Pattern for finding maximum match in ordered-important list

I've noticed some recurring code in my project, involving finding the 'best match' to something in a list, with the important caveat that if there is a tie, the first is selected ie the order is important.

The project is in python, and the pattern looks like

things = <list of things>

highest_thing = None
highest_strength = 0

for thing in things:
    if thing.strength(some_params) > highest_strength:
        highest_thing = thing
        highest_strength = thing.strength(some_params)

I tried to do this with the built-in max function, using a dictionary comprehension to make a mapping from a thing to its strength, but the dictionary loses the order. I then found OrderedDict in Python, but feel this is importing more complexity than warrented, considering how simple the original solution is, despite looking very C-like.

Ideally, I want something like

highest_thing = highest(things, some_params)

without having to write this function myself (which is fine, but I can't help but think there's a nicer looking solution).