Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Arcata head coach Cass Bell and some of his wrestlers look on during Tuesday night’s dual meet against Eureka. The Tigers won 54-28.
By Ray Hamill — The Arcata Tigers are going to be a force again on the wrestling mats in the not-too-distant future.
In his third year in charge of the program, head coach Cass Bell has his boys and girls teams headed in the right direction and building momentum.
This year Bell has a huge squad of 54 boys and 12 girls, way up from last year, and while many of them are new to the sport, the Tigers are definitely taking some big steps.
“We have a huge team this year,” Bell said. “We’re trying to build the team, trying to build it up.”
The Tigers indeed appear well positioned to challenge the Del Norte and Fortuna boys and the Eureka and Del Norte girls for a league championship, if not this year then soon.
“It’s getting better and better as each year goes by,” the coach added.
While many of the Arcata grapplers still lack the necessary experience to challenge for a league title and North Coast Section qualification, there are a number of standouts Bell expects big things out of this season.
And that includes a couple of outstanding freshmen, who have quickly established themselves as league contenders in their weight division.
Kaidan Bell, who is the coach’s son, and Aidan Ayers both have begun their high school careers in style.
Kaidan Bell, who wrestles at 106 pounds, has already beaten Fortuna standout Cayden Spiers twice in his first year in high school and claimed a tournament win at the season-opening Battle at the Border in Crescent City early last month.
He is expected to challenge Del Norte standout sophomore Chulhs Bates for a league title this year, and the two young grapplers could face off in a dual meet in Crescent City later this month.
“That’s going to be a huge match,” Cass Bell said.
Ayers, meanwhile, has already won two tournaments, placing first at the Mt. Diablo and McKinleyville tournaments, and was named outstanding lower weight wrestler at the former.
Among his notable victories so far, Ayers got the better of McKinleyville standout Brandon Hillegeist at the McKinleyville tournament.
Siblings Chase and Rory Bickmore each also have impressed early in the new season after transferring to Arcata from St. Bernard’s.
Chase, a sophomore, has won three tournaments this year at 132 pounds and also placed fifth at the recent Lou Bronzan tournament at Liberty High School, one of the biggest high school tournaments of the season.
Rory, meanwhile, has three top-four tournament finishes this season, including a championship at Grants Pass, and the junior standout should compete for a second straight trip to the state championships later in the year.
“She has been doing really good,” Bell said.
Joining her on the Arcata girls team is fellow junior Piper Bjorkstedt, who has been equally impressive through the early season after returning to the team this year.
Bjorkstedt enjoyed an impressive debut season with the Tigers as a freshman two years ago, but did not wrestle last year while spending time abroad as a foreign exchange student.
However, she has picked up just where she left off on her return this year.
“I’ve got really high hopes for her and Rory,” Cass Bell said. “They’ve got a chance of going to state.”
Cass’ younger brother Isaiah Bell is also on this year’s team and one of the team’s key returning wrestlers.
After winning a league title as a sophomore, Isaiah is expected to be among the top local grapplers again in his junior year and already has a tournament championship under his belt after placing first at Del Norte in early December.
Overall, the head coach is excited about the prospects of this year’s team as the Tigers continue to build their program.
“What I’m liking is how big the team is,” Cass Bell said. “I don’t remember the last time that we had a team this big at Arcata.
“And they’re young. Most of them are sophomores and freshman and they’re crushing it. We already have freshmen beating seniors.”
This year’s team features just four seniors.
“The future is really bright,” the coach added. “I’m super stoked. We’ve got a really good squad. It’s been a lot of work with all the kids, but luckily we’ve got a lot of really good parents volunteering and helping. We’re making it happen for the kids.”
The Tigers will compete at the annual Eureka tournaments this weekend, with the girls tournament set for Friday and the boys varsity and JVs competing on Saturday.
