Photo by Steve Watson/The Artful Photographist – Abby Bibby in action for the Wildcats this year’s league championships.
By Ray Hamill — It was a successful winter on the wrestling mats for Ferndale High School in more ways than one.
Not only did the Wildcats feature their biggest roster in several years with 11 wrestlers, but they also secured the school’s first individual league title since 2011.
After an outstanding fall on the football field, junior Angel Zaragoza took to the mats for the first time in his high school career and won an elusive H-DNL crown in the heavyweight division at this year’s league championships.
And with just one senior on the team this year, the Cats’ impact in the sport should only continue to grow moving forward.
“We had 11 come out this year, which was the highest number in my memory, which was really exciting to go into the year with. We were pretty close to a full squad,” head coach Levi Buck said. “And we had some pretty good athletes come out.”
Zaragoza’s success at the league championships at Lumberjack Arena was one of the highlight performances of the winter for the team, while his teammates Preston Killingsworth (150 pounds) and Abby Bibby (135) each also reached their league finals.
“It was exciting to see how successful he was as a first-year wrestler,” Buck said of Zaragoza. “The kid has an amazing level of athleticism for a big guy.
“He really blew my expectations out of the water. His demeanor was amazing. He’s a very studied, very smart kid.”
Zaragoza followed his league success with a big showing in the North Coast Section Divisional tournament the following weekend, placing first in the Division-3 bracket at Clear Lake High School.
Killingsworth also enjoyed a big season.
One week after losing in the league championships to Del Norte’s Remington Escobedo, a state qualifier in 2025, the standout sophomore bounced back with a big performance at the NCS Divisional tournament, placing first in his weight class.
“I was blown away with how well he did (at the league meet),” Buck said of the standout sophomore, who is the most experienced wrestler on the team. “I thought he battled really well.”
Killingsworth was even more impressive in the NCS postseason and didn’t give up a single point in the Divisional tournament.
“That was the best I’ve seen him wrestle,” Buck said. “He did well overall.”
Bibby, the team’s lone senior, also saved her best for last and closed out her high school career strong, placing third at the Divisional tournament.
“I was really impressed with the way she wrestled,” Buck said of Bibby, who went 3-1 on the opening day of NCS action. “She was really performing at her best at Sections.”
Bibby also was the team’s most consistent performer all winter, medalling at all but one of her tournaments.
“She’s definitely going to be missed,” the coach added. “It was a pleasure having her on the team.”
Injuries didn’t help matters for the team early in the campaign, with season-ending injuries for junior Brandon Bailey and sophomore Liam Bishop in December.
Bailey was one of the returning wrestlers on the team and “showed a lot of improvement,” according to the coach, while Bishop was a first-year wrestler after a big fall on the football field.
“He definitely showed some great promise,” Buck said of Bishop. “Those were two big losses.”
This year’s team also included Cash Mobley (132), Kyle Cox (144), freshman Carter Coffman (126), Kelton Braud (165), Obadiah Gobel (heavyweight) and Luke Dixon (215), and having a squad that size helped prepare the team better for tournaments and league competition.
“Having the numbers is definitely the beginning of trying to build the culture and establish the program,” said Buck, who had just six kids on the roster last year.
But it wasn’t just the numbers that made it a successful season.
“I was just really happy with the mentality of the kids we had,” Buck added. “They came in and put in the work and were fun to be around.
“And we hope to keep building on the success they had.”
