The Del Norte boys got the new wrestling season off to a strong start at the weekend Battle at the Border in Crescent City, with McKinleyville and Fortuna also impressing at the traditional season-opening tournament.

Eight different schools had at least one winner each in the 14 weight classes, led by South Medford and Del Norte with three winners each.

The Warriors took the team championship, with South Medford second, McKinleyville third and Fortuna in fourth.

In the girls tournament, the Arcata Tigers placed first after winning three of the 14 weight classes, with Eureka second, followed by South Medford and Del Norte.

Three different schools were represented among the tournament’s four outstanding wrestling awards.

Hoopa’s Pamela Houston, who placed first in the girls’ 125-pound bracket, was named the Female Most Outstanding Lower Weight Wrestler, while Arcata’s Rory Bickmore was named the Female Most Outstanding Upper Weight Wrestler after also placing first in the girls 155-pound division.

For the boys, a pair of Del Norte senior standouts and defending North Coast Section champions each were named tournament outstanding wrestlers.

Curtis Bartley, who placed first at 144 pounds was named the tournament’s Male Most Outstanding Lower Weight Wrestler, and teammate Colton Schaad, who placed first at 175 pounds, was named the Male Most Outstanding Upper Weight Wrestler.

Del Norte’s James Gensaw also placed first for the host school at 132 pounds.

The McKinleyville Panthers, meanwhile, also had a good showing at the season-opening tournament.

Brandon Hillegeist placed first for the team at 120 pounds, while his teammate Leo Cosce secured the top spot in the 150-pound bracket.

As expected, the Hoopa Warriors also got the new season off to an impressive start in some of the heavier weight divisions.

Raymond Baldy placed first at 190 pounds and teammate Antonio Correa placed first at 215 pounds.

Talon Villaruel also got the new season off to a winning start in the 132-pound division, as did Fortuna’s Tyson Evanow at 138 pounds and Eureka’s Knolin Callender at 285 pounds.

Other winners for the boys included Jacob James of South Medford at 106; Vaughan Graff of South Medford at 113; Brody Foss of South Medford at 157; and Nolan Timeus of Gold Beach at 165.

Second-place finishers on the day included Waylon Shaw of Fortuna at 113; Alex Osbourne of Del Norte at 120; Wyatt Sharp of Del Norte at 126; Damarius Thompson of McKinleyville at 132; Kevin Smith of McKinleyville at 138; Landon Leon of Fortuna at 144; Jacob Mola of Arcata at 150; Chago Moon of Hoopa at 157; Blake Owen of Del Norte at 165; Donald Hostler of Hoopa at 175; Davion Johnson of Del Norte at 190; Corbyn Schumack of South Medford at 215; and Yatish Patel of Del Norte at 285.

Local wrestlers who placed third in their divisions include Logan Robertson of Eureka at 120; Thomas Henderson of McKinleyville at 126; River Mattole of Arcata at 132; Coyle Walkner of Arcata at 138; Remington Escobedo of Del Norte at 144; Chey Gensaw of Del Norte at 150; Jack Chipman of Fortuna at 157; Lucas Dickey of McKinleyville at 175; and Brayden Pinard of McKinleyville at 215.

In the girls tournament, meanwhile, both Arcata and Eureka had three winners each.

Arcata’s Aleta Stubblefield (130), Lillian Afrida (145) and Bickmore all won their weight divisions, as did Eureka’s Anysi Her (115), Anneliese Fugate (135) and Vivian Olivares (235).

The Hoopa girls had two winners, with Ande Lewis (105) joining Houston in taking first, while Del Norte’s Golden Rule (110) and Fortuna’s Allison Watson (140) each also won their brackets, along with South Medford’s Masya Bushey (100), Jamie Baldwin (120) and Leilarose Vaa Calva (190) and Rogue River’s Delilah Jaramillo (170).

The second-place finishers included Del Norte’s Karlye Dodson and Bailey Fox; Fortuna’s Tiffany Krause and Clara Posey; South Medford’s Zailyn Martinez, Gracie Arredondo and Mia Nicasio; Rogue River’s Katie Swanson, Ashlynn Yauch and Victoria Gladechenko; Eureka’s Faith Her; Hoopa’s Audrina Mace; and Arcata’s Melody Arguelles.

Local third-place finishers included Del Norte’s Allie Bartley and Elizabeth Hernandez; Fortuna’s Maliah Cheng and Winter Juhl; Arcata’s Jada Lusk, Maile Russell and Teresa Pilatti; and Eureka’s Indy Lopez and Kylee Secor.