Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – The Eureka girls celebrate their Lakin tournament championship.

By Ray Hamill — Fortuna senior Libby Johnston didn’t;’t want to let her high school career end just yet, as she stepped up with a clutch performance in the North Coast Section softball playoffs this week.

And that makes her one of our Athletes of the Week, an award sponsored by College of the Redwoods Athletics.

With her team trailing by a run to Hoopa on Friday evening, Johnston helped keep the Huskies season going with a pair of late RBI singles, the second of which sealed a dramatic 2-1 walk-off win in the seventh inning.

Even more impressive, both of Johnston’s hits came with two outs.

Joining her in our Athletes of the Week is College of the Redwoods sophomore Hannah Hartwell, whose legendary career at the local community college is winding down.

Hartwell won all three of her events at the NorCal championships last week to qualify for this weekend’s state championships in Modesto.

At the NorCals, Hartwell outpaced the field in the 800 meters, the 1500m and the 5K, and she holds the fastest times in the state in all three events heading into the Modesto meet.

Our Team of the Week, meanwhile, goes to the Eureka Softball Team, which clinched the Charlie Lakin Tournament last week, before getting a pair of impressive wins to start the North Coast Section playoffs.

The Loggers defeated Del Norte 5-0 in the tournament championship game.

Submitted photo

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK

Hannah Hartwell

CR Track and Field, Sophomore

Hartwell has been nothing short of sensational in her two years competing for CR in cross country and track and field and will walk away with numerous school records.

She continued an outstanding spring with her three big wins at the NorCal meet at Yuba College.

For more on her big week, see Five Corsairs advance to state championships in eight events …

Libby Johnston

Fortuna Softball, Senior

Johnston had a big game on both sides of the ball on Friday, making several key outs at shortstop and coming up big at the plate when it mattered most.

The multi-sport standout is closing out her high school career with a bang and she’s not done yet, with the Huskies playing an NCS semifinal next week.

For more on her big big week, see Late rallies and a pair of walk-offs highlight Friday’s action …

TEAM OF THE WEEK 

Eureka Softball

The Loggers have quickly put the disappointment of not winning the Big 5 behind them and have been on fire ever since.

They comfortably won all three of their games at the Lakin tournament by a combined 23-1 and have carried that form into the NCS playoffs with a pair of big wins this week, including a notable 7-6 victory at higher-seeded Moreau Catholic on Friday evening.

Head coach Robin Johnson has a deep lineup, including talented seniors Kira Morris Maeghan Hampton, Mariah Napoleon, Zia Gee and Taliyah Cooper.

For more on their big week, see Morris, Loggers shut out the Warriors in Charlie Lakin decider …