Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – The six finalists for the 2024 Humboldt Sports Big 5 Boys Athlete of the Year.

By Ray Hamill — The Del Norte Warriors lead the way in our list of finalists for the 2024 Humboldt Sports Big 5 Boys Athlete of the Year.

After a big year for the Warriors on multiple sports fronts, three of their standout athletes are included in our list of six finalists.

That talented trio includes a two-sport record-breaker who is officially the fastest athlete in the history of the H-DNL, a state qualifier in wrestling and a three-sport star who was among the most accomplished athletes in the conference this past year.

The Fortuna Huskies are also well represented on our list of finalists, all of whom excelled in at least two sports.

The two Huskies on our list include an MVP in football and a state qualifier in track and field.

And rounding out our list of finalists is a two-time league MVP who is arguably the most electrifying of them all.

The list of finalists also suggests the future is bright for Big 5 boys sports.

Of the six, only one is a senior, while three are juniors and two sophomores.

The 2024 Humboldt Sports Big 5 Boys Athlete of the Year is one of six end-of-year awards we’ll be handing out later this week, along with Team of the Year, Coach of the Year, Little 4 Girls and Boys Athletes of the Year and Big 5 Girls Athlete of the Year.

And a huge thank you to the local businesses that have stepped up to help sponsor this year’s awards, a group that includes Mendes Supply, DelReka Distributing, Bode Construction, The Humboldt Fence Company, and Chris Prior of Coldwell Banker Cutten Realty, whose generosity ensures all six award winners will receive trophies to honor their accomplishments.

Here then is our list of finalists for the 2024 Humboldt Sports Big 5 Boys Athlete of the Year in alphabetical order.

Deken Hanks

Del Norte, Sophomore

Soccer, Track and Field

The speedy sophomore was a record-setter in multiple sports this year.

Hanks set a new single-season school mark in scoring for the Big 5 champion Del Norte boys soccer team and he followed that with an incredible spring on the track, where he set a new league record in the 100 meters and a new school record in the 200m. 

Jake Houseworth

Fortuna, Junior

Football, Basketball

The University of California bound Houseworth was a defensive MVP on the football for the Huskies in the fall and followed that with an injury-shortened yet impressive season on the basketball court.

The best is yet to come for this outstanding junior, who should close out his high school career with a bang this coming year.

Luke Lemke

Arcata, Sophomore

Football, Basketball

Is there a more electrifying player to watch in the entire H-DNL right now?

The only two-time league MVP on our list of finalists, Lemke was a catalyst for the Tigers on their way to a conference title in football and is arguably even better on the basketball court, where he led his team to a Dick Niclai championship.

Russell Pascascio

Fortuna, Senior

Basketball, Track and Field

Pascascio was one of the best basketball players in the Big 5 this past winter and followed that with an outstanding spring in track and field.

The standout senior, who was named Field Athlete of the Meet at the H-DNL Track and Field Championships after winning two events, went on to win a North Coast Section championship in the high jump and qualified for the state meet.

Submitted photo

Lyon Rigden

Del Norte, Junior

Soccer, Basketball, Track and Field

Arguably the most athletically versatile of our finalists, Rigden is the only one of the six finalists to receive all-league recognition in three different sports.

The outstanding junior was the Warriors’ only all-league selection in basketball and added a league title in track and field after winning the pole vault, as well as earning an all-league honorable mention in soccer.

Colton Schaad

Del Norte, Junior

Football, Wrestling

Schaad could be the toughest of all six finalists and certainly one of the hardest working athletes in the entire H-DNL.

After an outstanding all-league campaign playing linebacker on the football field, the junior standout was even better on the wrestling mats, where he won league and NCS titles on his way to qualifying for the state meet.