Del Norte’s Deken Hanks is now officially the fastest athlete in the history of the H-DNL.

And the remarkable thing is he is only a sophomore.

On Saturday, just three days after he set a new school record in the 100 meters, he obliterated his previous best time by almost a quarter of a second and set a new H-DNL record, crossing the finish line in a time of 10.76 seconds at the Phoenix Invitational in Medford.

That broke a league record that had stood for 23 years, eclipsing the mark of 10.8 seconds that was set by Eureka’s Khack Khongsaedao back in 2001.

And Hanks wasn’t done yet.

Later in the day, he set a new Del Norte school record in the 200m.

Hanks won the race in a time of 21.96 seconds, which is the third fastest time in league history.

Only Eureka’s Alexis Robinson and Keith Weidkamp have run a faster 200m in league history.

Robinson set the record in 2013 with a time of 21.73 seconds, while Weidkamp ran a time of 21.91 seconds all the way back in 1958.

But the way Hanks is running right now, and with two more years of high school competition to go, it could be only a matter of time before he breaks that league record as well.

“It was definitely exciting,” Del Norte head coach Taylor Duncan said. “I wouldn’t say we were even shocked, but I was a little shocked he ran a 10.76.

Submitted photo – Deken Hanks on the podium in Medford on Saturday.

“I was hoping he would run under 11 seconds, that was our goal, but it was a pleasant surprise he ran that much under 11.”

The record-breaking week continues a recent tradition of great sprinters for the Warriors, who also have seen some top-class girl sprinters come through their program over the past few years, including current College of the Redwoods standout Tianna Thompson.

But Hank’s success, according to his coach, is as much a part of his work ethic as it is talent.

“The nice thing with Deken is he’s always wanting to do extra, he’s always wanting to work,” the coach said.

The sensational sophomore is the defending league champion in both the 100 and 200 and was part of a one-two-three finish in the 100 for the school at last year’s H-DNL championships.

File photo – Del Norte’s Deken Hanks celebrates his 100m victory at last year’s H-DNL championships.

Teammate Caden Harrison also is one of the fastest sprinters in the league right now and placed fifth in Saturday’s 100m.

“They push each other and it really helps,” Duncan added.

Perhaps the most impressive part of Saturday’s performance is that Hanks didn’t even get off to the best start.

“His 100 was great, but his start wasn’t as good as it could have been,” Duncan said. “His 200 was pretty clean.

“There’s definitely a lot of room to improve, which is cool. The sky’s the limit.”

Dylan Rodriguez also had a big weekend for the Warriors at the Medford meet, winning both the 800m and 3200m with impressive times on Friday night and following that with a PR in Saturday’s 1500m as he continues to build momentum this spring.

“He had a really good two days overall,” Duncan said.

The Warriors will be back in action at the final H-DNL regular season meet of the spring at Fortuna on Wednesday.

The 2024 league championships wil take place at McKinleyville High School in two weeks.

Check out video highlights of Hanks 100m run above and his 200m run below …