By Ray Hamill — The Del Norte wrestlers are competing at the Grants Pass tournament along with many of the other H-DNL schools this weekend, as they continue their preparation for the upcoming H-DNL season.

Last week, the Warriors split their team, sending some of their top wrestlers to compete in North Bend, as well as several others to the McKinleyville tournament.

It was tough going at North Bend, but the Warriors gained some valuable experience there.

“There was a lot of good competition up there,” Del Norte head coach Clinton Schaad said. “But we did pretty good.”

The big tournament featured around 40 schools and 32-person brackets.

Del Norte senior Curtis Bartley, who will wrestle at North Idaho College after graduation, was the team’s lone winner on the day after placing first in his weight class.

And Bartley had some impressive wins along the way, according to his coach, defeating a pair of Oregon state champs and a state runner up.

Some of his teammates also impressed at the tournament, with Colton Schaad placing sixth in his bracket and James Gensaw Jr., placing fifth his bracket.

Unfortunately for the Warriors, a number of their wrestlers suffered some minor injuries at the tournament, including Colton Schaad, who ended his day early with an injury default.

The good news for the team, however, is that none of the injuries are serious and all of the walking wounded will be back in action either this weekend or next week.

“If it was the (North Coast Section), they’d wrestle this weekend,” Clinton Schaad said. “But we’ve got a long road ahead of us and some tough competition.”

Gensaw was one of the standout performers for the team in what was a particularly challenging bracket.

“He had a really good tournament,” the coach said. “There were multiple state placers in his bracket.”

Del Norte’s Alex Osborne and Remington Escobedo also impressed before both pulled out of the tournament with injury tweaks, while freshman Chey Gensaw enjoyed a very impressive weekend for the team.

The younger brother of James wrestled up a division at 157 pounds and finished 3-2, barely missing out on placing.

“He had a really good showing for a young guy,” Clinton Schaad said. “He’s a really tough kid.”

Expect to hear a lot more about the young Gensaw.

The Del Norte boys, girls and JVs are all competing at Grants Pass this weekend.