Submitted photos – From left to right, (front row) Talon Vigil, Mitchell Lyell and Jack Kramer, along with Mason Alway (back row) at Del Norte on Thursday.

This year’s H-DNL in boys golf features remarkable balance, with six different schools represented in the top eight.

St. Bernard’s Jack Kramer shot a 78 to lead the field in the latest round at Del Norte on Thursday, winning for the third time in five weeks, while Eureka’s Talon Vigil was one stroke back in second and retains a seven-stroke advantage over Kramer in the season standings.

And with two rounds of league play to go, the race for the all-league selections — which go to the top-seven finishers —  looks likely to go down to the wire, with just six strokes now separating the Nos. 6 to 9 golfers in the season standings.

Thursday’s round was the tightest of the season so far, with just two strokes separating the top three.

Eureka’s Julian Goodman finished third with a round of 80, giving the Loggers two golfers in the top three as they cruised to a 23-stroke team win.

The Eureka boys now hold a commanding 65-stroke lead in the season standings, with Arcata second and Fortuna in third, 59 strokes further back in third.

Three golfers tied for fourth best score on Thursday, with Arcata’s Mason Alway and Beck Pederson and Del Norte’s Kai Russell each shooting an 86.

Eureka’s Jerome Lyon was next best with an 88, while Arcata’s Lennon Gieder also had a good day and shot a 91.

Logan Calvert led Fortuna with a round of 89; Mitchell Lyell led the way for McKinleyville with a 93; Trevor Hunt led South Fork with a 101; and Littlefoot Williams paced Hoopa with a 133.

Goodman, who had the best round of the day at Baywood last week, is third in the season standings, 10 strokes behind Kramer.

Alway is just one stroke behind Goodman in fourth, followed by Lyell, three strokes further back in fifth.

Just six strokes separate the foursome of Calvert, Pederson, Russell and Lyons in sixth through ninth.

The H-DNL returns to Baywood for the penultimate round of the season next week, before closing out at Eureka the following week.