Submitted photos – The Rio Dell players and coaches celebrate their big win over the weekend.

By Ray Hamill — The opening 10 days of the month have provided plenty of March Madness in local sports on a number of different fronts.

And that’s reflected in our Athletes and Team of the Week, sponsored by College of the Redwoods Athletics.

Our team of the week honors go to the Monument Middle School eighth grade boys basketball team from Rio Dell, which completed a remarkable comeback to clinch the C Division at last weekend’s Crescent City Jaycees basketball tournament.

The Rio Dell boys scored the final 11 points of the game to rally from an eight-point deficit, and they scored the winning basket at the buzzer.

Equally impressive was the performance of CR freshman Josie Peterson, who incredibly set a new school record and the top JC mark in the state this season with her first-ever competitive throw in the javelin at any level.

And rounding out this week’s top performers is Eureka sophomore Talon Vigil, who set the pace in H-DNL boys golf this week with a round of 77 in Fortuna, the best outing yet by any golfer this season in two rounds of league play.

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK

Talon Vigil

Eureka Golf, Sophomore

The Eureka sophomore took over top spot in the season standings with a strong performance at the Redwood Empire Golf and Country Club on Monday.

Vigil’s score, which led the field by four strokes, also helped lead the Loggers to an important team victory.

For more on their big week, see Vigil leads the way as Loggers edge the Tigers in H-DNL golf …

Submitted photo

Josie Peterson

College of the Redwoods Track and Field, Freshman

Peterson enjoyed a debut performance for the ages while competing in the javelin for the first time ever at Wild Cat Cup at Santa Rosa JC on Friday.

On her very first attempt, the Corsairs freshman had a throw of 123’10”, the best ever mark at the local community college.

And remarkably she did it just hours after playing for CR in the state playoffs in basketball in San Francisco, driving all the way home on Thursday night, before driving back down to Santa Rosa early on Friday and setting the mark with her first throw of the day.

For more on the record setter, see Incredible debut for Peterson in the javelin, just hours after basketball …

Submitted photo – Rio Dell’s Paris Magdaleno and Ty Roberts

TEAM OF THE WEEK

Monument Middle School Boys Eighth-Grade Basketball

It was a comeback these young players will talk about for years to come.

Playing in the C Division championship game in Crescent City, the Rio Dell players rallied from an eight-point deficit in the final 40 seconds to sneak a 56-53 win and the tournament title.

A team made up mostly of seventh graders, the Monument boys scored the final 11 points of the game, with the winning basket coming on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from way downtown.

For more on their remarkable win, see Rio Dell boys win Jaycees tournament on a buzzer beater …