White River duo on list of nation’s best wrestlers

Payton Stroud and Claire DiCugno continue to make waves on the mat.

A pair of White River High wrestlers, Payton Stroud and Claire DiCugno, find themselves again listed among the nation’s best.

The National Wrestling Hall of Fame, USA Wrestling and FloWrestling recently published the fourth national girls high school rankings for the 2018-19 season. The process ranking evaluates all girls enrolled in grades nine through 12 and include athletes from all 50 states.

The previous ranking was issued Feb. 6. The final two rankings of the 2018-19 season will be issued May 1 and June 26.

The ranking is heavily influenced by the results from the girls high school state championships, both official and unofficial, which have been held in many states all over the country. There are 14 state associations with official state tournaments, or test/emerging sports state championships as part of the process for official status. But in many other states, a girls state championships, run by coaches associations or USA Wrestling affiliates, are held each year.

Locally, Stroud was listed at No. 4 in the 122-pound weight class, just as she was in the February ranking. DiCugno moved up a spot, now placed at No. 13 at 127 pounds. Each was boosted by their performance at February’s state championship meet, where girls from all schools – regardless of size – are included in a single field. When the dust settled, Stroud was the state champion at

Here are other Washington wrestlers who made the national list. Included is the athlete’s year in school, high school and ranking.

• Kaylee Moore, senior, Naches Valley, No. 3, 127 pounds.

• Taylor Wilson, sophomore, Hanford, No. 5, 100 pounds.

• Phoenix Dubose, senior, Yelm, No. 6, 117 pounds.

• Ofa He Lotu Tuifua, sophomore, Kent-Meridian, No. 6, 200 pounds.

• Mya Spencer, senior, Ephrata, No. 8, 144 pounds.

• Maloree Calzadillas, Senior, Kiona-Benton, No. 9, 152 pounds.

• Annabelle Helm, junior, Union, No. 9, 164 pounds.

• Ashlyn Daugherty, senior, Woodland, No. 10, 106 pounds.

• Kiley Hubby, junior, Glacier Peak, No. 10, 164 pounds.

• Allison Blaine, junior, Hudson’s Bay, No 11, 132 pounds.

• Tatum Heikkila, sophomore, Aberdeen, No. 11, 200 pounds.

• Chanel Siva, junior, Stanwood, No. 12, 225 pounds.

• Lourdes Torres, sophomore, Sunnyside, No. 12, 152 pounds.

• Krista Warren, senior, Union, No. 13, 138 pounds.

• Viktorya Torres, junior, Granger, No. 14, 132 pounds.

• Holly Beaudoin, junior, North Kitsap, No. 14, 122 pounds.

• Salyna Shotwell, sophomore, Rogers (Puyallup), No. 15, 112 pounds.

• Nevaeh Cassidy, junior, Union, No. 17, 152 pounds.