her first medal.

“Finishing state with a win feels amazing and really shows how far I’ve come,” Benedict said. “Medaling at state means a lot because it represents all the hard work I’ve put in.

“Beating the (eventual) state champ (Lilly Stough) three times this season is huge, even if I finished fifth. It shows I’ve got what it takes to compete with the best. This can definitely motivate me to keep pushing myself and aiming higher.”

In Benedict’s opening round match on Friday, she pinned ninth-seed Lainey Schreck (39-11) of Cedar Falls at 135.

The fifth-seeded Dodger then lost to a familiar foe in Nevada’s Cadence Bushong (45-6) by fall in 1:18.

Benedict earned her fifth-place medal with a fall over Kassidy Fiala (45-11) of Lewis Central. Benedict controlled the entire match, putting Fiala to her back in 2:51.

Liska, the seventh-seed at 145 pounds, pinned sixth-seeded Jammie Krah (34-11) of Ankeny in 21 seconds to advance to the consolation semis, where she faced 12th-seed Macie Graves (32-9) of Cedar Falls. She lost 21-6 in five minutes.

“This season, I really just used the motivation of whatever you do, you need to try and make an impact,” Liska said. “I know I didn’t end up with the place I wanted, but just knowing that, I am proud to be where my feet are, showing girls in our community and everywhere that you just need to try and anything is possible.”

In her fifth-place match, Liska faced a familiar foe in her first round opponent, Luisa Meade (43-14) — a senior from Cedar Rapids Prairie. Meade recorded a fall in 4:17.

“The hard part was, she was beating that girl 5-3 going into the third period,” Koenig said. “She got caught not moving.

“Makayla did so well in the tournament overall, though.”