Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Luke Lemke

By Ray Hamill — When you achieve something only one H-DNL team has ever achieved before, you get to be Humboldt Sports Team of the Week, sponsored as always by College of the Redwoods Athletics.

And when two teams do that on the very same day, they get to be co-teams of the week.

And that was the case this past week, as the Del Norte and Hoopa wrestling teams both won a first-ever North Coast Section dual meet championship.

The two Warriors squads competed at Eureka High School last Saturday, and in both finals the two local teams beat the same schools that had defeated them in last year’s NCS finals.

The Del Norte boys took home the NCS Redwood Empire Division-2 title, while the Hoopa boys and girls combined to take home the NCS Division-3 crown.

They became just the second and third H-DNL schools to win an NCS dual meet title, following the McKinleyville Panthers, who won one in 2014.

Our athletes of the week, meanwhile go to a pair of outstanding basketball players that played pivotal roles for their teams this week.

Arcata sophomore Luke Lemke, who is one of the most electrifying young athletes on the North Coast right now, helped lead the Tigers to a Dick Niclai tournament championship on Friday night.

The young standout, who also was an MVP in football in the fall, scored a game-high 20 points in a 65-60 win over St. Bernard’s in the final and has been a key presence for the Tigers all season long.

McKinleyville senior Justin Wells didn’t enjoy quite the same success with the Panthers this week, but he kept his team in contention thanks to a couple of outstanding performances.

Wells has been playing his best basketball of the season down the stretch and he scored a clutch game-winning basket in his team’s Niclai opener against Fortuna on Tuesday.

He followed that with a player-of-the-game performance two nights later in the Panthers’ semifinal loss to St. Bernard’s.

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK

Luke Lemke

Arcata Basketball, Sophomore

This season Lemke has been arguably the best player for the Tigers, who are arguably the best team in the H-DNL as we head toward the North Coast Section playoffs.

The sensational sophomore is a threat every time he touches the ball — in football and basketball — and with two more years of high school sports ahead of him, the best is yet to come.

This week he was front and center as the Tigers took home a 10th title in the last 15 Dick Niclai tournaments.

For more on his big week, see Tigers dig deep to continue their impressive Niclai tradition …

Justin Wells

McKinleyville Basketball, Senior

Wells looks like a player who does’t want his high school career to end just yet.

And why would he with the way he’s playing.

He was outstanding in his team’s Big 5 clinching win over Eureka eight days ago and followed that with a clutch game-winning shot against Fortuna on Tuesday.

And he was just getting started.

On Thursday night he scored a game-high 22 points for the Panthers in a loss to St. Bernard’s, including hitting four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to keep his team in the game.

For more on his big week, see Panthers bounce back, edge the Huskies in thrilling Niclai showdown …

Submitted photo – The Del Norte Warriors

Submitted photo – The Hoopa Warriors

TEAMS OF THE WEEK

Del Norte Wrestling

Hoopa Wrestling

The two history-making squads beat a pair of powerhouse programs on their way to their memorable NCS championships last weekend.

The Del Norte boys edged Ukiah in the Redwood Empire D-2 final, which went down to the final match of the day, beating the same school that had defeated them in each of the past four section dual meet finals.

It was a well-deserved and gratifying win for a program that has been one of the very best in any sport in the H-DNL for the past several years.

Head coach Clinton Schaad and his grapplers continue to work their magic.

In the D-3 final, meanwhile, the Hoopa Warriors also beat the same school that had edged them for the championship a year ago, getting the better of a Willits team that has dominated at the NCS level in recent years.

With a young squad on hand, head coach Merk Robbins has this group of Warriors headed in the right direction and living up to a great tradition of wrestling in the Hoopa Valley.

For more on both Warriors teams, see A great day to be a Warrior, and a great day for H-DNL wrestling …