File photo – Some of the Fortuna coaches and wrestlers look at during the recent McKinleyville tournament.
By Ray Hamill — The Huskies are building momentum on the wrestling mats this winter as a young roster continues to gain some valuable experience.
On Tuesday night, the Fortuna grapplers got the H-DNL dual meet season off to a winning start with a 45-32 victory over Eureka in boys action, while several Fortuna girls also have impressed through the early season.
“They’re young,” head coach Steven Stockdale said of his roster. “There isn’t a ton of experience, but as the season unfolds they’re improving a lot.”
There was just one senior in the starting lineup on Tuesday and only three of the Huskies competing had ever wrestled before high school.
But the success the program has enjoyed in recent years — both in the H-DNL at the North Coast Section level — appears to be paying off, with an impressive 40 wrestlers on this year’s roster.
This is a program that has produced some of the top wrestlers in the North Coast over the past six years, with eight of the last 10 H-DNL Outstanding Wrestlers (lower and upper weights) coming from Fortuna.
Like many local teams, sickness and injuries have limited the Huskies’ early-season preparations, but in wrestling it doesn’t matter how you start, only how you finish, and Fortuna has a handful of grapplers ready to challenge in league and beyond.
“Right now, we’re just sharpening their tools,” Stockdale said. “We’ve got some boys and we’ve got girls that can place at the section tournament. We’ll just have to see how it pans out.”
Eight of the Fortuna boys won their matchups on Tuesday, including Elias Golder (115 pounds), Mason Evanow (126), Landon Leon (138) and Mako Limon (152), each of whom won by pin.
Evanow, a junior who placed at sections last year, won his matchup in a tidy 16 seconds, while Limon is a freshman who has had an immediate impact at the varsity level and at a weight most freshmen don’t excel at.
Junior Cayden Spiers also won by forfeit at 106 and is enjoying an outstanding season in just his second year competing in the sport.
“He’s got a chip on his shoulder and he’s learned how to use it to his advantage,” Stockdale said of Spears. “He shows up every day and he works his butt off.”
That determination has paid off with Spears placing an impressive third at the recent Grants Pass tournament, as well as third at the Del Norte tournament and first at the McKinleyville tournament.
Orion Cahill also won on Tuesday for the Huskies, taking a decision at 160, while Dailyn Wallace (195) and Kavi Bolden (170) each won by forfeit.
Freshman Tyson Evanow also has impressed this season, as has Jacob August and Hunter Hatten.
“In years to come, I think he’ll be a force to reckon with,” Stockdale said of Hatten, who is a sophomore competing in the sport for just the second year.
A number of Fortuna girls also impressed on Tuesday.
Chloe Cox won her showdown at with a pin, while Lonna Torrez won two matches and Lindsay Bibby and Abby Bibby each went 1-1.
The Huskies will travel to compete at the Anderson tournament this week.
