Photos by Michelle August Photography – The Huskies celebrate their second-place finish at Ukiah on Saturday.
Despite dropping their final H-DNL dual meet of the season against Arcata on Tuesday night, the Fortuna Huskies are well positioned to make some noise in the upcoming league and North Coast Section championships.
On Saturday, the Huskies traveled to compete at the Redwood Empire Classic in Ukiah and the boys team placed an impressive second out of 28 teams.
The host Wildcats won the tournament, edging the Huskies by just 7.5 points at an event that featured some of the top-ranked wrestlers in the NCS.
Fortuna led a strong showing by the H-DNL, which had four schools place in the top five and six in the top nine.
And the big performance for the Huskies couldn’t have come at a better time, as they get set for the upcoming postseason tournaments.
“I think it was definitely our best performance of the year,” head coach Steven Stockdale said. “They battled in situations where they needed to battle and they kept their composure in situations where they needed to keep their composure.”
Mason Evanow and Jacob August led the way for the Huskies and each placed first in their weight divisions.
Evanow won at 126 pounds and August won at 132.
Six other Huskies placed in the top five in their weight divisions, including Tyson Evanow and Landon Leon, who placed second at 120 and 138, respectively.
Tyson Evanow got the better of Arcata’s standout freshman Aidan Ayers in the bracket semifinals.
Cayden Spiers also impressed at 106, where he placed fourth while facing some tough competition that should help prepare him for a shot at a league title in 10 days time.
“He was right there,” Stockdale said.
Teammate Dailyn Wallace also impressed at 175 and placed third, while Eli Hampton placed fifth at 113 and Elias Golder placed fifth at 120.
“That was big for Eli,” Stockdale said of the first-year grappler. “He’s new to wrestling and he’s stepping up now.”
Rounding out a great day for the Fortuna varsity boys team, Philip Elebrecht and Kaysen Finley both placed seventh at 190 and 215, respectively, and Gabe Hamlin placed eighth at 150.
Photos by Michelle August Photography – Jacob August and Mason Evanow both placed first in their weight divisions at Ukiah.
In the team competition, Del Norte placed third, followed by Arcata in fourth and Hoopa in fifth, while McKinleyville finished eighth and Eureka was ninth.
Asked whether he thought his wrestlers are peaking at the right time, Stockdale responded “It looks that way. I think historically my wrestlers have done a great job of getting their performances right at the right time.”
Not to be outdone, Abby Bibby also had a good showing for the Fortuna girls at the Ukiah tournament.
Bibby placed fourth in her weight division.
Among the top performers for the Fortuna JV boys team at the tournament, Brett Coleman placed fourth at 120, Angel Rocha placed fourth at 190 and Tyren Sanborn placed sixth at 132.
The Huskies closed out the H-DNL dual meet season with a 47-23 loss to league champion Arcata on Tuesday night.
Photos by Michelle August Photography
Despite the loss, Stockdale was impressed with the performance of his wrestlers while fielding a young squad for the meet.
“For a completely young lineup, they did absolutely amazing,” the coach said. “They’re homegrown and young and that whole crew won some matches and gave it their all.”
Leon and Kavi Bolden had particularly impressive showings for the boys, while Cloe Cox “did an exceptional job” for the girls, according to the coach.
“All the girls, they’re improving,” Stockdale said.
The league dual meet title for the Tigers was their first since 2006.
We’ll have much more on Arcata’s big win later.
