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By Ray Hamill — Freshman Taylor Bell will close out an outstanding debut season on the high school wrestling mats at this week’s state championships in Bakersfield.

The young Arcata standout is one of three H-DNL wrestlers to qualify for the prestigious tournament — along with Del Norte brothers Thunder and Wyatt Lewis — and the only league girl to do so.

But the accomplishment goes well beyond that.

Qualifying for the state is big deal for any wrestler, but particularly so for a freshman, and Bell is just the second Arcata girl ever to advance this far at such a young age, following in the footsteps of Savanna Nickols, who was a four-time state qualifier between 2009 and 2012.

But despite all of that, the young Bell is embracing the challenge and is eager to add to her successful campaign.

“I really hope to podium,” she said. “It would be amazing if I could reach the semifinal or final, but even making it here is a big accomplishment.”

So too is winning a North Coast Section title in her first year competing at the high school level, something Bell achieved at James Logan High School last week.

The Arcata youngster won all four of her matches at the Section Masters Tournament, and did not give up a single point in two weekends of NCS competition until her final match.

But that’s not the only thing she will remember from her first trip to the sections.

“It was really fun,” she said of the NCS meet, which is bigger than many state championships around the country. “It was nice to see how all my teammates supported me.”

If that was a good experience, and something that will benefit this young standout as her high school career progresses, the trip to the state meet at such a young age should be even more so.

“It’s definitely different than the regular season,” she added from Bakersfield. “But I’m having a lot of fun.”

Bell has been having a lot of fun all winter after taking the H-DNL and NCS by storm.

She carries an impressive 30-2 record into this week’s big tournament and was seeded No. 3 in the 110-pound bracket for the NCS, knocking off the Nos. 2 and 5 seeds in the seminal and final, respectively.

“She competed super well,” Arcata co-head coach PJ Lynch said of Bell’s performance at the NCS tournament. “She wrestled like a Tiger and never quit.”

But it’s not just her talent and hard work that has paved the way to success this year.

Her approach and demeanor on the mat also sets her apart from many of her peers.

“Her composure is just amazing,” Lynch added.

Proud father and co-head coach Cass Bell is also impressed with what the young Bell has achieved. 

“She’s a true freshman, and that’s pretty exciting,” Cass said. “To be able to perform and do what she does as a true freshman is amazing.”

The state championships get under way on Thursday.