Submitted photos – Eureka’s Joseph Gonzalez, left, and Josh Mahle

The Eureka and Fortuna track and field teams both continued to prepare for the upcoming H-DNL championships with strong showings at the large and competitive Viking Classic at Montgomery High School in Santa Rosa on Saturday.

Several Loggers and Huskies placed in the top 10 in their competitions, including Eureka senior Josh Mahle, who continues to lead the entire North Coast Section in the shot put.

Mahle had another big day at the 35-team Viking Classic and placed first in the shot put and second in the discus.

Junior teammates Joseph Gonzalez and Jamin Gilbert also turned in strong performances, with Gonzalez placing third in the discus and Gilbert finishing fifth in the shot put with a PR throw of 42’05.5.

Eureka’s Daniel Shaver also continued to impress and placed second in the 3200 meters with a PR time of 10 minutes, 20.64 seconds, just eight spots ahead of teammate Ashton Plessinger, who also ran a PR of 11:03.62.

Fortuna’s Mathew Hansen also had a good day and placed fifth in the 200 meters with a PR time of 23.8 seconds and 10th in the long jump.

Eureka’s Preston Richards also placed fourth in the triple jump, while Fortuna’s Russell Pascascio tied for sixth in the high jump.

In the girls competition, Eureka’s Ginny Brooks had three top-four finishes as she continues her outstanding season. 

The talented junior placed second in the 100m hurdles in the more competitive invitational race, as well as third in the 300m hurdles invitational race, and fourth in the varsity long jump with a PR jump of 16’11.75.

Teammate Charlotte Leonard also had a big day and was first home in the 3200m in 12:24.70, her best time of the season, with her sister Stasha finishing seventh.

Eureka’s Emily Pesch had three top-10 finishes, taking fifth in the high jump and 10th in the 100m, as well as teaming with Samara Gaither, Amaya Watson and Sandra Joseph to finish eighth in the 4x100m relay.

Gaither set a pair of PRs, finishing fourth in the 300m hurdles in a time of 52.16 seconds and ninth in the 400m in 1:05.01.

Eureka’s Aniah Young also set a PR  on her way to a sixth place finish in the triple jump with a jump of 31’03, while teammate Fiona Smart set a PR in the 100m open race with a time of 14.3 seconds.

Fortuna’s Allie Cox also had a strong showing in the sprints, placing sixth in the 200m invitational race and eighth in the 100m varsity race.

Rounding out a big day for H-DNL athletes, Fortuna’s Brylee Barsanti placed sixth in the 100m hurdles invitational race.