Cameron Hodge moved states but remained an All-American.
Hodge took home sixth place at the 16U freestyle 105-pound bracket at the U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals in Fargo, North Dakota.
She ended the tournament without wrestling in her place match, losing by a medical forfeit to Kayne-Lin Chun from Hawaii. The two met earlier in the tournament with Chun winning by decision, 6-4.
“It definitely took reasoning and understanding that it’d be better to stop wrestling than push myself and injure myself more,” said
Hodge, who attends Byron P. Steele II High School in Cibolo. “I’m proud of my performance, but I definitely think I could have done a lot better.”
Hodge won her first three matches at Fargo by identical 10-0 tech falls, ranging from 25 seconds to 43 seconds.
Hodge took a 4-0 lead over Chun and entered the second period tied 4-4.
After that loss, she won two straight, which included a disqualification by Tatianna Castillo from Michigan. The other win was a 5-3 win over Farynn Rhees from Missouri, who was a Brian Keck Memorial Preseason All-American Tournament.
“I was definitely very proud of that win,” Hodge said. “It was a really good match and she’s a really good girl.”
Last year, while wrestling in Colorado, Hodge beat Katelynn Dockery from Texas for seventh place in the 16U 100-pound division.
She spent time back in Colorado this summer going to Betterman Elite Wrestling Club, while also going to a wrestling camp with Texas Woman’s University that was run by head coach Randi Miller, a former Olympic medalist.
“It was a very busy summer,” Hodge said. “I traveled a lot for different camps and I got different looks in Colorado and different places around Texas. I felt really good going into Fargo this year.”
Hodge went 41-9 this year for the Knights and took fifth place in 6A 110 pounds. She lost twice at state, including drawing eventual state champion Hailey Delgado from El Paso Eastwood in the first round.
Hodge won three straight matches to secure a medal.
That fifth-place showing comes after taking fourth in the Region 4-6A meet, earning the final qualifying spot to Cypress. She lost the third-place match and then had to win a true-fourth place match and did so with a 16-1 tech fall.
“It’s a privilege to be Cameron’s coach,” said Cibolo Steele coach Zachary Madrid. “I’m incredibly proud of her earning the distinction of Fargo All-American. I’m proud of her growth this year and watching her grow through the summer. It’s just been exciting to watch her develop with others and see her grow in that aspect. To me, I feel the real value is when you’re an All-American is that it helps validate the culture of the room, and Cameron has definitely helped share that. Last year, just as a freshman, I think I saw what was possible, but they also saw the grit and the time that it took to be the lead. I feel like in the room, the focus standards rise because they see how much she pushes herself and the expectations of being able to compete at a national level become real for the other athletes in the room.”
She will look to wrestle next at the Super 32 or the Brian Keck Memorial Preseason All-American Tournament, both in October.
Then, her attention will turn to winning a UIL state title for Cibolo Steele.
“I think I just need to keep doing what I’m doing,” Hodge said. “I need to do the extra lift in the mornings, watch my weight, help out in the room and be present, wrestle hard in practice, and then if I keep doing the right things, it should fall into place.”
