The Del Norte Warriors enjoyed an historic season on the wrestling mats.
In addition to winning a first-ever North Coast Section dual meet championship in early February, the Warriors retained their boys H-DNL championship a week later and went on to claim two individual section crowns and advance three of their grapplers to the state championships.
All in all, it was a memorable February for the team.
The league championships took place at Eureka High School and the Del Norte boys had five individual champions and four runners-up in the 14 weight classes, while outscoring second-placed Arcata by an impressive 84 points in the final team standings.
Chulhs Bates (113 pounds), Isaac Lopez (132), Curtis Bartley (138) and Colton Schaad (165) each won their second individual league championship for Del Norte, while teammate Braydan Johnson also was crowned champion at 175 pounds.
Alex Osborne (106), Soren Lewis (150), Reynaldo Martinez (157) and Aaron Burger (190) each also placed second for the league champions.
“I was pretty happy with the overall performance,” head coach Clinton Schaad said after the tournament. “Everybody held their seeds or did better than they were seeded, and when that happens it’s usually a pretty successful day. So it was pretty exciting.”
The team’s success continued the following weekend, with juniors Bartley and Colton Schaad winning their first-ever NCS championships at James Logan High School in Union City.
“He has had a great season,” Clinton Schaad said of Bartley, who had a goal of winning a section crown and qualifying for the state championships this year. “He’s been getting better every tournament.
“He’s very goal oriented, and one of his goals this season was to reach state.”
Colton Schaad also had his eyes set on state qualification and put in a lot of work in the offseason, traveling all over the West Coast to compete in several big tournaments in order to prepare for the high school season.
“Much like Curtis, he set his goals early on and hasn’t wavered,” coach and father Clinton Schaad said of Colton. “He’s been training hard all year and doesn’t miss many days.
“He’s a very focused young man and won’t let things distract him.”
Colton’s cousin, Channey Schaad, also qualified for the state championships after placing third in her weight class at the NCS championships and first in league.
After placing eighth at the NCS meet as a sophomore two years ago, she improved to seventh last year and third this year, defeating Amador Valley’s Eliana Caro with a pin in the third-place match after battling back from a semifinal loss.
“She had a fantastic tournament,” Clinton Schaad said. “She dropped down, but kept her head up and kept right on going to third. She had a great tournament.”
At the state championships, which is one of the most competitive high school tournaments in the nation, Bartley won two of his four matches before bowing out, while both Colton and Channey Schaad each finished 1-2.
In addition to Channey Schaad, who is now a three-time league champion, Del Norte freshman Elizabeth Hernandez also won a league title in her first year competing at the high school level.
“I thought they went out and competed the best they could,” Clinton Schaad said of his girls team after the league championships. “And they represented the school really well.”
Karlye Dodson, Aubry Dodson and Bailey Fox each also placed second for Del Norte at the league championships, while teammate Golden Rule placed third.
The Del Norte girls placed second as a team to Arcata at the league championships.