Photos by Steve Watson/The Artfulphotographist
A competitive and tightly-contested H-DNL girls wrestling season wrapped up at the league championships on Saturday, as the best young grapplers in the area now get set for the upcoming North Coast Section postseason.
And it was a good league campaign for many of the local teams, with eight of the nine local programs placing at least one wrestler in the top three in their weight classes.
It was a particularly good day for the Fortuna Huskies, who took first as a team in Saturday’s tournament, which was hosted by McKinleyville and held at Lumberjack Arena.
After some initial confusion, the Huskies were crowned co-league champs with Arcata, after the Tigers enjoyed the better dual meet regular season, which includes points toward the overall league title.
But Saturday belonged to the Huskies, who feature a young team this year with no seniors.
“These girls have definitely come a long ways,” Fortuna head coach Liz Krause said. “We have a pretty young team comprised of half freshmen, and for a majority of the team this is their first year wrestling.
“Where they lack skill, they have heart.”
The Huskies had three individual winners on the day, and six others placed in the top three within their weight classes.
The Arcata girls also had a good day.
Four of the Tigers took home individual titles, with five others placing either second or third.
And it was a close race for the tournament win.
As a team, Fortuna scored 129 points, with Arcata just seven points back.
Liz Krause thanked longtime boys head coach Steven Stockdale for his help in the team’s success.
Photos by Steve Watson/The Artfulphotographist
“We couldn’t have done what we did without the help of Steven Stockdale and the techniques and skills that he provides, or the unwavering dedication from assistant coach Logan Krause,” she said.
Del Norte also had four individual winners and placed third in the team competition with 103.5 points, followed by Eureka (65) in fourth and Hoopa (23.5) in fifth.
Hoopa and Eureka each had one individual winner.
Tiffany Krause placed first at 115 pounds for Fortuna, as did her teammates Allison Watson (135) and Bella Mora (145).
Serenity Anderson (105), Ashten Moore (125), Natasha Lanza (140), Heidy Rocha (155) and Myla Kirk (170) each also took second in their weight classes for the tourney champs.
Rounding out a great day for the Huskies, Meztli Chinas placed third at 120.
It’s also been a good winter on the mats for the Arcata girls, and that continued to be the case on Saturday.
Among the highlights of the day for the Tigers, impressive freshman Taylor Bell continued her big debut season at the high school level with a championship at 110 pounds.
Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com
Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com
At 125, Aleta Stubblefield also placed first for the Tigers, as did Alexandria Stapleton at 120 and Melody Arguelles-Diaz at 155.
The Tigers also claimed three second places, including Anastacia Vasquez (100), Jada Lusk at 115 and India Croy at 130.
The Del Norte girls also enjoyed a competitive day.
Aubry Dodson (170) and Karlye Dodson (140) both placed first for the Crescent City school, as did teammates Allie Bartley (105) and Aileen Carlson (130).
Kenia Garnica placed second for the Warriors at 145, as all eight of their girls finished in the top four in their weight classes.
“Four league champions, I don’t think we’ve had that before (in one year),” Del Norte program head coach Clinton Schaad said. “I’m proud of the ladies, they’ve worked hard all year. To finish third with only eight girls, I think that’s a step in the right direction.”
Like the Huskies, the Warriors also feature a young roster with Karlye Dodson their only senior.
Sophomore Andee Lewis continued to impress for the Hoopa Warriors and took home a league title at 100 pounds with a victory over Arcata’s Vasquez in the final.
Rounding out the second-placed finishers were Eureka’s Anysi Her (110) and Faith Her (120), as well as Ferndale’s Abby Bibby at 135.
The H-DNL girls will now turn their attention to the NCS postseason, which gets under way on Friday.
Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com
Photos by Steve Watson/The Artfulphotographist
