Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: Joe Constable of Fort Dodge takes control during a match at Friday’s state tournament in Des Moines. For more photos, please visit CU.messengernews.net

DES MOINES — Joe Constable is still learning.

Not about wrestling per se, but more about himself.

On Friday, Fort Dodge’s 285-pound sophomore officially became a state medalist. After winning two matches, Constable (41-7) can now finish anywhere from third to sixth place for the Dodgers.

“Definitely excited,” Constable said. “Coach (Bobby) Thompson talks about going into deep water and that’s what I did. I like the matches that challenge me…when you get into that deep water, you find out a lot about yourself.”

On his way to the podium, Constable put his own stamp on the Fort Dodge record books. He will be the first Dodger since Steve Davis (1988) to claim a medal as a heavyweight.

In the blood round, Constable went into that “deep water” to move on.

It was a familiar opponent in Waukee’s Andrew Hine (23-11). Both wrestlers had escapes in the second and third periods.

Then, with 42 seconds left in SV-1, Constable reached deep for a takedown and the dramatic victory.

“Joe is going to go a full six minutes and wrestle hard,” Thompson said. “He goes out there to win and he’s not satisfied.

“Joe keeps the same mentality through the highs and lows.”

The fifth-seeded Constable took a 3-1 lead after the second period with a takedown. He added a reversal in the third frame for a 5-2 victory over No. 8 Keeron Harris-Veasley (10-4) of Waterloo East.

“The second match was nice to win as well,” Constable said. “It’s a great feeling knowing I’m going to medal, but I’m not finished yet.

“I will try and climb as high as I can on that podium (Saturday). Same approach — one match at a time.”

The FDSH sophomore will face second-seeded Kolton Borcherding-Johnson (37-2) of Norwalk. Borcherding-Johnson lost to No. 3 seed Brady Hagan (26-4) of West Des Moines Dowling, 3-2 in the semifinals.

Constable was edged 2-1 by Borcherding-Johnson in the quarterfinals of the Ed Winger Classic at Urbandale last month.

“That was a big win for Joe to reach the medal round,” Thompson said. “Not only that, but to get that second win and be in the top-six as a sophomore in his first time down here.

“He hadn’t seen the Waterloo kid before. He was big, but Joe controlled the match and was very strategic.”

With a win, Constable would advance to the third-place match. A loss and he’ll wrestle for fifth.

In his second state tourney, sophomore Trace Rial (106) was denied a medal, dropping a match in the blood round to eighth-seeded Oliver Lange (29-11) of West Des Moines Valley, 6-2.

“I feel bad for Trace,” Thompson said. “He worked hard this year and made big gains.

“He just didn’t have his A game (Friday). If we wrestle that match 10 times, I bet we would only lose once.”

Rial topped Waterloo East’s Mariyon Norton 9-0 in the second round on the championship side. He lost to Cedar Rapids Prairie’s Chase Watkinson, 7-3, in the quarterfinals.