Mustangs on the doorstep of history

FORT DODGE -- One in 134 million.Those are odds of a random school sweeping the four major girls' sports championships in one school year.One in 134 million. There's a reason it's never happened before in Iowa.The Mount Vernon Mustangs are two games away from pulling off the near-impossible. Then again, there's nothing random about this run of success, or the athletes who have enjoyed it."It's pretty awesome, huh?" said Mike Dick, executive director of the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union. "Winning one state title is a great accomplishment, let alone winning three or four."Mount Vernon has Class 2A volleyball and basketball titles in the bank, and the combined Mount Vernon-Lisbon track team reigned in 3A.The Mustangs face No. 1 Conrad BCLUW in a 2A state semifinal at 5:30 Thursday afternoon. The winner advances to Friday's title game against Fort Dodge St. Edmond or Wayne.Two more games, and Mount Vernon captures an unprecedented girls' grand slam."After basketball, it was like, 'Whoa. This could happen,' " said Kylea Weber.Yes, it could.Coach Gary Stamp brought up the subject once this season, in a dark gym on a May day, after a storm chased the Mustangs indoors to practice, then cut that short by knocking out the power."I told them that this could be the first and last time all season I would bring it up," Stamp said. "I just told them that they had an opportunity to leave a legacy, what a neat opportunity they had, the history they had a chance to write."Karly Cochrane and Sarah Ryan have been common denominators in all four sports. But the stars change from season to season, sport to sport.And sometimes from game to game."It's not like we have one person dominating in every sport," Cochrane said.Ryan said, "A lot of us go from one sport to the next. In softball, it could be anyone that steps up and gets the big hit."The Mustangs' identity transforms from sport to sport, as well. In volleyball and basketball, Mount Vernon's success was linked to size (re: Ali Stark, Brianna Strong, Amanda Platte, Courtney Kintzel, Taylor Dicus, et al). In track, it was balance and depth, particularly in the middle-distance events.In softball?"We don't have anybody who can strike out 10 or 15 batters," Stamp said. "But we're confident and we don't get rattled."So how did this all happen?"It all starts at home. We have good families with stable values and good worth ethics," Stamp said.Despite the vast success, the Mustangs still appear humble and hungry, though they've run into a little jealousy on the home front."I think some of the boys at our school get mad about the recognition we've received," said catcher Micah Wieditz, whose outside shooting was a key in the basketball team's run.That comment drew snickers from her teammates."Well, it's true," Wieditz said.The Mustangs find themselves as rare underdogs Thursday. BCLUW is the defending champion and has a dominating pitcher in Jamie Fisher."It's not going to come easy, but I believe we can do it," Cochrane said.Why not? They've done it before.Last fall. Last winter. Last spring."Right now, those girls don't think they can be beat," Dick said.