Photos by Ray Hamill/.HumboldtSports.com – Fortuna’s Chloe Cox wrestles Arcata’s Harmoney Clayton in their league final at Eureka High on Saturday.
By Ray Hamill — Two weeks after winning a first-ever H-DNL dual meet championship, the Arcata Tigers were crowned league champions in girls wrestling at Eureka High School on Saturday.
The Tigers took home four of the 11 individual championships on the way to the team title, followed by Del Norte in second, Eureka in third and Fortuna and Hoopa rounding out the top five.
But it was one Fortuna wrestler who stole the show after making a little bit of school history while overcoming adversity.
Senior Chloe Cox won the individual title at 110 pounds, beating Arcata’s Harmoney Claybon in the final.
It was her fourth league title in four years and she became the first Husky grappler, boy or girl, to achieve that historic feat.
Sadly, the historic victory came just a few days after Cox’s father, Jay Cox, unexpectedly passed away.
The young grappler, however, rose to the occasion in difficult circumstances, winning her final with a first-round pin.
“She showed up, she wrestled, she was aggressive and she ended it quick,” Fortuna head coach Steven Stockdale said.
She also achieved a piece of school history that can never be topped.
Cox is also a standout soccer player and track and field athlete. She is the defending H-DNL girls pole vault champion and was an all-league honorable mention in soccer in the fall.
She’s also a popular athlete among her teammates and coaches, and according to Stockdale is known for her sense of humor at practice.
“She’s a great team member,” the Fortuna coach said. “She’s supportive, she’s encouraging, she’s a hard worker and she’s a straight A student. There’s not enough good things I could say about her. Any coach on the planet would love to have her on their team.”
Cox will now turn her attention toward this week’s North Coast Section championships, as she looks to close out her high school wrestling career with a bang.
She will be joined at the prestigious section tournament by teammates Tiffany Krause, Allison Watson and Abby Bibby.
Several other H-DNL girls also rose to the occasion at the league championships on Saturday.
Arcata’s Reyna May, Rory Bickmore and Piper Bjorkstedt all won their finals to help the Tigers to a first-ever league championship in girls wrestling.
May defeated Eureka’s Blair Moser with a pin in her final, while Bickmore got the better of Del Norte’s Aubry Dodson in her final, also with a pin.
Bjorkstedt also won with a pin, beating Del Norte’s Bailey Fox in her final.
Rounding out a very good day for the league champs, Mya Collenberg took home the 115 championship with a forfeit.
The Del Norte girls, meanwhile, had two individual winners on the day, as well as three grapplers placing second, while the third-place Eureka Loggers had three individual winners.
Del Norte freshman Elizabeth Hernandez capped a memorable debut season in the H-DNL with a victory over Arcata’s Alison Osceola in her final, while Del Norte senior Channey Schaad won her bracket by forfeit.
Schaad is a three-time league champion and has provided some much-needed leadership on a young Del Norte team this season.
She is also a two-time section placer.
“I thought they went out and competed the best they could,” Del Norte head coach Clinton Schaad said of his girls team. “And they represented the schools really well.”
Eureka’s Indy Rose Lopez, Anneliese Fugate and Brook Boone each also won a league title.
Lopez defeated Hoopa’s Delainy Sorrell with a pin in her final, while Fugate defeated Arcata’s Maile Russell with an 11-2 decision in her final and Boone defeated Del Norte’s Karlye Dodson with a pin in her final.
Hoopa’s Vanessa King rounded out the list of winners, defeating Fortuna’s Krause in her final.
Del Norte’s Golden Rule, Hoopa’s Adrian Mace and Arcata’s Lillian Afridi each also placed third in their brackets, while Fortuna’s Watson and Bibby each placed fourth.
