Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

By Ray Hamill — The race for the 2024 Humboldt Sports Big 5 Boys Athlete of the Year, as usual, was a close one.

All six finalists — and even some who didn’t make the shortlist — deserved serious consideration after outstanding years for all of them.

But when all was said and done, for my money one finalist stood out from the field after a senior year that saw him dominate in a pair of sports.

And one year after finishing as one of our runners-up for the award, Fortuna’s Russell Pascascio is a deserved winner in 2024.

The standout Husky multi-sport star leaves quite a legacy in his wake at Fortuna High School.

He was one of the top basketball players in the H-DNL this past winter, as well as arguably the best track and field athlete in the area.

Pascascio’s consistency also stands out.

Asa a junior he was an all-league first team selection on the basketball court and a two-time league champ in track and field, taking home first-place medals in both the high jump and triple jump.

Ditto as a senior.

In his final year of high school competition, Pascascio teamed with Alfonso Medina to provide arguably the most dangerous one-two punch on the Big 5 basketball courts and earning another all-league selection in the process.

And he followed that with another big spring in track and field, where once again he was crowned league champ in both the triple jump and high jump.

But Pascascio wasn’t done yet.

He would go on to place first in the high jump at the prestigious North Coast Section Meet of Champions with a jump of 6’ 5”, just one week after he also won the event at the NCS Redwood Empire championships.

And that was good enough to qualify the standout senior for the state track and field championships as one of just three locals to achieve that.

His accomplishments in track and field, which included earning the Boys Field Athlete of the Meet award at this year’s H-DNL Track and Field Championships, have impressed College of the Redwoods coach Reed Elmore.

“I’ve been watching that kid jump since he was a little kid,” the CR coach said earlier this year. “He’s like a stud now. He’s doing very well. He jumps 6-4 and he’s very consistent.” 

Pascascio won the high jump in 10 of the 11 meets he competed in this spring

Congratulations to Pascascio and the other finalists for all of their accomplishments this past year.

A huge shout out 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.

In addition to the 2024 Humboldt Sports Big 5 Boys Athlete of the Year, this weekend we’re also announcing our other end-of-year high school award winners, including our Little 4 Boys and Girls Athletes of the Year, the Team of the Year, Coach of the Year and the Big 5 Girls Athletes of the Year.