Submitted photo – McKinleyville throwers Kalyssa Claros, left, and Derek Ray in San Rafael on Saturday.

Four H-DN track and field athletes were crowned North Coast Section champions on Saturday, with a total of 16 top-three finishes for the league.

The Big 5 schools traveled for the Redwood Empire NCS Championships in San Rafael, while the Little 4 teams competed in the Class A Championships at Montgomery High School in Santa Rosa.

McKinleyville senior Derek Ray placed first in the boys shot put to lead a huge showing for the Big 5 in the event, with the league taking five of the top seven spots.

Three Little 4 athletes took first in their events at Montgomery, including Ferndale junior Isaak Kasso, who won the 110 meter hurdles with a PR of 15.9 seconds.

St. Bernard’s had two winners on the day, both in the triple jump, with junior Madelyn Shanahan placing first in the girls competition and senior Carl Nunes taking the boys event with a PR of 43’07.5”.

McKinleyville senior Kalyssa Claros also had a big day and has made a habit of showing up in the postseason. 

Claros had the highest finish of any H-DN athlete at last year’s prestigious Meet of Champions when she placed fourth in the shot put, and now she’ll have a chance to replicate that after qualifying for the 2023 MOC in both the shot put and discus with a second place in both events on Saturday.

Arcata sophomore Quincy Collins also had a good day and placed second in the girls high jump with a PR of 5’3”, while Eureka’s Joseph Gonzalez led a strong showing for the Big 5 in the boys discus with a second-place finish.

The Big 5 had five throwers place in the top 14 in the event, including Del Norte’s Gavin Skerik, who was fourth.

Fortuna’s Russell Pascascio also placed fourth in both the high jump and triple jump.

Joining Ray among the shot put leaders was Gonzalez, who placed third, while Guilbert was fourth, Skerik sixth and Del Norte’s Bryson Price seventh.

Submitted photo – Ferndale’s Isaak Kasso won the 110m hurdles at the Class A championships on Saturday.

Eureka’s Ginny Brooks also had a good day and finished third in both girls hurdles races.

Teammate Samara Gaither was fifth in the 300m hurdles, with McKinleyville’s Kim Lewis placing seventh to round out a strong showing for the league in the event.

Eureka’s Emily Pesch also was sixth in the girls high jump, while Arcata’s Sydney Hasselquist placed sixth in the girls 100m and seventh in the 200m.

Del Norte’s Aden Mintonye was sixth in the boys 300m hurdles, while Arcata’s Mason Taylor was sixth in the boys long jump; McKinleyville’s Damian Dinan was seventh in the boys 1600m; Arcata’s Eric Jackson was seventh in the boys high jump; and Del Norte’s Lyon Rigden tied for seventh in the boys pole vault.

Fortuna’s Chloe Cox also was seventh in the girls pole vault.

The Eureka girls and boys teams each placed 10th overall in the team competition, with the McKinleyville girls in 11th.

In Santa Rosa, meanwhile, the St. Bernard’s boys placed third overall and the SB girls eighth.

Shanahan capped a big all-around day with a second-place in the girls discus, while teammate Laila Florvilus was second in the girls 100m hurdles. 

Nunes also was second in the boys long jump, while senior teammate Owen Shanahan was second in the boys discus.

Hoopa’s Gerard Marshall had a big day in the boys shot put and placed third, while Owen Shanahan added a fourth-place finish in the high jump and teammate Grant Omey finished fourth in the 300m hurdles and seventh in the long jump.

In the high jump, Southern Trinity’s Dennis Wheeler tied for fifth, while Florvilus added a seventh-place finish in the girls 200m and teammate Alyssa Boham was seventh in the girls long jump.