Champion Clayton Valley Charter girls rule NCS wrestling
CONCORD, CA (Mar. 24, 2025) — Seniors Abbi Cooper and Savannah Talmadge capped their incredible high school careers by leading Clayton Valley Charter to its first-ever North Coast Section girls wrestling team championship and then put an exclamation point on their legacy with podium finishes at State as the Ugly Eagles were seventh overall.
This singular accomplishment came in a wrestling season that saw the dramatic demise of the De La Salle boys dynasty which had won nine consecutive NCS team championships and 14 of the past 15. This year the Spartans finished fourth at the East Bay Athletic League championships and did not have a single wrestler make an NCS finals.
It was no surprise that senior teammates Cooper and Talmadge of Clayton Valley Charter had high expectations entering the NCS girls meet. Cooper was a three-time NCS champion who took seventh at State in 2024 and Talmadge was a two-time NCS runner-up.
This go-round not only did Cooper and Talmadge ascend to the top of the podium at NCS but so did teammate Isabel Leyva in the 140-pound weight class. Cooper at 110 made it four consecutive Section titles while Talmadge broke through for her first at 130. Mele Popua Moeakiola was third at 235 as well for Clayton Valley Charter.
State competition
At State, Cooper was top seed and eased into the finals before losing to freshman sensation and No. 2 seed Aubree Gutierrez of Marina-Huntington Beach. Talmadge was seeded fourth at State and finished there after losing the semi-final to the top seed and eventual champion.
Last year’s freshman star Symone Jewel of Northgate was back at it winning DAL and NCS titles before taking third at State. Her Northgate team pushed CVCHS all the way at NCS with the Ugly Eagles shading the Broncos 135.5-130.5 in the final team standings. DAL rivals College Park were fourth behind Pittsburg as Contra Costa schools dominated the girls meet.
Five of the 14 NCS weight class titles were won by Diablo Athletic League wrestlers with Northgate junior Hailey Liu (135) taking the fifth championship along with Jewell and the CVCHS trio.
Top finishers
Other top local finishers were runners up from Concord High, Bernice Lucero (190) and Ayaka Naddy (140), and Avery Spidenspinner (100) of Northgate.
Northgate’s Keira Sale was third at 120 while fourth-place finishes went to Concord’s Madison Barrett (135) and Elysia Youngblood (155) and College Park wrestlers Annabelle Rodrigez (105) and Madison Barrett (135).
As its championship run ended, De La Salle had Alexandee Ortiz (159) take third and Wyatt Ferguson (287) place fourth to help the Spartan boys grab ninth place in the team standings.
The top local placement at NCS was by Clayton Valley Charter’s Brady Coddington second at 192. His teammate Fabin Torres was third at 217. Mt. Diablos Chase Strand (122) took a fifth-place medal at NCS.
Read more Pioneer Sports News.
Jay Bedecarré
Jay Bedecarré is a long-time resident and writer in Concord and Clayton. He began his newspaper writing career while still a senior at Mt. Diablo High School and he has been part of The Pioneer since its inception in 2003. Jay also operates Bay Area Festivals, presenting events around the San Francisco Bay Area including Bay Area KidFest annually in Downtown Concord.