Photos by Ray Hamill/.HumboldtSports.com – Preston Daniels in cation for the Del Norte Warriors at Arcata High on Saturday.

By Ray Hamill — The first H-DNL track and field meet of the spring was a good one for the Del Norte Warriors, and that’s not the only reason it was a good week for the Crescent City school.

On Wednesday, the league schools traveled to McKinleyville and a strong showing by the Del Norte boys and girls saw both place first.

The Del Norte girls scored 130 points to comfortably beat the field, 29 points ahead of Eureka in second.

The Warriors also won the boys competition with 171.5 points, which was 16.75 points better than Eureka in second.

The two Del Norte squads combined to win eight of the 34 events, and the strong showing gets them the nod for the Humboldt Sports team of the week.

The Del Norte boys also impressed on the baseball fields this week with a doubleheader sweep at Arcata on Saturday in their Big 5 openers.

And one player in particular stood out.

Senior pitcher Preston Daniels threw a no-hitter in a 17-0 win in game one, getting his final high school conference campaign off to an impressive start.

And that makes him one of our two athletes on the week this week.

For our second athlete of the week we go back to Wednesday’s track and field meet.

After another outstanding season on the basketball courts over the winter, St. Bernard’s senior Laila Florvilus has transitioned to the track seamlessly and she won three individual events at McKinleyville, while also placing second in her fourth event.

You get the feeling it’s going to be another good season for the SB standout.

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK

Preston Daniels

Del Norte Baseball, Senior

Daniels showed why many people consider him to be the best pitcher in the H-DNL right now with an outstanding start to the Big 5 at Arcata on Saturday.

The senior ace struck out eight in the five-inning complete game and frustrated a dangerous Arcata lineup all game.

“He went in there and he took care of business,” Del Norte head coach Jeff Cook said. “He was confident. He was ready to go. It was the first league game and he was pumped.”

For more on Daniels’ big week, see Daniels throws no-hitter as Warriors begin conference play strong …

Laila Florvilus

St. Bernard’s Track and Field, Senior

The St. Bernard’s senior was the best basketball player in the H-DNL this year, and now she looks like she could be the best track and field athlete in the H-DNL this spring.

Florvilus began her senior campaign in the sport with a huge showing on Wednesday, placing first in the 100 meters, the 100m hurdles and the high jump, and she also was a part of a St. Bernard’s 4x100m relay team that placed second.

All in all, it was a outstanding start to the final league campaign for the multi-sport standout.

TEAM OF THE WEEK

Del Norte Track and Field

The Warriors look like the team to beat this spring.

A deep and talented roster of boys and girls both impressed in the league-opening meet at Mack High on Wednesday and took home a pair of team victories.

Among the standouts on the day for the program were juniors Deken Hanks and Sebastian Espinoza, who each won two events.

Hanks was first across the line in both the 200m and the 400m, setting a PR in the latter, while Espinoza placed first in both the shot put and discus.

Freshman Anabelle White also won a pair of events for the Del Norte girls, placing first in the triple jump and as part of the Del Norte 4x100m relay team, along with Aurora Mitchell, Alexis Aguirre and Jeana Erler.

Other winners on the day for the Warriors included senior Brandt Pennington in the boys high jump and junior Arriana Pennington in the girls pole vault.